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Bulletin 2008-46

December 16, 2008

New Directive 072: Well Abandonment Notification Requirements Issued

The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) has issued Directive 072: Well Abandonment Notification Requirements, which states that effective January 5, 2009, the ERCB requires that prior to any routine or nonroutine cased or open-hole well abandonment, notification to the ERCB must be reported electronically through the ERCB’s Digital Data Submission (DDS) system. Currently, reporting notifications for any routine or nonroutine cased or open-hole well abandonment have been on a discretionary basis.

For cased-hole abandonments, notification must be submitted at least 24 hours prior to commencement of operations. For open-hole abandonments, notification must be submitted as soon as a decision has been made to abandon the well following a geological evaluation. All open-hole and cased-hole abandonments must be conducted in accordance with the requirements in Directive 020: Well Abandonment Guide.

Oil sands evaluation wells and test hole wells drilled within the surface mineable area are exempt from this requirement.

The requirements in this directive will be incorporated in a future revision of Directive 020.

Directive 072 is available from ERCB Information Services, 640 – 5 Avenue SW, main floor; telephone: 403-297-8190; fax: 403-297-7040; e-mail: infoservices@ercb.ca. The directive is also available on the ERCB Web site www.ercb.ca.

Any inquires regarding this bulletin or the new directive should be directed to Paul Saulnier, Drilling and Servicing Technical Specialist, at 780-460-3809.

<original signed by>

Dwayne Waisman
Executive Manager
Public Safety/Field Surveillance Branch