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Bulletin 2009-19
June 10, 2009
Revisions to the Digital Data Submission System Regarding
Interim Directive 2003-01 and Directive 013: Suspension Requirements for Wells
The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) has updated the Digital Data Submission (DDS) system for licence suspension and annual well packer test results. The revisions have been implemented to improve data integrity.
Changes to the Well Licence Suspension DDS System
Industry is reminded that all critical sour and acid gas wells that have been inactive for 6 consecutive months and all other wells that have been inactive for 12 consecutive months must be suspended, in accordance with Directive 013: Suspension Requirements for Wells. Once the wells have been suspended, industry must submit the required information via the DDS system within 30 days of the suspension operations or inspection.
A new field has been added within the suspension report on the DDS system to identify whether or not the well has been deemed by the ERCB as a gas-over-bitumen well.
As before, industry must submit the suspension information for a well, along with the inspection information, in accordance with Table 1: Suspension requirements for all inactive wells in Directive 013.
The DDS system will now calculate the due date for the next inspection based on the designated frequency and the original inspection date. For example: if the original inspection was on Jan-04-2008 and the inspection frequency is every five years, the next inspection will be on Jan-04-2013.
The reactivation of suspended wells will now require the following information within the DDS system: All Low Risk wells require the stabilized wellhead pressure and test date to be reported. All Medium/High Risk wells require the stabilized wellhead pressure, stabilized casing pressure, and test dates to be reported. If tubing is present in the wellbore, a stabilized tubing pressure and test date must also be reported. There will also be changes to both suspension and inspection upload files; fields have been removed from the current upload file. Industry will need to ensure that their systems can accommodate the new file format.
Changes to the Packer Isolation Testing Results on the DDS System
Industry will be able to delete any abandoned or suspended wells from the DDS system provided that any outstanding packer failures have been resolved via the Isolation Packer Test Results screen.
All Isolation Packer Test Exclusions/Extensions and Repair Extension Requests must be submitted through the DDS system, via the Well Packer Test Results Submission screen, by selecting a New Regulatory Request. In the past, industry would submit requests by e-mail to the ERCB’s Well Operations Section; these will no longer be required or accepted.
Industry will also be able to export the list of wells requiring a packer test to a .csv file from the DDS system.
A new field has been included to capture the well’s classification for all injection or disposal wells, as identified Section 2.4: Well Classifications in Directive 051: Injection and Disposal Wells.
Industry is reminded to ensure that all isolation packer tests are conducted in accordance with Interim Directive (ID) 2003-01: 1) Isolation Packer Testing, Reporting, and Repair Requirements; 2) Surface Casing Vent Flow/Gas Migration Testing, Reporting, and Repair Requirements; 3) Casing Failure Reporting and Repair Requirements and submitted annually to the ERCB Well Operations Section by September 1.
Minor Changes to DDS System Screens
The ERCB has also updated the screens for the Licence Suspension and Annual Well Packer Test Results submissions, effective June 29, 2009. The general information required remains the same.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the changes, please contact Well Operations by e-mail at ERCB.WellOperations@ercb.ca or by telephone at 403-297-5290.
<original signed by>
Roy Graves, P.Eng.
Acting Executive Manager
Compliance, Environment, and Operations Branch
