Decommissioning
- Publisher
- BSEE · Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
- Type
- Guidance
- Date
- Themes
- Inspection and MaintenanceRegulation and Legislation
Summary
BSEE inspection checklist of potential incidents of noncompliance for well decommissioning, temporary and permanent abandonment under 30 CFR 250 Subpart Q.
Summary written automatically from the title and document text.
Themes: inspection and maintenance, regulation and legislation.
Extract from the document (first pages)
Text extracted automatically from the publisher’s PDF so it can be searched. Layout, tables and figures are lost and the extract stops after the first pages; read the document itself at BSEE.
SUBPART Q - DECOMMISSIONING ACTIVITIES (Last Updated – January 2026)
Permits
A-500 HAS THE LESSEE RECEIVED WRITTEN APPROVAL FROM THE DISTRICT MANAGER PRIOR TO CONDUCTING DECOMMISSIONING OPERATIONS ON THE WELL?
Authority: 30 CFR 250.1703(a) Enforcement Actions: S
Temporary Abandonment
A-505 DOES THE WELL MEET THE PLUGGING AND TESTING REQUIREMENTS FOR A PERMANENT ABANDONMENT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A SURFACE PLUG, WELLHEAD REMOVAL, AND SITE CLEARANCE?
Authority: 30 CFR 250.1721 Enforcement Actions: W
A-510 IS A SUBSEA PROTECTIVE DEVICE INSTALLED AS REQUIRED?
Authority: 30 CFR 250.1721(f)(3) Enforcement Actions: W 30 CFR 250.1722
Permanent Abandonment
A-515 IS ISOLATION OF ZONES IN OPEN HOLE ACHIEVED?
A-520 IS ISOLATION OF THE OPEN HOLE BELOW THE CASING ACHIEVED?
A-525 IS ISOLATION OF PERFORATED INTERVALS ACHIEVED?
A-530 IS PLUGGING OF THE STUB ACHIEVED?
Authority: 30 CFR 250.1715(a)(4) Enforcement Actions: W 30 CFR 250.1715(a)(5)
A-535 IS ANY ANNULAR SPACE COMMUNICATING WITH OPEN HOLE, AND EXTENDING TO THE MUD LINE, PLUGGED, AND IF APPLICABLE, PRESSURE TESTED TO VERIFY ISOLATION?
Authority: 30 CFR 250.1715(a)(6) Enforcement Actions: W
A-540 IS A CEMENT SURFACE PLUG SET IN THE SMALLEST STRING OF CASING WHICH EXTENDS TO THE MUD LINE?
Authority: 30 CFR 250.1715(a)(8) Enforcement Actions: W
A-545 IS THE INTEGRITY OF APPLICABLE PLUGS VERIFIED?
Authority: 30 CFR 250.1715(b) Enforcement Actions: W
A-550 IS THE DENSITY OF THE FLUID LEFT IN THE HOLE ADEQUATE FOR THE FORMATION INTERVAL?
Authority: 30 CFR 250.1715(a)(9) Enforcement Actions: W
A-555 ARE WELLHEADS AND CASINGS REMOVED AS REQUIRED?
Authority: 30 CFR 250.1716 Enforcement Actions: W
A-560 ARE PERMAFROST AREAS WITHIN THE WELL ABANDONED AS REQUIRED?
A-565 ARE TWO INDEPENDENT BARRIERS INSTALLED, ONE OF WHICH MUST BE A MECHANICAL BARRIER, IN THE CENTER WELLBORE BEFORE TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT ABANDONMENT OF THE WELL?
Links open the PDF on bsee.gov; no login is needed.
US federal government work, in the public domain in the United States; this site indexes the first pages and links to BSEE's own copies, hosting no publisher download files.
Publisher link checked · working