DTI Petroleum Operations Notice
No. 4 Application for consent to drill exploration, appraisal, and development wells

Any enquiries regarding this Notice should be addressed to :

Well Consents Team
OG-LED Bay 215
Department of Trade and Industry
1 Victoria Street
LONDON SW1H 0ET
Tel. 020 7215 5028 or 020 7215 5178
Fax. 020 7215 6932

Application form.

Prospect summary sheet.

NOTES:

1. This Notice applies to all wells; Exploration, Appraisal, and Development, in both Landward and Seaward areas. See Note8 below, where additional information required for Landward Licences is outlined.

2. Applications for consent to drill should normally be submitted, by the licence operator, to the address above, not less than 21 calendar days prior to expected start of operations. See also Notes C and D below. A consent will usually be conditional upon drilling taking place within a year of the date on which it was issued.

In the case of wells where a sidetrack is required, where no sidetrack was planned at the initial consent stage, a separate application must be made following discussion with the DTI. A faxed Proforma (see paragraph 1 below) is acceptable. The fax number for this purpose is (020) 7215 6932 .

NOTE : Cover for issuing of consents to drill (and abandon) is not provided outside normal working hours (08.30 to 17.30, Monday to Friday excluding Bank Holidays). However, in exceptional circumstances, application may be made via the Duty Officer at the Department of Trade and Industry, Telephone (020) 7215 3234 or 3505.

The Proforma should also be used, with supporting information, in the case of a re-entry after suspension to drill to another target location.

3. Certain licences have conditions attached to them, which are issued at the time the licence is granted. Where there is a difference, the licence conditions take precedence over this Guidance Note, and must be adhered to. In some cases, more than 21 days advance notice may be required by other Government Departments, reflecting the terms of the conditions. If full details of the proposed operation cannot be supplied with the application the reasons for this should be explained. Failure to comply with licence conditions may result in consent being refused.

4. Attention is drawn especially to the necessity for obtaining consent to locate offshore installations from the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions. Positioning of all offshore installations, for the drilling of Exploration and Appraisal wells in addition to Development operations and stacked rigs, should be assumed to require consent unless the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions has confirmed otherwise in writing. A minimum of 30 days notice is required for consent to straightforward drilling operations. Earlier notice will be necessary for operations in busy shipping areas. It should be made clear in the application if an Exploration or Appraisal well might later be utilised for Development. It should not be assumed that permission to occupy a site for a limited period will necessarily allow future activity on that site. Application should be made to :

DETR
Ports 2 Division Zone 2/31
Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DR
Tel: 020 7944 5098
Fax: 020 7944 2188

5. Attention is drawn to the contents of PON 9 which specifies the information required by the Department of Trade and Industry.

6. Attention is drawn to the contents of PON 12 which describes the DTI official well numbering system, especially section 7(c): Designation of wells prior to spudding-in.

7. Co-ordinates

Licensees must submit co -ordinates for the well location in parallels of Latitude and Meridians of Longitude as defined on the following datums:

8. In areas to the east of 6 degrees West longitude the geographic co -ordinate system is defined as ED50.

9. In areas to the west of 6 degrees West longitude the geographic co -ordinate system is defined as ETRF89.

10. For Landward wells, locations may in addition be specified by use of grid lines of the British National Grid .

11. UTM co -ordinates may be supplied in addition to Latitude and Longitude.

12. The following geodetic transformations are recognised as defining the relationships between the various co-ordinate systems required for UKCS petroleum exploration and production purposes:

5.1 the difference between the WGS84 and ETRF89 co -ordinate systems is not significant and WGS 84 co-ordinate values can be assumed to be equivalent to ETRF89. This is equivalent to the transformation between WGS84 and ETRF89 being taken to be zero.

5.2 the recommended relationship between ED50 and WGS 84 or ETRF89 for petroleum exploration purposes is the "Common Offshore" transformation. The Common Offshore transformation is an operation using the position vector transformation method and a the following specified set of Helmert transformation parameters for changing co-ordinates between the WGS 84 and ED50 co -ordinate systems on the UKCS. For petroleum exploration and production purposes the transformation can also be used between the ETRF89 and ED50 co-ordinate systems.

Test Point using Common Offshore transformation parameters:

5.3 the relationship between OSGB36 and ETRF89 for petroleum exploration and production purposes be declared to be the OSGB petroleum transformation. The OSGB petroleum transformation is an operation using the position vector transformation method and the following specified set of Helmert transformation parameters for changing co-ordinates between OSGB36 (British National Grid) and ETRF89 or WGS84 co -ordinate systems. The transformation has an accuracy of typically 2 metres and is no worse than approximately 4 metres throughout Britain. A more accurate transformation is available from the Ordnance Survey.

Test Point using OSGB petroleum transformation parameters :

5.4 the relationship between OSGB36 and ED50 for petroleum exploration and production purposes is the concatenation of the OSGB36 to ETRF89 and ETRF89 to ED50 transformations in recommendations 5.2 and 5.3 above, known as the UKOOA landward/seaward transformation.

Test Point using UKOOA landward/seaward transformation parameters :

Landward licences

There are additional requirements for Landward Licensees :

1. When an operator applies for consent to drill a well in a Landward area he shall submit with that application evidence that the relevant planning authority has been consulted and that planning permission has been obtained. However, see Note (b) below. A Landward licence does not give the Licensee any rights of entry onto land or over minerals and deposits other than petroleum.

2. Landward wells drilled on Mining Licences (granted prior to 1966) do not require formal written consent from the DTI. However, the operator of the licence must notify the Department of the location and timing of drilling operations and is required to conduct all operations according to good oilfield practice. Written consent is necessary for the abandonment of these wells (see PON 5).

The Records Officer
British Geological Survey
Kingsley Dunham Centre
Keyworth
NOTTINGHAM NG12 5GG
Tel. 0115 936 3109
Fax. 0115 936 3276

4. if a Licensee wishes to drill into a coal seam, whether to test for methane within the coalbed (CBM) or to test a deeper structure, he should consult the Coal Authority at an early stage in the planning process. The Coal Authority will wish to enter into an agreement with the Licensee covering the conditions under which access to the coal seams will be permitted. Write to :

The Coal Authority
Bretby Business Park
Ashby Road
Stanhope
Bretby
Burton -on-Trent
STAFFORDSHIRE DE15 0YZ
Tel. 01283 553 291
Fax. 01283 553 251

See paragraph 8 below for additional requirements on Coalbed Methane and Gob Gas wells.

Application for consent to drill

The following sections describe the information about the proposed well which should comprise the application.

1. Basic well data should be supplied on the attached Proforma. Additional blank forms are available from the Well Consents Team (see above). Photocopied forms may be utilised.

2. Prospect summary sheet (see attached Proforma). Additional blank forms are available from the Well Consents Team (see above). Photocopied forms may be utilised. Plats should be in black and white, as they may be photocopied.

One sheet should be submitted for each major reservoir target. The scale of the map should be shown, and the direction of North indicated if not the usual top of the form. At least two reference Latitudes and two reference Longitudes should be annotated.

3. Seismic depth map and representative seismic section A depth map should be provided at an appropriate scale (1:10,000, 1:25,000 or 1:50,000) on top of or near to the prospective horizon[s], with the surface and planned bottom hole locations indicated, where applicable. One or two representative seismic sections, preferably through the well location, would be helpful.

4. Synopsis briefly describing the geological rationale and objectives of drilling the well.

5. Sampling/coring/logging and testing programme This should include information on:

1. frequency of cuttings samples collection;

2. objectives of the coring programme (including intervals to be cored and dependency on hydrocarbon shows). If no coring is planned, give reasons;

3. side -wall coring.

NOTE : It is expected that Exploration wells will be cored in the reservoir section if there are shows. A terminal core should also be cut if age dating is uncertain. It is anticipated that all Appraisal wells will be cored in the reservoir section.

4. Details of the type and scope of mud logging service to be provided.

5. The formation evaluation objectives and the means proposed to achieve these. A description of the logging programme (both open and cased hole) for each casing depth plus any intermediate survey point should be included. Data on the expected formation water and mud filtrate salinities should also be provided.

Conditional logging runs should be included and the conditions noted (e.g. where shallow gas is expected).

NOTE : Exploration and Appraisal wells are expected to be thoroughly logged at intermediate levels as well as over target horizon[s].

6. An indication of the mud type and proposed weight of mud for each casing interval.

7. Details of proposed well testing operations. If no testing is planned, give reasons.

6. Other relevant information

1. Details of estimated pore pressures in all permeable and porous formations, and estimated formation fracture initiation and propagation gradients at all casing shoes. This information may be presented in graphical or tabular form if preferred. The offset wells used to obtain this information should be indicated. Please indicate if the proposed Exploration or Appraisal well is in an area of High Pressure and/or High Temperature, i.e. where the undisturbed bottom hole temperature at prospective reservoir depth or total depth is greater than 149 °C (300 °F) and the maximum anticipated pore pressure of any porous formation to be drilled through exceeds 18000 Newton/metre ²/metre (Pascals/metre) (0.8 psi/ft).

2. Details of the mud type and proposed weight of mud for each interval to be drilled.

7. Shallow hazards and hydrogen sulphide

1. It should be clearly indicated if there is a possibility of shallow gas at the drilling site. A brief summary of the site survey could be included. For Landward wells, the following should be supplied in addition :

1. Site location map(s) showing the general area and proposed drilling location, with the prospect outlined.

2. A copy of the relevant page of the planning permission document.

2. If there is a possibility of Hydrogen sulphide at any horizon in the well, this should be identified. However, note that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) require to be informed of any incident involving H2S, Shallow Gas, or HP/HT (see PON 11).

8. Coalbed methane and gob gas wells There are additional requirements for the sampling of any core cut in wells drilled for coalbed methane, the testing programme for such wells, and their completion and stimulation. Guidance will be available from :

Knowledge section OG -LED
Bay 220
Department of Trade and Industry
1 Victoria Street
LONDON SW1H 0ET

• PON 4 Application form
• Prospect Summary Sheet
• Guidance on completion of a prospect summary sheet

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Back | Title | Table of Contents
Appendix 1 | Appendix 2 | Appendix 3 | Appendix 4 | Appendix 5 | Appendix 6 | Appendix 7 | Appendix 8 | Appendix 9
Appendix 10 | Appendix 11 | Appendix 12 | Appendix 13 | Appendix 14 | Appendix 15 | Appendix 16 | Appendix 17
Index Map | Plate 1 | Plate 2W | Plate 2E | Plate 3W | Plate 3E | Plate 4W | Plate 4E | Plate 5 | Plate 6
Plate 7 | Plate 8W | Plate 8E | Plate 9W | Plate 9E | Plate 10W | Plate 10E | Plate 11 | Plate 12 | Legend