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Colorado Administrative Code
Department 400 - Department of Natural ResourcesDivision 404 - Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
Rule 2 CCR 404-1 - PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Section 2 CCR 404-1-612 - HYDROGEN SULFIDE GAS

2 Colo. Code Regs. § 404-1-612

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Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 20, October 25, 2024
Section 2 CCR 404-1-612 - HYDROGEN SULFIDE GAS
a.General.
(1) Operators will avoid any uncontrolled release or hazardous accumulation of hydrogen sulfide ("H2S") gas. If releases or hazardous accumulations of H2S cannot be avoided, or during upset conditions or malfunctions, Operators will employ mitigation measures to reduce potential harms to safety.
(2)Scope. To protect and minimize adverse impacts to public health, safety, welfare, the environment, and wildlife resources, Operators will comply with this Rule 612 where oil and gas exploration and production occurs in areas known or reasonably expected to contain H2S.
b.Radius of Exposure Calculation. When an Operator is conducting drilling, workover, completion, or production operations in a geologic zone where the Operator knows or reasonably expects to encounter, or a laboratory gas analysis detects, H2S in the gas stream at concentrations at or above 100 parts per million ("ppm"), the Operator will calculate the radius of exposure to any Building Unit, High Occupancy Building Unit, or Designated Outside Activity Area.
(1) Radius of exposure will be calculated pursuant to Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") Onshore Order No. 6 (Jan. 22, 1991). Only the 1991 version of Onshore Order 6 applies to this Rule; later amendments do not apply. All materials incorporated by reference in this Rule are available for public inspection during normal business hours from the Public Room Administrator at the office of the Commission, 1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 801, Denver, CO 80203. In addition, these materials are available from the BLM Colorado State Office, 2850 Youngfield St., Lakewood, CO 80215, and are available online at https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/energy_onshoreorder6.pdf.
(2) If insufficient data exists to calculate a radius of exposure, the Operator will assume the radius of exposure is 3,000 feet.
(3) Operators will perform gas stream laboratory analysis if any concentration of H2S of 20 ppm or greater is detected by using field measurement devices during drilling, completion, or production operations. Operators will report any gas stream laboratory analysis greater than 1 ppm H2S to the Director and the Relevant and Proximate Local Government(s). If the Operator ever detects H2S concentrations greater than 1 ppm, the Operator will repeat gas stream laboratory analysis annually.
c.H2S Public Protection Plan. A public protection plan is required if:
(1) The 100 ppm radius of exposure is greater than 50 feet and there is a Building Unit, High Occupancy Building Unit, or Designated Outside Activity Area within the radius of exposure;
(2) The 100 ppm radius of exposure is equal to or greater than 3,000 feet and includes any publicly-maintained road; or
(3) The Director determines that a public protection plan is necessary to protect and minimize adverse impacts to public health, safety, welfare, the environment, or wildlife resources.
d.H2S Drilling Operations Plan.
(1) When proposing to drill a Well in areas where H2S gas can reasonably be expected to be encountered, Operators will submit a H2S drilling operations plan with their Form 2, unless the plan was already submitted with their Form 2A, pursuant to Rule 304.c.(10).
(2) Operators will prepare the H2S drilling operations plan pursuant to BLM Onshore Order No. 6, as incorporated by reference in Rule 612.b.(1).
e.Designated H2S Locations. If an Operator ever measures H2S gas stream concentrations of 100 ppm or greater at a Well, the Well is a designated H2S location. All designated H2S locations will be designed and operated in accordance with BLM Onshore Order No. 6, as incorporated by reference in Rule 612.b.(1). Designated H2S locations will have:
(1) Signs indicating the presence of H2S not less than 200 feet or more than 500 feet from the entrance of the location;
(2) H2S monitoring with audible and visible alarms at 10 ppm of H2S;
(3) At least one wind indicator; and
(4) With landowner approval, adequate fencing.
f.Operations in Designated H2S Locations.
(1) In a designated H2S location, Operators will employ a secondary means of immediate Well control at all Wells that are known to have H2S through use of a christmas tree or downhole completion equipment. The equipment will allow downhole accessibility (reentry) under pressure for permanent Well control. When the presence of H2S is detected during drilling in formations not tested, completed, or produced, the Operator will report depth intervals, concentrations measured at surface or within drilling Fluid, and the control measures used.
(2) At Oil and Gas Locations producing gas with greater than 100 ppm H2S, Operators will monitor all storage Tanks. Any headspace field measurement or laboratory analysis greater than 500 ppm H2S, or 10 ppm H2S in ambient air, will require mitigation measures to control and minimize accumulation within the storage Tank.
(3) All operations at an Oil and Gas Location with potential H2S concentrations greater than 100 ppm will:
A. Use equipment that can withstand the effects and stress of H2S;
B. Be conducted pursuant to American National Standards Institute ("ANSI")/National Association of Corrosion Engineers ("NACE") Standard MR0175/ISO 15156-2015-SG, Petroleum and natural gas industries - Materials for use in H2S-containing environments in oil and gas production (2015), or some other Director approved standard for selection of metallic equipment. Only the 2015 version of ANSI/NACE Standard MR0175/ISO 15156-2015-SG applies to this Rule; later amendments do not apply. All material incorporated by reference in this Rule are available for public inspection during normal business hours from the Public Room Administrator at the office of the Commission, 1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 801, Denver, CO 80203. In addition, these materials are available from NACE International, 15835 Park Ten Pl, Houston, TX 77084; and
C. If applicable, use adequate protection by chemical inhibition or such other methods that control or limit H2S's corrosive effects.
(4) Operators in designated H2S locations will conduct a laboratory analysis of the gas stream for H2S at least monthly. If the H2S concentration increases by greater than 25%, the Operator will recalculate the radius of exposure and notify the Director and the Relevant and Proximate Local Government(s).
g.Operator Reports of H2S.
(1) Operators will report on a Form 42, Field Operations Notice - Notice of H2S on an Oil and Gas Location any laboratory analysis indicating the presence of H2S gas to the Director within 48 hours. Upon receipt of the Form 42, the Director will notify the Relevant and Proximate Local Government(s).
(2) If a laboratory analysis indicates any concentrations of H2S gas greater than 100 ppm in the gas stream, or headspace field measurement or laboratory analysis greater than 500 ppm H2S, or 10 ppm H2S in ambient air, the Operator will report such findings to the Director on a Form 4, including the information required in Rules 612.b-d, as applicable, within 45 days.
h. Unless deemed an immediate operational need for safety reasons and the release does not pose a risk to public safety, Operators may only intentionally release H2S gas with prior Director approval of a Form 4. The Form 4 will include a proposed air monitoring plan for H2S. If combustion or Flaring is proposed, the air monitoring plan will include a SO2 by-product detection plan.
i. If an intentional release of H2S gas occurs due to Upset Conditions or malfunctions, the Operator will notify the Director, the Relevant and Proximate Local Government(s), and the local emergency response agency orally within 24 hours, followed by the filing of a Form 4 within 5 days.
j. All H2S monitoring, mitigation, and safety equipment will be maintained and functioning in good working order at all times.
k. Temporary Abandonment of a H2S Well.
(1) Prior to temporarily abandoning a Well with potential concentrations of greater than 100 ppm H2S in its gas stream, the Operator will file a Form 4, Notice of Temporarily Abandoned Status to obtain the Director's approval.
(2) Operators will install a cast iron bridge plug and maintain H2S monitoring and telemetry equipment when temporarily abandoning a Well with potential concentrations of greater than 100 ppm H2S in its gas stream.

2 CCR 404-1-612

37 CR 16, August 25, 2014, effective 9/30/2014
38 CR 01, January 10, 2015, effective 2/14/2015
38 CR 03, February 10, 2015, effective 3/2/2015
38 CR 07, April 10, 2015, effective 4/30/2015
38 CR 16, August 25, 2015, effective 9/14/2015
39 CR 04, February 25, 2016, effective 3/16/2016
41 CR 05, March 10, 2018, effective 4/1/2018
41 CR 06, March 25, 2018, effective 5/1/2018
41 CR 23, December 10, 2018, effective 12/30/2018
42 CR 02, January 25, 2019, effective 2/14/2019
42 CR 17, September 10, 2019, effective 9/30/2019
42 CR 24, December 25, 2019, effective 1/14/2020
43 CR 17, September 10, 2020, effective 9/30/2020
43 CR 13, July 10, 2020, effective 11/2/2020
43 CR 24, December 25, 2020, effective 1/15/2021
45 CR 07, April 10, 2022, effective 4/30/2022
45 CR 09, May 10, 2022, effective 5/30/2022
45 CR 13, July 10, 2022, effective 7/30/2022