Section 20.07.02.310 - GENERAL DRILLING RULES01.General Design Requirements for Casing and Cementing. Casing and cementing programs adopted for wells must be so planned as to protect any potential oil- or gas-bearing horizons penetrated during drilling from infiltration of injurious waters from other sources, and to prevent the migration of oil or gas from one horizon to another. Owners and operators shall follow the standards for casing and tubing in API SPEC 5CT and the standards for cementing in API SPEC 10A.02.Wildcat and High-Pressure Conditions. When drilling wildcat territory or in any field where high pressures are likely to exist, the owner or operator shall take all necessary precautions to keep the well under control at all times and shall use proper high-pressure fittings and equipment at the time the well is started. Under such conditions all strings of casings must be securely anchored.03.High Temperature Conditions. Due to high geothermal gradients in Idaho, the temperature of the return drilling mud shall be monitored daily during the drilling of the surface casing hole and all deeper holes. The owner or operator must use cements appropriate for the temperatures expected or encountered.04.Conductor Pipe or Casing Requirements. A minimum of forty (40) feet of conductor pipe shall be installed. If geologic conditions are such that forty (40) feet is not feasible, the owner or operator may request a variance from the Department. The annular space is to be cemented solid to the surface. A twenty-four (24) hour cure period for the grout must be allowed prior to drilling out the shoe unless sufficient additives, as determined by the Department, are used to obtain early strength.05.Surface Casing Requirements.a. The Department must be notified in writing seventy-two (72) hours in advance of planned spud activity for surface casing. The Department will post the spud activity notice on its website and send an electronic copy of the notice to the county where the well is located.b. Surface casing must be set at a minimum depth equal to ten percent (10%) of the proposed total depth of the well. In areas where pressures and formations are unknown, a minimum of two hundred (200) feet of surface casing shall be set.c. Surface casing shall provide for control of formation fluids, protection of fresh water, and for adequate anchorage of blow out prevention equipment. The casing must be seated through a sufficient series of low permeability, competent lithologic units such as claystone, siltstone, basalt, etc., to insure a solid anchor for blow out prevention equipment and to protect usable ground water from contamination. Additional surface casing may be required if the first string has not been cemented through a sufficient series of low permeability, competent lithologic units, or rapidly increasing thermal gradients or formation pressures are encountered.d. All surface casing shall be cemented solid to the surface by pump and plug, displacement, or other approved method. When surface samples are cured, additional drilling activities may commence.e. The Department must be notified in writing twenty-four (24) hours in advance of planned cementing activity for surface casing. The Department will witness and document all surface casing cementing activities.06.Requirements for BOP Equipment. Unless altered, modified, or changed for a particular pool(s) upon hearing before the Commission, BOP and related equipment shall be installed and maintained during the drilling of all wells in accordance with the following rules:a. BOP equipment installed on wells in which formation pressures to be encountered are abnormal or unknown shall consist of a double-gate, hydraulically operated preventer with pipe and blind rams or two (2) single-ram-type preventers; one (1) equipped with pipe rams, the other with blind rams and an annular type preventer. In addition, upper and lower kelly cocks, pit level indicators with alarms and/or flow sensors with alarms, and surface facilities to handle pressure kicks shall be installed prior to drilling any formation with known abnormal pressure.i. Accumulators shall maintain a pressure capacity reserve at all times to provide for operation of the hydraulic preventers and valves with no outside source.ii. In all other drilling operations, BOP equipment shall consist of at least one (1) double-gate preventer with pipe and blind rams or two (2) single-ram-type preventers, one (1) equipped with pipe rams, the other with blind rams, and sufficient valving to permit fluid circulation at the surface.b. All BOP equipment, choke lines, and manifolds shall be installed above ground level. Casing heads and optional spools may be installed below ground level provided they are visible and accessible.c. BOP equipment and related casing heads and spools shall have a vertical bore no smaller than the inside diameter of the casing to which they are attached.d. The working pressure rating of all BOP and related equipment shall equal or exceed the maximum anticipated pressure to be contained at the surface.e. All ram-type BOP and related equipment, including casing, shall be tested to the full working pressure rating of said equipment upon installation, provided that components need not be tested to levels higher than the lowest working pressure rated component. Annular type BOP and related equipment must be tested in conformance with the manufacturer's published recommendations. If, for any reason, a pressure seal in the assembly is disassembled, a test to a full working pressure rating of that seal shall be conducted prior to the resumption of any drilling operation. In addition to the initial pressure tests, ram-type BOP shall be checked for physical operation at least once per week and all components, again with exception of the annular-type BOP, tested at least once every twenty-one (21) days to at least fifty percent (50%) of the rated pressure of the BOP equipment and/or to the maximum anticipated pressure to be contained at the surface, whichever is greater.f. The Department will require an affidavit covering the initial pressure tests after installation signed by the owner, operator, or contractor attesting to the satisfactory pressure tests. The Department must be advised at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance of all tests. The Department may inspect and witness all BOP operations and testing.g. A schematic diagram of the BOP and well head assembly shall be submitted to the Department upon application for a permit to drill. The schematic diagram should indicate the minimum size and pressure rating of all components of the well head and BOP assembly.h. Studs on all well head and BOP flanges shall be checked for tightness each week. Hand wheels for locking screws shall be installed and operational, and the entire BOP and well head assembly shall be kept clean of mud and ice.i. A drillstem safety valve shall be available on the rig floor at all times with correct thread for the pipe in use.j. A drillstem float valve shall be installed in bit sub or as close to bit as reasonably possible.07.Intermediate Casing.a. Intermediate casing, if installed, shall be cemented solidly to the surface or to the top of the casing.b. Intermediate casing not run to surface will be lapped into at least one hundred (100) feet of the surface casing, or at least one hundred (100) feet of the next larger casing to provide overlap and secure a seal.c. Such casing shall be cemented and pressure tested before cement plugs are drilled.d. The Department must be notified in writing twenty-four (24) hours in advance of planned cementing activity for intermediate casing. The Department may witness and document all intermediate casing cementing activities.08.Production Casing; Cementing and Testing Requirements.a. If and when it becomes necessary to run a production casing, such casing shall be cemented and pressure tested before cement plugs are drilled.b. The Department must be notified in writing twenty-four (24) hours in advance of planned cementing activity for production casing. The Department may witness and document all production casing cementing activities.c. When not run to the surface, production casing will be cemented from the bottom of the hole up into at least one hundred (100) feet of the next larger casing to provide overlap and secure a seal.d. If the bottom plug will be drilled out, the open hole interval must be completed to protect any potential oil-bearing or gas-bearing horizons penetrated during drilling from infiltration of injurious waters from other sources, and to prevent the migration of oil or gas from one horizon to another.09.Step-off. An owner or operator may submit to the Department a step-off request to complete a new borehole from surface if a borehole without production casing deviates from vertical plumb by more than five (5) degrees. A step-off borehole must be drilled within the existing pad of the permitted well. The incomplete borehole must be plugged and abandoned in accordance with Section 502 of these rules.10.Well Control (Rotary Tools); Reserve Mud Tanks. When drilling with rotary tools, the owner or operator shall provide, as required by the Department, a reserve mud pit or tank of suitable capacity for the anticipated depth of the well and maintain an on-site supply of mud additives that can raise the mud weight by one (1) pound per gallon in case of loss of well control.11.Mud Pits. Before commencing to drill, proper and adequate mud pits shall be constructed for the reception and confinement of mud and cuttings and to facilitate the drilling operation. Special precautions shall be taken, if necessary, to prevent contamination of fresh waters. These pits must conform to the standards in Section 230 of these rules. If tanks will be used, then mud pits may not be required.12.Well Control (Cable Tools); Fluid Containment. Natural gas or oil which may be encountered in a substantial quantity in any section of a cabletool drilled hole above the ultimate objective shall be shut off with reasonable diligence either by mudding or by casing, or other approved method, and confined to its original source to the satisfaction of the Department. The use of cable tools for drilling activities requires written approval by the Department prior to spud activities. A request to use cable tools must include the following: a. Proposed pressure control measures;b. Diversion and disposal methods for stray gas;c. Safety protocols for mud weights and well controls; andd. Annual drill rig safety inspection information, including the date of last replacement of cables, draw works inspection report, and metallurgic report of safety compliance for structural integrity of the drill rig.13.Drilling Mud Disposal. Drilling mud will be disposed of at an appropriate facility in compliance with applicable state and federal requirements.14.Report of Water Encountered; Owner's or Operator's Duties. It shall be the duty of any owner or operator drilling an oil or gas well or drilling a seismic, core or other exploratory hole to report to the Department all potential water bearing zones encountered; such report shall be in writing and give the location of the well or hole, the depth at which the zones were encountered, the thickness of such zones, and the rate of flow of water if known. This requirement can be met by the submittal of the logs required in Section 340 of this rule.15.Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures Plan. The owner or operator must have a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures Plan in conformance with the requirements of the EPA. This plan must be updated as needed when facilities or activities change.16.Interim Drill Site Clean Up. If a well is completed for production or other purposes, interim reclamation must be completed within six (6) months of the rig being removed. Interim reclamation includes the following activities:a. Debris and waste materials including, but not limited to, concrete, sack bentonite and other drilling mud additives, sand, plastic, pipe, and cable associated with the drilling, re-entry, or completion operations shall be removed and disposed of properly.b. All disturbed areas affected by drilling or subsequent operations, except areas reasonably needed for production operations or for subsequent drilling operations to be commenced within twelve (12) months, shall be reclaimed and revegetated to approximately the pre-drilling condition or to the condition specified in an agreement with the surface owner. The reclamation standards in Subsections 510.04 through 510.07 of these rules, shall apply.Idaho Admin. Code r. 20.07.02.310