§ 630. Plugging abandoned wells.

A.

Every person owning or operating any well and the officers, agents, and employees of such person shall begin removing all derricks, machinery, concrete foundations, and any and all other objects that interfere with the leveling of the land within a period of sixty (60) days from the day of abandonment of the well and shall remove such objects in a workmanlike manner. Such person shall also grade, level, and restore the land as nearly as possible to the same conditions which existed before the well was first commenced.

1.

Any well in which production casing has been run but which has not been operated for six (6) months, and which has not received temporarily abandoned status from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the Inspector, and any well in which no production casing has been run and for which drilling operations have ceased for thirty (30) consecutive days, shall be presumed to be abandoned and shall be plugged in accordance with Section 630 of this title.

2.

Any well which has not had the annual inspection fees paid (as required in Section 307 of this title) for a period of one (1) year, or for which the Inspector has not been provided proof of bond or letter of credit as required in Section 638 of this title, or for which the Inspector has not been provided proof of insurance as provided in Section 304 of this title, shall be presumed to be abandoned and shall be plugged in accordance with Section 630 of this title.

B.

Whenever any well having sufficient casing to meet the requirements of this title is abandoned, it shall also be the duty of the permittee and the operator of the well to set a two hundred (200) foot cement plug in the bottom of the surface casing, with the bottom of the plug one hundred (100) feet below the surface casing section, and to set a fifty (50) foot cement plug in the top of the surface casing. A cement plug shall also be placed in the well bore above, but within one hundred (100) feet of the shallowest zone known to produce hydrocarbons or considered by the Inspector to be capable of producing hydrocarbons, in either commercial or noncommercial quantities, or known to have been used for injection or disposal of any fluid within three (3) miles of the well being plugged. This plug may be:

1.

A two hundred (200) foot cement plug placed in a section of the hole from which the casing has been removed;

2.

A bridge plug capped with twenty (20) feet of cement when a cement bond log is available to show that the casing is cemented at the depth where the plug is required; or

3.

A plug formed by setting a bridge plug in the casing, perforating the casing above the bridge plug, setting a cement retainer above the perforations, running tubing into the hole, and squeezing cement through the tubing, retainer, and perforations. The bridge plug may be omitted when a pressure test approved by the Inspector is performed to prove the integrity of the casing.

C.

The Inspector shall require that cement plugs, except those installed in connection with a bridge plug or retainer, be tagged with a string of pipe or a wireline weight to confirm that the cement plug has hardened in the correct location.

D.

When any cement plug is found to be deficient, an additional cement plug shall be placed in the well bore or other appropriate corrective action shall as ordered by the Inspector be taken. No surface or conductor string of casing may be pulled or removed from a well. During initial abandonment operations, it shall also be the duty of the permittee and operator to flood the well with mud-laden fluid. This fluid shall have a density not less than nine (9) pounds per gallon and a viscosity not less than thirty-six (36) funnel seconds as measured with a standard marsh funnel. Provided, however, that in no case shall the density of this mud be less than the density of the mud used to complete the drilling of the well or less than the density required to create sufficient hydrostatic pressure to prevent the well from attempting to kick or flow. Prior to commencing plugging operations, the Inspector shall be notified so that he may witness the plugging operations.

E.

Whenever a permittee or operator desires to plug and abandon any well drilled within the City, except a well which is still within its original drilling permit period or a dry hole, the permittee or operator shall apply to the Inspector for a permit to plug the well. The application for the permit to plug the well shall be on forms provided by the Inspector and shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee in the amount established in Title 49 TRO, except that no fee will be required to plug a well which is within the period covered by the original drilling permit. The application fee shall be paid by cashier's check. The permittee shall pay an additional nonrefundable permit fee in the amount established in Title 49 TRO, when the permit is approved and accepted, and this amount shall also be in the form of a cashier's check. The applicant shall submit two (2) copies of the application as required by the Inspector. In the application for a permit to plug a well, the applicant shall include evidence of the depth of the base of the fresh water in the vicinity of the well, copies of all Corporation Commission reports filed on the well, a well bore diagram showing the proposed plugged condition of the well, a copy of electric logs run on the well and a proposed plugging procedure. Copies of any temperature surveys or cement bond logs run to determine the top of the cement outside the casing strings shall be included in the permit application.

F.

Whenever any well having a lesser amount of surface casing than required by this title is abandoned, it shall be the duty of the permittee or operator of the well to plug the well in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. To effect the plugging of said well, the production casing shall be cut at a depth at least two hundred (200) feet deeper than the base of the fresh water zones. A cement plug shall be placed in the well bore with the bottom of the plug located two hundred (200) feet deeper than the base of the fresh water zone and the top of the plug located at least one hundred (100) feet inside the surface casing. If the production casing cannot be removed as required, then the operator or permittee shall propose an alternative plugging procedure, but no plugging may be performed unless the procedure has been approved by the Inspector. The Inspector shall be notified so that he may witness the plugging of the well. The remainder of the plugging requirements for wells not having sufficient surface casing shall be the same as for wells which do have sufficient surface casing.

G.

In exceptional circumstances, the Inspector shall have authority to approve recognized and appropriate plugging procedures other than these set forth herein. Such approval shall be in writing and shall be signed by the Inspector.

H.

The cement used to plug wells shall be API Class A or Class H cement and no volume extenders may be added to this cement.

(Ord. No. 22189, § 1, 1-14-2010)