055-3 Wyo. Code R. § 3-25 - Directional Drilling

(a) Before beginning controlled directional drilling, other than whipstocking because of hole conditions, when the intent is to direct the bottom of the hole away from the vertical, notice of intention to do so shall be filed with the Supervisor and his approval obtained. The approval will be valid for one year from the date it was granted. Such notice shall state clearly:

(i) The depth;

(ii) Exact surface location of the wellbore;

(iii) Proposed direction of deviation; and,

(iv) Proposed horizontal distance between the bottom of the hole and surface location.

(b) If approval is obtained, the Owner/Operator shall file with the Supervisor within thirty (30) days after the completion of the work an accurate and complete copy of the survey made.

(c) Additional notice to directional drill shall not be required if the proposed bottomhole location will be drilled to an authorized location pursuant to Section 2 of this chapter, a drilling and spacing order, or any other special order of the Commission.

(d) Specification for Certification of Directional Surveys pursuant to Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission rules and regulations, Chapter 2 Section 6(a), and Chapter 3, Sections 21(c), 25(b) and 25(c). The Commission provides additional requirements for a complete Certified Directional Survey as follows:

(i) The accepted standard for directional survey calculation shall be the minimum curvature method with straight line extrapolation acceptable from last data point in survey to Total Measured Depth. If other methods are to be used they must be identified on the Application for Permit to Drill (APD, Form 1) when submitted for approval. If the APD is approved with another method, the other method must be duly noted by the Operator on the Operator's Certification Form and by the directional drilling contractor on the Directional Survey Certification Form.

(ii) Directional drilling contractor shall provide the Final Survey in electronic (ASCII) file format directly submitted to the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Final Survey file must also include a Plan versus Actual plot with all dimensions and directions clearly marked. A copy of the Directional Survey Certification Form with the Plan versus Actual plot is acceptable in .pdf format, but must be complete and signed.

(iii) The directional survey or measurement while drilling (MWD) contractor is responsible for ensuring that all MWD tools are calibrated in accordance to their standard calibration procedures.

(iv) The Operator shall provide on the drilling well location a copy of the approved APD and provide the directional survey contractor(s) with a legible and reproducible copy of the certified surface location plat.

(A) Bottom hole location (BHL) shall be tied back to the well surface location utilizing the most recent governmental survey as required by the most recent required governmental survey, such as NAD 83.

(v) A change out of the directional survey tools is required if the Operator has to trip out of the hole during the build section or while steering the well in the event of failure of MWD itself or failure of direction survey tool; however, the Operator will be allowed to proceed as long as the surveys are replaced with MWD check shots or gyro survey.

(vi) For a Commission approved permitted Directional Well:

(A) In the vertical hole the Operator shall provide directional surveys at no greater than two hundred (200) foot intervals and at the terminus of the vertical section, or at the discretion of the Supervisor, to document the deviation of the upper hole.

(vii) A proper magnetic spacing must be maintained in order to ensure azimuth accuracy.

(viii) When deviation is less than five (5) degrees dogleg rate, directional survey shall be taken at intervals no greater than three hundred (300) feet.

(ix) When deviation is five (5) degrees dogleg rate or greater, a directional survey shall be taken at intervals no greater than one hundred (100) feet.

(x) Regardless of the directional survey tools in use, the Commission requires in the build section that directional surveys shall be taken at intervals no greater than one hundred (100) feet in the lateral portion of the wellbore while rotating. Should a survey be missed, the Owner or Operator must take a survey at the next possible opportunity and an explanation of the reason for the missing survey shall be included on the Directional Survey Report.

(xi) The Operator shall provide on their Certification Form the method of bottom hole location (BHL) projection used from the last surveyed point to Total Measured Depth. The Operator Certification Form must be completed and signed. This form must be attached to the Completion Report (Form 3). The Operator must include with the Completion Report (Form 3) a printed copy of the final well directional survey.

(A) Certification forms are to be attached to the Completion Report (Form 3).

(xii) At the Supervisor's discretion and if the Commission well survey analysis compels the need, the Supervisor may require additional directional surveys, accuracy requirements and reported data.

(xiii) All wells must be depicted exactly as drilled. The original laterals and any sidetrack shall be kept separately, appropriately labeled as to what they depict (Leg 1, Leg Sidetrack 1, etc.) and filed in their entirety from the tie-in point to a projection to total measured depth of each leg or sidetrack.

(xiv) When additional laterals and/or sidetracks are surveyed, the tie-in point should be listed as the first survey. Do not include any surveys prior to the tie-in as they are required to be filed with the previous lateral or sidetrack. The survey point used for the tie-in should be the last survey run immediately above the sidetrack depth.

(xv) All surveys must be submitted and no portion of any survey should be deleted at any time. All surveys must be corrected to True North. In the event that a gyro survey is run after the well has been drilled with an MWD tool, all surveys must be submitted and the "master survey" will be considered the gyro survey.

(xvi) Additional requirements:

(A) On highly deviated and/or horizontal wells, the Commission may require check shot surveys at various depths, not repeats of mandatory survey shot depths as required in Section 25(d)(vi) through (d)(x). This requirement will be a stipulation on the approved Application for Permit to Drill (Form 1) on a case-by-case basis.

(e) Commission required Certification Forms:

(i) Directional Survey Certification Form shall be attached to the Final Report as a separate cover sheet, on the contractor's letterhead, and must contain, as a minimum, the following information:

(A) MWD/Directional Survey Company Name;

(B) MWD/Directional Survey Job Number and Job Type;

(C) Well Name and API Number;

(D) Operator/Client Name;

(E) Well Surface Location by Footage and Latitude/Longitude, and Datum 1/4 1/4 Section, Township and Range, and County;

(F) Final Report Date;

(G) MWD/Directional Survey Run Date;

(H) Surveyed from measured depth (MD) of A feet to B feet;

(I) Survey Tool Type and Relation to the Bit;

(J) Drilling Rig Contractor Name, Rig Number and Rig Kelley Bushing Height feet;

(K) MWD/Directional Surveyor's Name;

(L) The following certification statement:

(I) "The data and calculations for this survey have been checked by me and conform to the calibration standards and operational procedures set forth by [MWD/Directional Survey Company Name]. I am authorized and qualified to review the data, calculations and this report, and that the report represents a true and correct Directional Survey of this well based on the original data corrected to True North and obtained at the well site. Wellbore coordinates are calculated using [minimum curvature or other] method."

(M) Well Planner Printed Name and Signature;

(N) Date Signed;

(O) Optional: Notarization of Signature.

(ii) Operator Certification Form shall be attached to the Completion Report (Form 3) with a copy of the Final Directional Survey, as a separate cover sheet on the Operator's letterhead, and must provide, as a minimum, the following information:

(A) Operator Company Name and Company Representative's Office Address;

(B) Well Name and API Number;

(C) Well Surface Location by Footage and Latitude/Longitude, and Datum 1/4 1/4 Section, Township and Range, and County;

(D) Producing Interval Top Location by Footage and Latitude/Longitude and Datum 1/4 1/4 Section, Township and Range, and County;

(E) Producing Interval Bottom Location by Footage and Latitude/Longitude and Datum 1/4 1/4 Section, Township and Range, and County (if different that Bottom Hole Location);

(F) Well Bottom Hole Location by Footage and Latitude/Longitude and Datum 1/4 1/4 Section, Township and Range, and County;

(G) The following certification statement:

(I) "I am authorized and qualified to review the Final Directional Survey data for this well and by my signature certify that the above Bottom Hole Location represents a true and correct Bottom Hole Location of this well based on the Final Directional Survey Report corrected to True North as provided by [MWD/Directional Survey Company Name]; and that the Bottom Hole Location is in compliance with Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission rules and orders. The method of projection from the last directionally surveyed point to the Total Measured Depth as represented as the Bottom Hole Location is the [straight line or other] method."

(H) Operator Representative Printed Name and Signature;

(I) Date Signed;

(J) Optional: Notarization of Signature.

(f) The following definitions are provided:

(i) Azimuth means the deviation in the horizontal plane of a wellbore expressed in terms of compass degrees.

(ii) Certified directional survey means a survey conducted and reported pursuant Chapter 2, Section 6(b), and Chapter 3, Sections 21(c) and 25(b) and (c) of these rules.

(iii) Directional drilling methods include industry standard tools, including gyro and electronic single shot, as used separately or in combination with Measurement While Drilling (MWD) or Logging While Drilling (LWD).

(iv) Directional drilling survey means the compiled report of the survey, providing as a minimum the following, represented as report columns: Survey Measured Depth (MD) as feet; Inclination as degrees; Azimuth as degrees; Course Length as feet; True Vertical Depth (TVD) as feet; Borehole Bearing Coordinates as degrees N/S and E/W; Closure as Distance in feet and as Azimuth in degrees; Dogleg Severity as degrees; and Horizontal Coordinates as feet N/S and E/W.

(v) Directional well means a wellbore that is intentionally deviated from vertical with an intentional azimuth.

(vi) Dogleg severity means a significant rate of change in azimuth as well as inclination in a short distance along the path of the well resulting in a crooked well profile and expressed as degrees per 100 feet.

(vii) Drilling and Spacing Unit (DSU) means Commission-approved boundary based upon rules and orders appropriate for the area and pools, within the lease boundary, property lines, unit lines, communitized area boundary, or participating areas boundary.

(viii) Drill pipe stand means drill pipe in triples, approximately 94-96 feet for each stand. If the drilling rig drill pipe is doubles (approximately 60-64 feet) or singles (approximately 30-32 feet), or if coiled tubing is used, then the footage requirements must be used for survey frequency.

(ix) Horizontal Well means a wellbore drilled laterally at an angle of at least eighty degrees (80[]) to the vertical and with a horizontal projection exceeding one hundred feet (100') measured from the initial point of penetration into the productive formation through the terminus of the lateral in the same common source of hydrocarbon supply.

(x) Inclination means the deviation angle away from the vertical plane expressed as degrees.

(xi) Kick-off Point (KOP) means the point at which a directional well is intentionally deviated from vertical.

(xii) Lateral hold section or tangent section means a portion of the directional well past the point where the wellbore has been intentionally departed from the vertical with no intentional inclination or azimuth changes.

(xiii) Penetration point means the point where a directional well penetrates the top of the pool from which it is intended to produce.

(xiv) Producing interval means that portion of a directional well drilled inside a pool's vertical limits between its penetration point and to pool's terminus.

(xv) Producing area means the area in which the operator has an approved Drilling and Spacing Unit (DSU) from the Commission and in conformance with the setback requirements from the outer boundary of the approved DSU, or as per requirements set out in Chapter 3, Section 2 of these rules, for the applicable pool.

(xvi) Vertical well means a well that does not have an intentional departure or course deviation from vertical. A wellbore meeting this definition does not require submittal of the Operator's Bottom Hole Location Certification Form.

Notes

055-3 Wyo. Code R. § 3-25

Amended, Eff. 6/3/2015. Amended, Eff. 1/19/2016. Amended, Eff. 4/1/2016. Amended, Eff. 12/20/2019. Amended, Eff. 12/9/2020. Amended, Eff. 6/22/2022.