15A NCAC 05H .1614      WELLHEAD REQUIREMENTS

(a)  All wellheads intended for production shall be installed and maintained in accordance with API Specification 6A "Specification for Wellhead and Christmas Tree Equipment," which is incorporated by reference, including subsequent amendments and editions. This document may be viewed online for no charge at http://publications.api.org/.

(b)  All other wellheads shall be pressure rated to withstand operating pressures 100 percent above the maximum anticipated operating pressure during drilling, maintenance, remediation, stimulation, and production.

(c)  All oil or gas wells shall be equipped so that oil, gas, or condensate does not leak from the wellhead.

(d)  All valves shall be installed and be accessible so that pressure readings can be observed on the casing and tubing at any time by the Department.  Valves shall be designed to accommodate a one-half (0.5) inch National Pipe Thread pressure connection.  The Christmas tree shall also be similarly equipped to allow pressure monitoring of the production tubing.

(e)  All intermediate and production casing annuli shall be equipped with a functioning pressure relief valve that is set at 50 percent of the maximum surface pressure recorded during the Formation Integrity Test (FIT) at the base of the previous casing string.

(f)  The permittee shall notify the Department within 24 hours if the annular pressure measured at the surface exceeds 0.303 multiplied by the length of the casing string, or upon discovering the activation of the pressure relief valve. The Department shall determine appropriate action to remedy annular over-pressurization.

(g)  A check valve shall be installed in the flowline downstream of the Christmas tree to prevent the return of fluids into the oil or gas well.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 113-391(a)(5)c; 113-391(a)(5)i;

Eff. March 17, 2015.