The Platform Approval Program requires that you submit the information, documents, and fee listed in the following table for your proposed project. In lieu of submitting the paper copies specified in the table, you may submit your application electronically in accordance with 30 CFR 250.186(a)(3). ------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Application cover letter Proposed structure You must submit
designation, lease three copies. If,
number, area, name, your facility is
and block number, subject to the
and the type of Platform
facility your Verification
facility (e.g., Program (PVP), you
drilling, must submit four
production, copies.
quarters). The
structure
designation must be
unique for the
field (some fields
are made up of
several blocks);
i.e. once a
platform ``A'' has
been used in the
field there should
never be another
platform ``A'' even
if the old platform
``A'' has been
removed. Single
well free standing
caissons should be
given the same
designation as the
well. All other
structures are to
be designated by
letter designations.(b) Location plat........... Latitude and Your plat must be
longitude drawn to a scale of
coordinates, 1 inch equals 2,000
Universal Mercator feet and include
grid-system the coordinates of
coordinates, state the lease block
plane coordinates boundary lines. You
in the Lambert or must submit three
Transverse Mercator copies.
Projection System,
and distances in
feet from the
nearest block
lines. These
coordinates must be
based on the NAD
(North American
Datum) 27 datum
plane coordinate
system.(c) Front, Side, and Plan Platform dimensions Your drawing sizes
View drawings. and orientation, must not exceed
elevations relative 11x17x17Sec. 250.906 What must I do to obtain approval for the proposed site of my platform?
(a) Shallow hazards surveys. You must perform a high-resolution or acoustic-profiling survey to obtain information on the conditions existing at and near the surface of the seafloor. You must collect information through this survey sufficient to determine the presence of the following features and their likely effects on your proposed platform:
(1) Shallow faults;
(2) Gas seeps or shallow gas;
(3) Slump blocks or slump sediments;
(4) Shallow water flows;
(5) Hydrates; or
(6) Ice scour of seafloor sediments.
(b) Geologic surveys. You must perform a geological survey relevant to the design and siting of your platform. Your geological survey must assess:
(1) Seismic activity at your proposed site;
(2) Fault zones, the extent and geometry of faulting, and attenuation effects of geologic conditions near your site; and
(3) For platforms located in producing areas, the possibility and effects of seafloor subsidence.
(c) Subsurface surveys. Depending upon the design and location of your proposed platform and the results of the shallow hazard and geologic surveys, the Regional Supervisor may require you to perform a subsurface survey. This survey will include a testing program for investigating the stratigraphic and engineering properties of the soil that may affect the foundations or anchoring systems for your facility. The testing program must include adequate in situ testing, boring, and sampling to examine all important soil and rock strata to determine its strength classification, deformation properties, and dynamic characteristics. If required to perform a subsurface survey, you must prepare and submit to the Regional Supervisor a summary report to briefly describe the results of your soil testing program, the various field and laboratory test methods employed, and the applicability of these methods as they pertain to the quality of the samples, the type of soil, and the anticipated design application. You must explain how the engineering properties of each soil stratum affect the design of your platform. In your explanation you must describe the uncertainties inherent in your overall testing program, and the reliability and applicability of each test method.
(d) Overall site investigation report. You must prepare and submit to the Regional Supervisor an overall site investigation report for your platform that integrates the findings of your shallow hazards surveys and geologic surveys, and, if required, your subsurface surveys. Your overall site investigation report must include analyses of the potential for:
(1) Scouring of the seafloor;
(2) Hydraulic instability;
(3) The occurrence of sand waves;
(4) Instability of slopes at the platform location;
(5) Liquefaction, or possible reduction of soil strength due to increased pore pressures;
(6) Degradation of subsea permafrost layers;
(7) Cyclic loading;
(8) Lateral loading;
(9) Dynamic loading;
(10) Settlements and displacements;
(11) Plastic deformation and formation collapse mechanisms; and
(12) Soil reactions on the platform foundations or anchoring systems.