UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE
GULF OF MEXICO OCS REGION

NTL No. 99-G12
Effective Date:  June 7, 1999

NOTICE TO LESSEES AND OPERATORS OF FEDERAL OIL AND GAS LEASES
IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF, GULF OF MEXICO OCS REGION

Increased Level II Underwater Structural Inspection Intervals

Pursuant to 30 CFR 250.912(a), underwater structural inspections (Level II surveys) of all platforms in the Gulf of Mexico OCS are required every five years unless the Regional Supervisor, Field Operations, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR) approves the use of an inspection interval that exceeds five years. The purpose of this Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is to describe the GOMR policy for approving such increased inspection intervals.

The GOMR will approve a Level II survey interval for unmanned platforms up to the 10-year limit recommended in API RP 2A, "Recommended Practice for Planning, Designing, and Constructing Fixed Offshore Platforms - Working Stress Design," Nineteenth Edition, August 1, 1991, Section 14, Surveys, in those instances where the following can be demonstrated:

  1. You are in compliance with all structural inspection requirements for all of your platforms in the Gulf of Mexico OCS.
  2. You have performed at least one Level II survey on the platform.
  3. The platform is in good structural condition according to the results of both the Level I and Level II surveys on record with the GOMR.
  4. The platform is a low-consequence facility as defined by API RP 2A, Twentieth Edition, Supplement 1, December 1996, Section 1.7.2c.

In applying for an increased Level II survey interval, you must submit a request letter to the Regional Supervisor, Field Operations, during the year the inspection is required. The letter must include a complete description of the platform including lease number, area, block, and name and MMS complex identification number, as well as your justification for the low- consequence status of the platform. You must attach to the letter a summary of the findings of the most recent Level I and Level II surveys (including cathodic potential readings). You must submit the increased inspection interval request in sufficient time for the GOMR to process the request before the reporting year ends.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Statement

The collection of information referred to in this NTL provides clarification, description, or interpretation of requirements contained in 30 CFR 250, subpart I. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection requirements in these regulations and assigned OMB control number 1010-0058. This NTL does not impose additional information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Contact

If you have any questions on the NTL, please contact the GOMR, Field Operations at (504) 736-2845.

Chris C. Oynes
Regional Director

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