| (1) |
Before the commencement of hydraulic fracturing— |
| (a) |
mechanical integrity tests required under these Regulations must be successfully completed; |
| (b) |
the injection lines and manifold, associated valves, hydraulic fracturing head or tree and any other wellhead component or connection not previously tested must be tested with fresh water, mud, or brine to at least the maximum anticipated treatment pressure for at least 30 minutes with less than a 5% initial pressure loss. |
| (2) |
A holder must notify the designated agency at least 2 days before commencing with the tests contemplated in subregulation (1) to enable an authorised person to be present during the testing operations. |
| (3) |
A record of the pressure test must be maintained by a holder and made available to the designated agency. |
| (4) |
The pressure exerted on treating equipment including valves, lines, manifolds, hydraulic fracturing head or tree, casing and hydraulic fracturing string, if used, must not exceed 95% of the working pressure rating of the weakest component. |
| (5) |
A function-tested relief valve and diversion line must be installed and used to divert flow from the hydraulic fracturing string-casing annulus to a covered tank in case of hydraulic fracturing string failure. |
| (6) |
The relief valve must be set to limit the annular pressure to no more than 95% of the working pressure rating of the casings forming the annulus. |
| (7) |
The hydraulic fracturing treatment pressure must not exceed the test pressure of any given component at any time during hydraulic fracturing operations. |
(8)
| (a) |
During hydraulic fracturing, annulus pressure, injection pressure and the rate of injection must be continuously monitored and recorded. |
| (b) |
Micro-seismicity (in real time <5 minute delay) must be monitored by a long array of accelerometers located in an offset monitoring well, situated 100m or more away from well at a comparable depth. |
| (c) |
Microseismic sensors must be designed for temperatures between 175 -200 degrees C. |
| (d) |
Tiltmeter measurements must be taken with an array of tiltmeters, either located in shallow offset wells (10m) at the site surface or in a more sensitive deep offset well at comparable depth to fracking depth and in fracking well which provides info on fracture orientation and direction (azimuth). |
| (e) |
Downhole pressure sensors must be used to provide indirect measurements of fracture height, which are to be connected to the production casing as well as outer casings to monitor well integrity. |
| (f) |
Performing temperature and flow logging along the length of the well must correlate with information on fracture growth. |
| (g) |
Proppants must be tagged with radioactive isotopes so that proppant can be analysed to locate where different stages of the proppant went and to locate fractures at depth. |
| (h) |
Chemical tracers must be added to hydraulic fracturing fluid to improve the understanding of fracture fluid loss and flowback. |
| (i) |
Temperature in the well must be measured to trace fluids from shale formations that are at a higher temperature than shallow fluids using fibre-optic sensors to measure temperature, pressure and sound that provides real-time information on fracture locations in the well (fibre-optic sensors are especially valuable for use in downhole high pressure high T situations where electronic gauges fail). |
| (j) |
The following aspects must also be monitored during the stimulation operation and reported to the designated agency on a quarterly basis: |
| (i) |
type and volumes of water sourced for stimulation operations; |
| (ii) |
volumes and rates of fracking fluid pumped into the target zone; and |
| (iii) |
volumes and rates of flowback received during and after each stimulation. |
| (9) |
The holder must maintain monitoring records and submit: |
| (a) |
the records to the designated agency at any time during the period up to and including 5 years after the well is permanently plugged or decommissioned. |
| (b) |
Monitoring results must also be included in the Environmental Management Programme Report required in terms of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations. |
| (10) |
Hydraulic fracturing operations must be immediately suspended if an anomalous pressure or flow condition or other anticipated pressure or flow condition is occurring in a way that indicates that the mechanical integrity of the well has been compromised and that continued operations pose a risk to the environment. |
| (11) |
A holder must notify the designated agency and the department responsible for water affairs within 1 hour of suspending hydraulic fracturing as a result of circumstances contemplated in subregulation(10) relating to the mechanical integrity of the well or the risk to the environment. |
| (12) |
Remedial action must be undertaken immediately and the designated agency must be satisfied with the remedial actions prior to issuing a written consent for the recommencement of operations. |
| (13) |
The designated agency may only issue a written consent for the recommencement of operations as contemplated in subregulation (12) after consulting with the department responsible for water affairs. |
[Regulation 112 inserted by section 2 of Notice No. R. 466 dated 3 June 2015]
Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act, 1996
