30 CFR 250.413 : Mineral Resources (§ 1.1 To Parts 1291-1299) — (Parts 200-202 To Parts 591-599) — Bureau Of Safety And Environmental Enforcement, Department Of The Interior (Parts 200-202 To Parts 292-299) — Offshore (§ 250.101 To Part 285) — Oil And Gas And Sulphur Operations In The Outer Continental Shelf (§ 250.101 To § 250.1933) — Oil And Gas Drilling Operations (§ 250.400 To § 250.490) — Applying For A Permit To Drill (§ 250.410 To § 250.418) — What must my description of well drilling design criteria address?

Your description of well drilling design criteria must address:

(a) Pore pressures;

(b) Formation fracture gradients, adjusted for water depth;

(c) Potential lost circulation zones;

(d) Drilling fluid weights;

(e) Casing setting depths;

(f) Maximum anticipated surface pressures. For this section, maximum anticipated surface pressures are the pressures that you reasonably expect to be exerted upon a casing string and its related wellhead equipment. In calculating maximum anticipated surface pressures, you must consider: drilling, completion, and producing conditions; drilling fluid densities to be used below various casing strings; fracture gradients of the exposed formations; casing setting depths; total well depth; formation fluid types; safety margins; and other pertinent conditions. You must include the calculations used to determine the pressures for the drilling and the completion phases, including the anticipated surface pressure used for designing the production string;

(g) A single plot containing curves for estimated pore pressures, formation fracture gradients, proposed drilling fluid weights, planned safe drilling margin, and casing setting depths in true vertical measurements;

(h) A summary report of the shallow hazards site survey that describes the geological and manmade conditions if not previously submitted; and

(i) Permafrost zones, if applicable.