Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) of Federal Oil, Gas,
and Sulphur Leases in the Outer Continental Shelf

Instructions for Submitting Electronic Semi-Annual Well Test Reports

NOTE: The instructions for electronic Semi-Annual Well Test Report are also available for download in Microsoft Word format.

Attachment 1

Instructions for submitting electronic Semi-Annual Well Test Reports

Operators may submit Semi-Annual Well Test Reports electronically by sending flat files containing these data to the appropriate Minerals Management Service (MMS) Regional Office. The flat files submitted to MMS must be produced in ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange), and follow one of two acceptable formats - either fixed-length format (Attachment 2) or comma-delimited format (Attachment 3). The comma-delimited format is preferred.

There are 17 required fields (A through Q on Attachment 4) that must be populated for each gas-well completion. Only 15 of these fields (A through O) are required for oil-well completions. Each of these required fields corresponds to a required field on the paper MMS-128 form (Attachment 5).

Each row in the flat file should represent a separate completion. Therefore, each row should contain either 15 (oil) or 17 (gas) fields. If you choose to follow the fixed-length format, each field must be entered in the appropriate column(s) as shown in Attachment 2. For example, the lease number should be entered in columns 29-38 and the flowing tubing pressure should be entered in columns 243-247. Attachment 4 explains the format of each field. For example, the lease number should follow the mask CNNNNNBBBB (one character followed by five numbers followed by four blanks). All character fields will be left justified and all numeric fields will be right justified. Both data fields are padded with blanks to the specified column length.

The comma-delimited format (Attachment 3) is similar to the fixed-format method except the fields are not required to be placed in specific columns. Instead, the fields are simply listed in order and separated by commas. Note that there are several commas between some fields (Attachment 3) because the format allows for submission of numerous other fields not required on the MMS-128 form. The non-mandatory fields are omitted from these instructions for simplification purposes. At the end of each completion (row), a semi-colon should be present to indicate the end of that record (comma-delimited format only).

Attachment 2 - Fixed-length Format:

Note - 12/11/01 Attachment 2 revised to correct the start position of the Well Name Field.

Attachment 3 - Comma-delimited Format:

Operator Code,API Number+Production Interval Code,Field Name Code,Lease Number,Well Name,,,,,,,,Test Type,,Well Test Product Code,,,Production Method Code,,,,,Test Start Date,,,,,Oil 24 Hour Rate,Gas 24 Hour Rate,Water 24 Hour Rate,,,,Choke Size,,,,Oil API Gravity,,,Flowing Tubing Pressure,Shut-In Pressure,Line Pressure,,;

Note - In the actual flat file, these fields should all be on one line with the semi-colon at the end. The next line should contain these fields for the next completion. Note also that the Shut-In Pressure and Line Pressure fields are only required for gas wells.

Attachment 4 - Definitions:

(A) Operator Code - MMS code number of the designated operator. (5 characters)

(B-1) API Number - A unique well identification number consisting of (from left to right) a 2-digit state code (or pseudo for Offshore), a 3-digit county code (or pseudo for Offshore), a 5-digit unique well code, and if applicable, a 2-digit sidetrack code as defined in API Bulletin D12A. Maximum length = 12 characters.

(B-2)  Production Interval Code - Indicates the number of tubing strings and the producing or injection interval of the well. Maximum length = 3 characters. Note - Append this 3-character code to the 12-character API number, thus creating a 15-character, unique identifier for each completion.

(C) Field Name Code - Name of the field in which the well is located. (8 characters)

(D) Lease Number - The number assigned to a lease by the regulatory agency having jurisdiction over mineral activity in the territory where the lease is located. (10 characters; mask = CNNNNNBBB)

(E) Well Name - The name assigned to the well. (6 characters; mask = CCNNNC)

(F) Test Type - Indicates the type of well test conducted. (3 characters; valid codes include SEM, POT, QTR, and COM; semi-annual well tests are test type SEM)

(G) Well Test Product Code - Indicates the mineral produced during a well test. (1 character; valid codes include G and O for gas and oil, respectively)

(H) Production Method Code - Indicates the method by which the well test was conducted. (2 characters; valid codes include FL (flowing), GL (gas lift), EP (electrical pump), JP (jet pump), RP (rod pump), and UK (unknown).)

(I) Test Start Date - The date that the identified test was run. (Fixed format = 6-digit integer, YYMMDD; Comma-delimited format = 8-digit integer, YYYYMMDD)

(J) Oil 24 Hour Rate - The extrapolated volume of oil (barrels) that would be produced in a 24-hour period. (6-digit integer)

(K) Gas 24 Hour Rate - The extrapolated volume of gas (thousand cubic feet) that would be produced in a 24-hour period. Measured gas volumes shall be adjusted to the standard conditions of 14.73 psia and 60 degrees F. (6-digit integer)

(L) Water 24 Hour Rate - The extrapolated volume of water (barrels) that would be produced in a 24-hour period. (6-digit integer)

(M) Choke Size - The inside diameter of the choke (64ths of an inch) used to control a well test. (3-digit integer)

(N) Oil API Gravity - Gravity (weight per unit of volume) of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbon expressed in degrees API where a specific gravity of 1.0 is the equivalent of 10 degrees API. (4-digit real number)

(O) Flowing Tubing Pressure - The pressure (pounds per square inch gauge) recorded in the tubing during a well test while open to flow. (5-digit integer)

(P) Shut-In Pressure - The pressure (pounds per square inch gauge) exerted on the wellhead under shut-in/static well conditions. (5-digit integer) This field is required only for gas-well completions.

(Q) Line Pressure - The back pressure (pounds per square inch gauge) exerted by the pipeline during the well test. (5-digit integer) This field is required only for gas-well completions.

Attachment 5 - Form MMS-128