§ 112.11 - Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan requirements for offshore oil drilling, production, or workover facilities.

§ 112.11 Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan requirements for offshore oil drilling, production, or workover facilities.

If you are the owner or operator of an offshore oil drilling, production, or workover facility, you must:

(a) Meet the general requirements listed under § 112.7, and also meet the specific discharge prevention and containment procedures listed under this section.

(b) Use oil drainage collection equipment to prevent and control small oil discharges around pumps, glands, valves, flanges, expansion joints, hoses, drain lines, separators, treaters, tanks, and associated equipment. You must control and direct facility drains toward a central collection sump to prevent the facility from having a discharge as described in § 112.1(b). Where drains and sumps are not practicable, you must remove oil contained in collection equipment as often as necessary to prevent overflow.

(c) For facilities employing a sump system, provide adequately sized sump and drains and make available a spare pump to remove liquid from the sump and assure that oil does not escape. You must employ a regularly scheduled preventive maintenance inspection and testing program to assure reliable operation of the liquid removal system and pump start-up device. Redundant automatic sump pumps and control devices may be required on some installations.

(d) At facilities with areas where separators and treaters are equipped with dump valves which predominantly fail in the closed position and where pollution risk is high, specially equip the facility to prevent the discharge of oil. You must prevent the discharge of oil by:

(1) Extending the flare line to a diked area if the separator is near shore;

(2) Equipping the separator with a high liquid level sensor that will automatically shut in wells producing to the separator; or

(3) Installing parallel redundant dump valves.

(e) Equip atmospheric storage or surge containers with high liquid level sensing devices that activate an alarm or control the flow, or otherwise prevent discharges.

(f) Equip pressure containers with high and low pressure sensing devices that activate an alarm or control the flow.

(g) Equip containers with suitable corrosion protection.

(h) Prepare and maintain at the facility a written procedure within the Plan for inspecting and testing pollution prevention equipment and systems.

(i) Conduct testing and inspection of the pollution prevention equipment and systems at the facility on a scheduled periodic basis, commensurate with the complexity, conditions, and circumstances of the facility and any other appropriate regulations. You must use simulated discharges for testing and inspecting human and equipment pollution control and countermeasure systems.

(j) Describe in detailed records surface and subsurface well shut-in valves and devices in use at the facility for each well sufficiently to determine their method of activation or control, such as pressure differential, change in fluid or flow conditions, combination of pressure and flow, manual or remote control mechanisms.

(k) Install a BOP assembly and well control system during workover operations and before drilling below any casing string. The BOP assembly and well control system must be capable of controlling any well-head pressure that may be encountered while the BOP assembly and well control system are on the well.

(l) Equip all manifolds (headers) with check valves on individual flowlines.

(m) Equip the flowline with a high pressure sensing device and shut-in valve at the wellhead if the shut-in well pressure is greater than the working pressure of the flowline and manifold valves up to and including the header valves. Alternatively you may provide a pressure relief system for flowlines.

(n) Protect all piping appurtenant to the facility from corrosion, such as with protective coatings or cathodic protection.

(o) Adequately protect sub-marine piping appurtenant to the facility against environmental stresses and other activities such as fishing operations.

(p) Maintain sub-marine piping appurtenant to the facility in good operating condition at all times. You must periodically and according to a schedule inspect or test such piping for failures. You must document and keep a record of such inspections or tests at the facility.