Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act No. 28 of 2002)RegulationsAmendment Regulations to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Regulations, 2020Chapter 8 : Well Design and Construction102. Cement requirements and compressive tests |
| (1) | A holder must notify the designated agency at least 2 days before commencing with cementing of casing operations to enable an authorised person to be present. |
| (2) | Cementation of casing must be done by the pump and plug method with a minimum of 25% excess cement and appropriate loss circulation material, unless another amount of excess cement is approved by the designated agency. |
| (3) | Cement placed into the well bore must be cement that is manufactured to meet the standards of API "10 A Specification for cements and material for well cementing" or ASTM "C150/C150M Standard Specification for Portland Cement" and foamed cement slurry must be prepared to minimise its free water content in accordance with API "RP 10B -4 Recommended Practice On Preparation and Testing of Foamed Cement Slurries at Atmospheric Pressure." |
| (4) | A holder must conduct tests for cement mixtures for which published performance data is not available on representative samples of the basic mixture of cement and additives used, by using distilled water or potable tap water for preparing the slurry. |
| (5) | The actual water for preparing the slurry for cement mixtures for which published performance data is not available must be the distilled water or potable tap water used for testing as contemplated in subregulation (4). |
| (6) | Tests contemplated in subregulation (4) must be conducted using the equipment and procedures established in the current API "RP 10 B -2 Recommended Practice for Testing Well Cements" and API "RP 10B -4 Recommended Practice on Preparation and Testing of Foamed Cement Slurries at Atmospheric Pressure" |
| (7) | Test data showing competency of a proposed cement mixture to meet the requirements of the current API "API RP 10 B -2 Recommended Practice for Testing Well cements" must be submitted to the designated agency for approval prior to the cementing operation. |
| (8) | A holder must perform cement compressive strength tests on casing strings and if it does not conform to standards it must be redone. |
| (9) | After the cement is placed behind the casing, a holder must wait for the cement to set until the cement achieves a calculated compressive strength of at least 500psi (3447.38 kPa) before the casing is disturbed in any way, including installation of a blow-out preventer. |
| (10) | The cement must have a compressive strength of at least 1,200 psi (8273.71 kPa), and the free water separation must be no more than 6 millilitres per 250 millilitres of cement, tested in accordance with the current API TR 10TR3. |
| (11) | A holder must ensure that there is isolation of hydraulic fracturing operations from freshwater and other permeable horizons by ensuring complete cement isolation in each casing annulus. |
| (12) | A holder must, in co-operation with specialist contractors, prepare suitable programmes for cement placement operations, including monitoring of the effectiveness of placement as part of the operations planning, contingency plans and procedures to cover the possibility of a failure to meet the cementation design objectives. |
| (13) | The designated agency may, where necessary, require— |
| (a) | a specific cement mixture to be used in a well or an area if evidence of local conditions indicates that specific cement is necessary; or |
| (b) | installation of an additional cemented casing string or strings in the well. |
| (14) | A holder must run a radial cement bond evaluation log and monitor the annular pressure to verify the cement bond on all casing strings and must carry out remedial cementing if the cement bond is not adequate for drilling ahead. |
| (15) | A copy of the cement job log for a cemented casing string in the well must be maintained in the well file and be submitted to the designated agency. |
| (16) | Proposed changes to the cementation programme must be reported to the designated agency for approval before the changes are implemented except in the case of a need to prevent a possible catastrophic consequence. |
[Regulation 102 inserted by section 2 of Notice No. R. 466 dated 3 June 2015]