Drilling

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• Regulations and Onshore Oil and Gas Orders for Applications for Permit to Drill (APD)
  • Oil and Gas Operations Regulations (43 CFR 3160)
    These regulations govern operations associated with the exploration, development and production of oil and gas on Federal and Indian lands.

  • Order No. 1 - Approval of Operations
    This Order provides procedures for submitting an Application for Permit To Drill and all required approvals of subsequent well operations and other lease operations.
  • Order No. 2 - Drilling
    This Order provides requirements and standards for drilling and abandonment.
• Surface Operating Standards for Oil and Gas Exploration and Development
  Provides a link to the Gold Book on surface operating standard for oil and gas exploration and development, Standard Environmental Colors Chart, and Migratory Bird Guidance.
• Cultural Resource Surveys
  Provides guidelines on conducting cultural resource surveys.
• Additional Guidance and Instructions from the Washington Office on Applications for Permit to Drill (APD) on Federal and Indian lands.
  • Washington Office Instruction Memorandum No. 2003-152 dated April 14, 2003
    This IM discusses submission of multiple APD's on one application.
  • Washington Office Instruction Memorandum No. 2003-147 dated April 14, 2003
    This IM discusses how to address cultural resource surveys associated with the APD.
  • Washington Office Instruction Memorandum No. 2003-131 dated April 2, 2003
    This IM clarifies the APD permitting procedures on split estate land.
• Additional Manual and Handbook Guidance on Applications for Permit to Drill (APD) on Federal and Indian lands.
  • BLM Manual 3160-1
    This manual defines the Bureau of Land Management's responsibilities concerning the processing of Applications for Permit to Drill and Subsequent Operations.

  • BLM Handbook H-3160-1 - PDF Format
    This handbook supplements the manual which defines the Bureau of Land Management's responsibilities concerning the processing of Applications for Permit to Drill and Subsequent Operations.
• Sample APD for Conventional Oil and Gas Well
  This is an example of an APD package for drilling a well on federal or Indian lands. This package includes all the required information identified in Onshore Oil and Gas Order No. 1

Latest Updates

Pending APDs

Oil and Gas Operating Forms

E-Permitting

Leasing

Operations

Reservoir Management

Coal Bed Natural Gas

Geophysical Operations

NEPA/RMPs

NGPA

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