The regulations require that a professional engineer registered in a US state certify that the casing, cementing design, and abandonment plan is appropriate for the purpose for which it is intended under expected wellbore conditions. The engineer also certifies that the design is sufficient to satisfy the tests and requirements of 30 CFR Sections §250.420, §250.423, §250.1712, and §250.1721 as applicable to each scenario.
Additionally, a US registered professional engineer must be involved in the casing and cementing design process as well as abandonment plans. The professional engineer must have sufficient expertise and experience to perform the certification.
In addition to certifying many designs in US federal waters, PPI has also been requested to perform this service for international clients elsewhere as a “Due Diligence” operation.
Since the government regulations were imposed in 2010, PPI Quality & Engineering has performed more than 1,250 certifications for various well designs, many of which are in deep water. PPI maintains a team of experienced and technically skilled engineers for review and verification of client well design proposals as required by regulatory bodies or particular operator specifications. PPI uses a suite of proprietary software as needed to verify the casing and cement design.