1. (a) In all established fields, casing requirements shall be governed by the specific field rules for that field, and are not superseded by this section.

2. (b)

   1. (1)

      1. (A) All freshwater sands shall be fully protected by the setting and cementing of surface casing to prevent the freshwater sands from becoming contaminated with oil, gas, or salt water.
      2. (B) Surface casing shall be set and cement circulated to the surface utilizing the pump and plug method.
      3. (C) Cement shall be allowed to set a minimum of twelve (12) hours.
   2. (2) The minimum surface casing requirements for wildcat wells or wells not covered by field rules, in the counties of Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Columbia, Hempstead, Lafayette, Miller, Nevada, Ouachita, and Union, are as follows: TVD of Well Amount of Surface Casing 0’ – 3,000’ 100’ 3,001’ – 4,000’ 160’ 4,001’ – 5,000’ 300’ 5,001’ – 6,500’ 500’ 6,501’ – 7,500’ 750’ 7,501’ – 8,500’ 1,000’ 8,501’ – 10,500’ 1,250’ 10,501’ & below 1,500’
   3. (3) The minimum surface casing requirements for wildcat wells or wells not covered by field rules, in the counties of Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Madison, Pope, Scott, Sebastian, Washington, and Yell, are as follows: TVD of Well Amount of Surface Casing 0’ – 1,500’ 100’ 1,501’ – 3,000’ 200’ 3,001’ – 6,500’ 500’ 6,501’ – 10,000’ 800’ 10,001’ & below 1,000’
   4. (4) The minimum surface casing requirements for wildcat wells or wells not covered by field rules, in the counties of Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Independence, Jackson, Searcy, Stone, Van Buren, and White, shall be to a depth of five hundred feet (500’) or the top of the Paleozoic age rock sequence, whichever is greater.
   5. (5) The minimum surface casing requirements for wildcat wells or wells not covered by field rules, in the counties of Arkansas, Lonoke, Monroe, Prairie, and Woodruff, shall be to a depth of one thousand two hundred fifty feet (1,250’).
   6. (6) The minimum surface casing requirements for wildcat wells or wells not covered by field rules, in the counties of Crittenden, Cross, Lee, Phillips, and St. Francis, shall be to a depth of two thousand feet (2,000’).

3. (c)

   1. (1) A producing string of casing shall be:

      1. (A) Set at least to the top of the producing formation; and
      2. (B) Cemented so that the calculated fill, after allowing for twenty-five percent (25%) excess, will be at least two hundred fifty feet (250’) above the top of any productive interval.
   2. (2) Cementing shall be done by the pump and plug method.
   3. (3) Cement shall be allowed to set a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours before drilling the plug.

4. (d)

   1. (1) The director may grant exceptions to the above requirements if conditions exist that require more than these requirements for the purpose of safety or for the protection of freshwater sands and oil or gas bearing sands or may establish minimum surface casing requirements in future producing areas not covered by this section.

   2. (2) Director’s notice to Fayetteville Shale operators – June 1, 2015, (supersedes previous version of June 1, 2011).

      1. (A)

5. (i) Unless an exception is granted, all operators of all wells spud after May 22, 2015, or permitted on or after June 1, 2015, in Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Independence, Jackson, Searcy, Stone, Van Buren, and White counties, and Fayetteville Shale wells only in Pope County, shall comply with casing and cementing requirements based on the zone in which the well is located.

   1. (ii) Please contact the El Dorado regional office for the zone map.

      1. (B) The well casing and cementing requirements are as follows:

         1. (i) Surface casing shall be set to a depth equal to five hundred feet (500’) below the lowest ground surface elevation occurring within one (1) mile of the proposed well, with a minimum of one thousand feet (1,000’) of surface casing required to be set and cemented to surface;
         2. (ii) Production casing shall be set to at least the top of the producing formation, and cemented, such that the calculated top of cement (TOC), plus a twenty-five percent (25%) excess, shall be at a minimum of:
6. (a) (a) One hundred feet (100’) above the surface casing shoe in Zone 1;

7. (b) (b) Five hundred feet (500’) below the surface casing shoe in Zone 2; and

   1. (c) (c) One thousand five hundred feet (1,500’) below the surface casing shoe in Zone 3; and

      1. (iii)
8. (a) (a) If a gas bearing zone is encountered above the Fayetteville Shale in the subject well or in another well within a one-mile radius of the subject well, and the above cementing requirements do not result in at least two hundred fifty feet (250’) of cement placed above the shallow gas bearing zone, the TOC shall be increased to provide a minimum of two hundred fifty feet (250’) of cement above the shallower gas bearing zone.
9. (b) (b) However, the additional cementing requirements in the subject well shall not result in the production casing TOC to extend more than one hundred feet (100’) above the surface casing shoe inside the surface casing.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: "(Source: 1992 rule book; amended September 16, 2006)"