Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Notice of Public WorkshopsSTATE OF ALASKAALASKA OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSIONRe: Docket Number: R-26-001The Alaska Oil and Gas[...]

Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission

Notice of Public Workshops
STATE OF ALASKA
ALASKA OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION

Re: Docket Number: R-26-001

The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) will hold three public workshops to discuss potential revisions to 20 AAC 25.112, Well Plugging Requirements. The purpose of these workshops is to gather information and solicit stakeholder input on potential updates to the regulation to better reflect current industry best practices.

The AOGCC is not proposing specific regulatory changes at this time. If the AOGCC undertakes revisions to these regulations, the public will have an additional opportunity to review and comment on the proposed regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

Workshop #1: Wednesday, September 2, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Topics for discussion include:

• Additional information to be submitted with an application for well abandonment, including:

• the location of hydrocarbon-bearing, freshwater, and confining strata;
• disposal injection zone(s);
• estimated pore pressures and fracture gradients;
• the location and quality of cement within the well and the method used to determine cement tops; and
• certification by a petroleum engineer licensed in the State of Alaska.

• Requirements for remedial cementing when hydrocarbon-bearing or freshwater strata were not adequately isolated during casing and cementing operations.
• Definitions of "significant hydrocarbon-bearing stratum" and "perforated interval" consistent with AS 31.05.030(d)(3).

Workshop #2: Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Topics for discussion include:

• Requirements for rigless (through-tubing) abandonment operations, including the removal of lines external to the production tubing that could create a conduit through a plug.
• Requirements for isolation plugs across all annuli, including a plug across all annuli at the surface casing shoe.
• Methods for verifying plug placement, including:

• allowing cement quality logs as an alternative verification method;
• establishing a minimum tag weight requirement when plug verification is performed by tagging only; and
• identifying conditions under which both a pressure test and a tag would be required.

• Updates to cement requirements, including:
  • the use of API-classified cements;
  • cement placement above retainers and packers; and
  • increased cement lengths for dump-bailed plugs.

Workshop #3: Thursday, November 19, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Topics for discussion include:

• Plugging requirements for parent wells abandoned during sidetrack operations, including the use of fully cemented liners.
• Inspector witness requirements, including observation of casing cuts before top jobs and installation of marker caps.
• Alternative isolation methods, including the use of shale as a barrier where technically justified.
• New technologies and applications for well plugging.
• A variance provision allowing alternative methods that provide protection at least equivalent to the requirements of the regulation.

The workshops will be held in the AOGCC Hearing Room, 333 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska 99501. If necessary, the workshops may be conducted entirely by videoconference.

Members of the public may participate by telephone by calling (907) 202-7104.

• Workshop #1: Conference ID 248 437 619#
• Workshop #2: Conference ID 421 564 638#
• Workshop #3: Conference ID 480 235 44#

Those wishing to participate by Microsoft Teams video conference should contact Ms. Samantha Coldiron at least two business days before the scheduled workshop to request a meeting invitation.

Written comments regarding the workshop topics may be submitted to:

Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
333 West 7th Avenue
Anchorage, AK 99501

or by email to [email protected].

Written comments must be received no later than 4:30 p.m. on November 30, 2026.

Persons with disabilities who may need special accommodations to participate in a workshop or submit comments should contact Samantha Coldiron at (907) 793-1223 at least two business days before the scheduled workshop.

Please note that input provided during the workshops will be subject to inspection, copying, and distribution as public records under AS 40.25.110 - 40.25.220. Please do not include any confidential information in written or oral comments.

Thomas W. McKay Jessie L. Chmielowski Gregory C. Wilson
Chair, Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner