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Legal News: General Administrative Provisions applicable to the design, construction, operation and plugging of Disposal Wells

October 5, 2021 /

printable version | September 2021


On September 20, 2021, the National Agency for Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection of the Hydrocarbon Sector published, in the Official Gazette of the Federation, the General Administrative Provisions applicable to the design, construction, operation and plugging of Disposal Wells (the "Provisions"), applicable throughout the national territory, of general and mandatory observance for the Regulated Parties that carry out the final disposal of Special Handling Waste[1] in Receiving Formations[2].

The purpose of the Provisions is to establish the technical elements and requirements that must be met by those Regulated in matters of Industrial Safety, Operational Safety and environmental protection for the design, construction, operation and Plugging of Disposal Wells or, where appropriate, Conversion of Wells to Disposal Wells.

These provisions have 117 articles and 7 chapters, as follows:

  • Chapter I.- General Provisions
  • Chapter II.- Risk analysis and management
  • Chapter III.- Design of disposal wells
  • Chapter IV.- On the construction of disposal wells
  • Chapter V.- Of the injection operation
  • Chapter VI.- On the end of the injection operation
  • Chapter VII.- Supervision

The content of the publication includes the formats of the different notices and procedures.[3]to which the Provisions refer, which must be physically presented to the Agency for Safety, Energy and Environment (ASEA) while a platform is generated for their electronic presentation on the website of said Agency.

The Provisions entered into force on September 21, 2021


[1] Spent drilling fluids and drilling cuttings; as well as those that meet the criteria established in section 5 of NOM-001-ASEA-2019.

[2] Unproductive, depleted or naturally fractured hydrocarbon deposits and geological caverns.

[3] Notice of Commencement in Disposal Wells, Notice of Completion in Disposal Wells, Annual Report of Operations in Disposal Wells and Notice of Lack of Tightness in Disposal Wells.


If you require additional information, please contact the partner responsible for your matters or one of the lawyers mentioned below:

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