Regulations

Rules and Regulations for Oil, Gas and Solution Mining

Part
550 Promulgation and Enforcement of Rules and Regulations
551 Reports and Financial Security
552 Permits to Drill, Deepen, Plug Back or Convert Wells
553 Well Spacing
554 Drilling Practices and Reports
555 Plugging and Abandonments
556 Operating Practices
557 Secondary Recovery and Pressure Maintenance
558 Transportation
559 "Bass Island" Regulations

Part 550: Promulgation and Enforcement Of Rules and Regulations

(Statutory authority: Environmental Conservation Law, §§ 23-0305[8] [9])

[Effective date: May 28, 1985]

[page 1 of 1]

§550.1 Policy

The Department of Environmental Conservation, having been entrusted with the basic responsibility for administering to and regulating activities relative to the natural resources of oil and gas within the State, does hereby promulgate the following rules and regulations. These have been formulated after consultation with landowners, producers and other interested persons involved and a public hearing relative thereto. The rules have as their objectives:

(a) the fostering, encouragement and promotion of the development, production and utilization of the natural resources of oil and gas in such a manner as will prevent waste;

(b) the operation and development of oil and gas properties in such a manner that a greater ultimate recovery of oil and gas may be had;

(c) full protection of the correlative rights of all owners and the rights of all persons, including landowners and the general public;

(d) similar provisions for the underground storage of gas.

§550.2 Organization

(a) To carry out the functions outlined in section 550.1 of this Part, the Department of Environmental Conservation has created a Bureau of Mineral Resources.

(b) The Bureau of Mineral Resources is headed by a chief who is responsible for the administration and enforcement of all rules, regulations, orders and amendments thereof of the Department of Environmental Conservation relating to the exploration and drilling for, and production, transportation, purchase, processing and storage of oil and gas and the prevention of any pollution resulting therefrom.

(c) The chief of the Bureau of Mineral Resources shall be responsible for the directing, supervising and proper performance of the Bureau of Mineral Resources.

(d) The chief of the Bureau of Mineral Resources is aided by an assistant chief who acts in the former's absence. At those times, the assistant chief bears both the responsibilities and authorities of the chief.

(e) To carry out field responsibilities, the Bureau of Mineral Resources is organized into several regions, each headed by a regional supervisor, who acts as the chief's deputy in all relevant matters.

§550.3 Definitions

Unless the context otherwise requires, the words defined below shall have the following meaning when used in the rules, regulations, orders or amendments thereof of the Department of Environmental Conservation relative to the natural resources of oil and gas:

(a) Administrative basis shall mean an action taken by the department without first holding public hearing relative thereto.

(b) Barrel shall mean 42 U.S. gallons.

(c) Blow-out shall mean an uncontrolled, sudden or violent escape of oil or gas as from a drilling well when high formation pressure is encountered.

(d) Blow-out preventer shall mean a device attached immediately above the casing which can be closed and shut off the hole should a blow-out occur.

(e) Bridge shall mean an obstruction placed in a well at any specified depth.

(f) Brine is synonymous with salt water.

(g) Casinghead gas shall mean any gas or vapor, or both gas and vapor, indigenous to an oil stratum and produced from such stratum with oil.

(h) Chief shall mean the chief of the Bureau of Mineral Resources of the Department of Environmental Conservation.

(i) Common reservoir is synonymous with pool.

(j) Completion date shall mean that date when a well is first capable of producing oil or gas into tanks or pipelines, or in the case of a dry hole, the date on which plugging is completed.

(k) Condensate shall mean liquid hydrocarbons that were originally in the gaseous phase in the reservoir and liquids recovered by surface separation from natural gas.

(l) Converting shall mean any operation whereby the status of a well is changed from producing to input or vice versa.

(m) Cubic foot of gas shall mean the volume of gas contained in one cubic foot of space at a standard pressure and temperature base. The standard pressure base for the application of these rules and regulations shall be 14.73 pounds per square inch absolute and the standard temperature base shall be 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

(n) Day shall mean a period of 24 consecutive hours.

(o) Department shall mean the Department of Environmental Conservation.

(p) Field shall mean the general area underlaid by one or more pools.

(q) Gas shall mean all natural gas, manufactured, mixed and by-product gas, and all other hydrocarbons not herein defined as oil or condensate.

(r) Gas-oil ratio shall mean the ratio of the volume of gas produced in standard cubic feet to each barrel of oil produced concurrently during any stated period.

(s) Input well shall mean any well drilled, deepened, plugged back or converted in any pool, or underground stratum or horizon for the purpose of injecting, disposing or storing fluids or gaseous substances.

(t) Intake well is synonymous with input well.

(u) Lease shall mean a tract or tracts of land which by virtue of an oil and gas lease, fee or mineral ownership, a drilling, pooling or other agreement, a rule, regulation, order or amendment thereof of a governmental authority, or otherwise, constitutes a single tract or leasehold estate for the purpose of the development or operation thereof for oil or gas or both.

(v) Mouse hole shall mean any shallow service hole dug in connection with the drilling of a well for the purpose of holding joints of drill pipe or other tubular goods to facilitate the connection of successive joints thereof.

(w) Multiple completion shall mean a mechanical arrangement permitting the segregated injection and/or production into or from two or more pools or zones through a single well bore.

(x) Native oil and gas shall mean the total volume of oil and gas indigenous to and still remaining in the storage reservoir at the time injection of extraneous gas is started. This includes the volume of both commercially recoverable native oil or gas, if any, and commercially unrecoverable native oil or gas within the storage reservoir.

(y) Offset operator as applied to any lease or lands in these rules shall mean the owner or operator of a lease or lands touching, adjacent or contiguous to such lease or lands.

(z) Oil shall mean crude petroleum oil and all other hydrocarbons, regardless of gravity, that are produced at the wellhead in liquid form by ordinary production methods and that are not the result of condensation of gas.

(aa) Oil and gas shall mean oil or gas or both.

(ab) Operator shall mean any person who is in charge of the development of a lease or the operation of a producing well.

(ac) Outside casing shall mean a string of casing within which is contained another string of casing extending to the surface.

(ad) Owner shall mean any person who has the right to drill into and produce from a pool and to appropriate the oil or gas he produces therefrom either for himself or others or for himself and others.

(ae) Person shall mean and include any natural person, corporation, association, partnership, receiver, trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, fiduciary, or other representative of any kind, and includes any department, agency, or instrumentality of the State or any governmental subdivision thereof. The masculine gender, in referring to a person, includes the feminine and the neuter genders.

(af) Plugging and abandoning shall mean the permanent abandonment of a well bore including the placing of all bridges, plugs and fluids therein and the restoration of the surface in the immediate vicinity to a reasonable condition comparable with the adjacent terrain.

(ag) Pollution shall mean the throwing, discharging, draining, running, flowing, or pumping of any organic or inorganic materials onto the surface lands or waters or into subsurface waters in such volume or manner as to make these lands and waters unfit for human or animal consumption or usage.

(ah) Pool shall mean an underground reservoir containing a common accumulation of oil and gas or both. Thus each zone of a structure which is completely separated from any other zone in the same structure is a pool.

(ai) Potable fresh water shall mean any water containing less than 250 parts per million of sodium chloride or 1,000 parts per million of total dissolved solids. (aj) Potential shall mean the actual or computed volume of oil or gas that a well can produce in a day as determined by a test made in conformity with methods acceptable to the department.

(ak) Pressure maintenance shall mean the injection of gas, water or other fluids into oil or gas reservoirs to maintain pressure or retard pressure decline in the reservoir for the purpose of increasing the recovery of oil or other hydrocarbons therefrom.

(al) Producer shall mean the owner of a well or wells capable of producing oil or gas or both.

(am) Producing well shall mean any well capable of the production of oil or gas or both.

(an) Product shall mean any commodity made from oil or gas, and includes refined oil, crude tops, topped crude, processed crude, processed crude petroleum, residue from crude petroleum, cracking stock, uncracked fuel oil, fuel oil, treated crude oil, residuum, gas oil, casinghead gasoline, natural-gas gasoline, kerosene, benzine, wash oil, waste oil, blended gasoline, lubricating oils, blends or mixtures of oil with one or more liquid products or by-products derived from oil or gas, and blends or mixtures of two or more liquid products or by-products derived from oil, or gas, whether enumerated herein or not.

(ao) Protect correlative rights shall mean that the action or regulation by the department should afford a reasonable opportunity to each person entitled thereto to recover or receive the oil or gas beneath his tract or tracts or the equivalent thereof without being required to drill unnecessary wells or to incur other unnecessary expense to recover or receive such oil or gas or its equivalent.

(ap) Proved oil or gas land shall mean that area which has been shown by development or geological information to be such that additional wells drilled thereon are reasonably certain to be commercially productive of oil or gas, or both.

(aq) Purchaser shall mean any person who directly or indirectly purchases or takes production for his account.

(ar) Rat hole shall mean any shallow service hole dug in connection with the drilling of a well to hold the kelly, drive stem, grief stem, bit, bailer or other related drilling equipment.

(as) Rules and regulations shall mean the body of rules, regulations, orders and amendments thereof promulgated by the department, either on an administrative basis or after public hearing, in carrying out its function of administering to and regulating activities relative to the natural resources of oil and gas.

(at) Salt water shall mean any water containing more than 250 parts per million of sodium chloride or 1,000 parts per million of total dissolved solids.

(au) Surface casing shall mean casing extending from the surface through the potable fresh water zone.

(av) Temporary abandonment shall mean the discontinuation of operations on or the closing in of a well not produced on a commercial basis without conducting plugging and abandoning operations.

(aw) Unit shall mean two or more leases which have been combined in such a manner that the combined leases may be regarded as a common lease.

(ax) Waste shall mean:

(1) physical waste, as that term is generally understood in the oil and gas industry;

(2) the inefficient, excessive, or improper use of, or the unnecessary dissipation of reservoir energy;

(3) the locating, spacing, drilling, equipping, operating, or producing of any oil or gas well or wells in a manner which causes, or tends to cause, reduction in the quantity of oil or gas ultimately recoverable from a pool under prudent and proper operations, or which causes or tends to cause unnecessary or excessive surface loss or destruction of oil or gas;

(4) the inefficient storing of oil or gas;

(5) the flaring of gas produced from an oil or condensate well after the department has found that the utilization thereof, on terms that are just and reasonable is, or will be within a reasonable time, economically feasible.

(ay) Water flooding shall mean the injection of water into a pool or reservoir through one or several wells of volumes of water for the purpose of increasing the recovery of oil therefrom.

(az) Well log shall mean the written record progressively describing the strata and any oil, gas or water encountered in drilling the well together with such additional information as volumes, pressures, rate of fill up, water depths, caving strata, casing record, etc., as is usually recorded in the normal procedure of drilling. The term shall include, if taken or performed, any electrical or other surveys and the details of all cores, and all drill stem tests, including depth tested, cushion used, significant time intervals, flowing and shut-in pressures, and recoveries.

(ba) Wildcat well shall mean a well drilled to discover a previously unknown pool or a well drilled one mile or more from a producing well. The term shall include the well commonly designated in industry as a core hole or strat test.

§550.4 Hearings and emergency orders

(a) Except as hereinafter provided, the department will promulgate no rule, regulation, order or amendment thereof, except in an emergency, without a public hearing upon at least 10 days notice, exclusive of the date of the service.

(b) The public hearing shall be held at such time and place as may be prescribed by the department. The hearing shall be conducted by the director or such of his staff as he shall designate. Testimony shall be under oath. The proceedings of all such hearings shall be recorded by a reporter designated by the department and a transcript of same shall be prepared and filed by such reporter as a part of the department's records. Alternatively, the proceedings may be recorded by tape or other mechanical device with the recording or a written transcript thereof forming the department record.

(c) The notice of hearing, which may be by personal service, newspaper publication or by mail, will specify the purpose, style and number of the proceedings, as well as the time and place of the hearing.

(d) In calling a hearing, the department may act upon its own motion or upon the application of any interested person, with hearings called in the latter instance to be scheduled without undue delay.

(e) The department will make its ruling within 60 days after the conclusion of any hearing.

(f) Except as hereinafter provided, unless there is a significant indication of changed conditions, the department will not hold a hearing on any matter which has already been the subject of a prior hearing.

(g) The department may further enter an emergency order without notice or hearing where it is demonstrated that immediate action is necessary to prevent waste, pollution or to protect correlative rights. No emergency order shall be effective for more than 15 days.

§550.5 Access to properties and records

(a) The department, including its employees, agents and representatives, shall have the right at all reasonable times to go upon or into and inspect any oil and gas property, tank farm, pump station, pipeline, gasoline plant, refinery and underground gas storage project for the purpose of making any investigation or tests to ascertain whether the provisions of the rules and regulations of the department are being complied with.

(b) The department, including its employees, agents and representatives, shall further have access at all reasonable times to all well records, wherever located, and shall be permitted entrance upon or into any lease or property for the purpose of inspection of the records of wells. If so requested by the owner or operator, information so obtained shall not be specifically disclosed to any persons other than employees, agents and representatives of the department, but may be used in any legal or official proceedings to which the department is a party, either directly, or as an advisor to another State or Federal agency.

§550.6 Offenses and penalties

Violations, evasions, falsifications, omissions, destructions, alterations, mutilations, and such other offenses as may be proved in connection with the rules, regulations, orders or amendments thereof of the department shall be punishable by fine and/or imprisonment as well as being subject to such civil penalties as are provided by law.

§550.7 Scope of rules

(a) The following rules and the forms referred to therein (including the instructions on said forms) shall be statewide in application unless otherwise specifically stated.

(b) Special rules pertaining to specific pools, fields, or areas will be issued when required and shall prevail over the statewide rules if in conflict therewith.

Part 551: Reports and Financial Security

(Statutory authority: Environmental Conservation Law, §§ 23-0305[8] [9])

[Effective date: May 28, 1985]

[page 1 of 1]

§551.1 Organizational reports

(a) Each person who is a principal or acts as an agent for another in any of the following activities within the State must file with the department an organizational report on a form the department prescribes:

(1) solution mining;

(2) drilling oil, gas, or solution mining wells;

(3) the production in the State oil and gas;

(4) the first purchase of oil and gas produced in the State;

(5) the storage in the State of gas;

(6) the practice of well abandonments and salvage of oil and gas subsurface equipment; or

(7) the first transportation of oil and gas produced in the State.

(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c) of this section, any person required to file an organizational report must file a new organizational report showing the new organizational information within 30 calendar days of the occurrence of the change of any fact stated on the most recent organizational report.

(c) Any corporation listed on the New York or American Stock Exchange must update its organizational report annually no later than March 31st.

(d) Any person required to file an organizational report must notify the department in writing within 30 calendar days of cessation or termination of his activities in the State that necessitated the filing of the report. A person ceasing or terminating activities relating to solution mining or to the production in the State of oil and gas must submit with that notification a list of all wells in the State of which that person at any time had an interest as owner that have not been plugged and abandoned to the satisfaction of the department in accordance with Part 555 of this Title, identifying each by well identification number and production status (e.g., producing, shut-in, injection, disposal, etc.) and providing the name and complete mailing address of each unplugged well's new owner and the date of transfer.

§551.2 Production and purchase reports

(a) Each person who first produces, sells, purchases, acquires, stores or transports oil and gas produced in the State must keep and maintain complete and accurate records of the amounts thereof. These records must be retained for five calendar years after the calendar year to which they pertain. True copies or duplicates must be kept or made available within the State for examination by the department at all reasonable times.

(b) Each person who first produces, sells or purchases oil and gas produced in the State and the operator of each gas storage facility in the State must file with the department on a form the department prescribes a statement of the oil and gas produced, sold, purchased or stored. The information contained in this statement must be compiled on a calendar year basis and must be filed no later than March 31st next following the close of the calendar year, unless the department requires otherwise.

(c) (1) All records or reports and any information obtained under the provisions of this section are only for the confidential use of the department and other departments, agencies, and officers of the State government until six months after the period to which those records or reports apply, unless the person furnishing them expressly agrees to an earlier publication or availability to the general public.

(2) The provisions of this subdivision shall not be construed to prevent the use of those records, reports or information by any department, agency or officer of the State government in compiling or publishing analyses or summaries relating to the general condition of the industry, the economy or the condition of the natural resources of the State, provided that those analyses or summaries do not involve the publication of records, reports or information relating to a single firm or business enterprise.

§551.3 Other reports

The following are other reports an owner or operator may have to file and their location in Subchapter B of Chapter V of this Title:

(a) completion report: 554.7;

(b) gas-oil ratio report: 556.1;

(d) plugging report: 555.5; and

(e) secondary recovery and pressure maintenance report: 557.4.

§551.4 Financial security: generally

(a) The owner of an oil and gas well or of a solution mining well must file with the department and continuously keep in force financial security payable to the department to guarantee the performance of his or her well plugging and abandoning obligations under Part 555 of this Title. The owner may keep in force financial security in excess of that required. Financial security filed and maintained with the department for solution mining wells cannot also be used to satisfy the financial security requirements for oil and gas wells under this Part. A general partner of a partnership or of a limited partnership that is the owner of such a well may, on behalf of that partnership or limited partnership, file and continuously keep in force the financial security to satisfy the financial security requirements pertaining to that partnership or limited partnership.

(b) Financial security requirements must be satisfied by filing:

(1) a surety bond in favor of the State on a form the department prescribes from a corporate surety authorized to do business as such in the State; or

(2) a personal bond in favor of the State accompanied by an irrevocable letter of credit from a financial institution authorized to do business in the State; or (3) any other comparable financial security that the department accepts.

(c) The owner of a well required to file financial security must continuously maintain that financial security with the department until:

(1) a subsequent owner has filed financial security acceptable to the department and the department has approved the transfer to the subsequent owner; or

(2) the well giving rise to the financial security requirement has been plugged and abandoned to the satisfaction of the department in accordance with Part 555 of this Title.

§551.5 Amount of financial security: wells up to 6,000 feet deep

(a) Except for gas wells drilled into lands under the waters of Lake Erie, for wells less than 6,000 feet in depth for which the department issued or is processing for issuance on or after October 1, 1963, permits to drill those wells or issued on or after June 5, 1973 acknowledgments of the notices of intention to drill those wells, the amount of financial security required is:

(1) for wells less than 2,500 feet in depth:

(i) for 1 to 25 wells, $2,500 per well, not exceeding $25,000;

(ii) for 26 to 50 wells, $25,000, plus $2,500 per well in excess of 25 wells, not exceeding $40,000; (iii) for 51 to 100 wells, $40,000, plus $2,500 per well in excess of 50 wells, not exceeding $70,000; or

(iv) for over 100 wells, $70,000, plus $2,500 per well in excess of 100 wells, not exceeding $100,000.

(2) for wells between 2,500 feet and 6,000 feet in depth:

(i) for 1 to 25 wells, $5,000 per well, not exceeding $40,000;

(ii) for 26 to 50 wells, $40,000, plus $5,000 per well in excess of 25 wells, not exceeding $60,000;

(iii) for 51 to 100 wells, $60,000, plus $5,000 per well in excess of 50 wells, not exceeding $100,000; or

(iv) for over 100 wells, $100,000, plus $5,000 per well in excess of 100 wells, not exceeding $150,000.

(b) If an owner has a well or wells that are less than 2,500 feet in depth and has another well or other wells that are between 2,500 feet and 6,000 feet in depth, instead of providing financial security under the provisions of each paragraph in subdivision (a) of this section, that owner may file financial security as if all of those wells were between 2,500 feet and 6,000 feet in depth.

§551.6 Amount of well financial security: wells over 6,000 feet deep

The owner of an oil and gas or solution mining well that exceeds or that is expected to exceed 6,000 feet in depth must file financial security for that well in an amount based upon the anticipated costs of plugging and abandoning that well to the satisfaction of the department in accordance with Part 555 of this Title, up to $250,000. However, the owner is not required to file financial security under this section exceeding $2,000,000, regardless of the number of wells described in this section that the owner may have.

§551.7 Well salvagers

Each person who acts as an agent for another in the practice of well abandonments and salvage of oil and gas field subsurface equipment must file with the department and continuously keep in force financial security in the amount of $15,000 to ensure the satisfactory plugging and abandoning of wells to the satisfaction of the department in accordance with Part 555 of this Title.

Part 552: Permits To Drill, Deepen, Plug Back Or Convert Wells

(Statutory authority: Environmental Conservation Law, §§ 23-0301, 23-0305[8], 23-0501)

[Effective date: May 1, 1972]

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§552.1 Application and fee

(a) It shall be unlawful for any owner or operator to commence operations to drill, deepen, plug back or convert a well for exploration, production, input, storage or disposal until he has filed an application with the department and has received a permit as specified below. This application shall not be required for deepening or plug back operations to be conducted exclusively within the producing horizon of a pool.

(b) Each copy of the application must be accompanied by a neat, legible plat which has been certified as to correctness by a licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer. The plat must be drawn to scale and show the boundaries of the lease or unit containing the well, the distance in feet from the well to the two nearest boundaries, the distance in feet from the well to the nearest well completed in the objective pool (if same is within one mile) and the distance in feet from the well to the nearest producing well (if same is within one mile). Both of the latter two distances may be obtained by scaling from a map, stadia measurements, pacing, odometer or other reasonably accurate means. However, if the distance between the well and the nearest well completed in the objective pool is such that there is a possibility of violation of the spacing requirements of sections 553.1 or 553.3, the distance between the well and the nearest well completed in the objective pool shall be measured accurately on the ground. The plat also must have indicated thereon the latitude and longitude of the well and the scaled distances in feet in east-west and north-south directions from the nearest corner of the United States Geological Survey topographical map upon which the well location is situated, with the topographical map being identified by title, date and as to whether seven and one-half minute or 15 minute coverage.

§552.2 Issuance of permit

(a) Upon determination that the application is in order and that the appropriate plugging bond is in force or proof of financial responsibility has been established as provided in section 551.3, the department shall issue as expeditiously as possible a permit to the owner or operator utilizing form OG9.

(b) During the period while operations are in progress, the permit must be posted in a prominent place at the well site so as to be clearly visible and legible at all times.

(c) If the operations for which the permit is granted have not commenced and been pursued in a diligent manner within 180 days from the date of issuance of the permit, said permit shall expire.

(d) If prior to the commencement of operations, spacing unit are applied for or are pending, the department may suspend the permit. After a decision relative to spacing units, the suspended permit either will be cancelled by the department and the fee refunded, or will be reinstated with the time while in suspension not charged against the 180-day permit period.

(e) Under unusual or emergency circumstances, or for other good cause, the department may permit the commencement of operations by verbal authority of the director prior to the issuance of a formal permit.

§552.3 Reissuance of permit

(a) A permit shall not be transferable but may be reissued as a new permit for any other location if prior to the commencement of operations the owner or operator to whom the permit originally was issued submits, all in triplicate, a letter advising of the location change, another application completely filled out, and the appropriate plat showing the new location. Reissuance of the permit, without additional fee, shall be made by the department after determination that the application is in order and that the appropriate plugging bond is in force or proof of financial responsibility has been established as provided in section 551.3 of this Title.

(b) A new permit shall not be required for a revised location which has been moved no more than 75 feet from the original location as a result of surface obstructions or topography. The owner or operator is required, however, to advise the department by triplicate letter of any such minor changes as were made in location within five days after the commencement of operations.

(c) A permit also may be reissued as a new permit to any other owner or operator without additional fee if prior to the completion of the planned operations, the owner or operator to whom the permit originally was issued disposes of his interest in the well and the other owner or operator takes charge of the operations. To effect this change, the owner or operator to whom the permit originally was issued must submit in triplicate a written statement to the department setting forth the facts and requesting that the permit be reissued to the person who will conduct the operations. Before a permit shall be reissued, the owner or operator who has assumed responsibility for the operation must submit in triplicate a written statement setting forth that he has taken charge of the well and will assume full responsibility for its plugging in conformity with the rules, regulations, orders and amendments thereof issued by the department. Reissuance of the permit, without additional fee, shall be made by the department after determination that all is in order and the new owner or operator has furnished both the required organizational report and a satisfactory plugging bond or proof of financial responsibility as provided in section 551.3 of this Title.

§552.4 Permit in mining areas

(a) Persons engaged in underground mining operations or having underground mining rights are entitled to receive notice of the commencement of any phase of oil or gas well operations which may affect the safety of such underground mining operations or of the mining properties involved. To receive such notice, the department must be advised of the existence and location of such underground mining properties and mining rights. The advisal must be in the form of a plat showing the location of the properties and rights together with a listing of the names and addresses of all owners, lessees and operators thereof.

(b) Upon receipt of an application for permit to drill, deepen, plug back or convert a well which is determined to be located within 660 feet of any known underground mining property or mining rights, the department will advise the applying well owner or operator of the names of all owners, lessees or operators of any such known mining properties if such persons are known and have so registered with the department, and will identify the mining properties involved. The department then will suspend processing of the application until receipt from the operator of a resume of the planned operations insofar as they pertain to the protection of any known or anticipated mining operations.

(c) Upon receipt of the resume of the planned operations discussed in subdivision (b) of this section, the department will advise all owners, lessees or operators thereof who have listed with the department as provided in subdivision (a) of this section of the receipt of the application for permit for a well located within 660 feet of the known underground mining property or mining rights. Accompanying this advisal will be the resume of the planned operations insofar as they pertain to the protection of any known or anticipated mining operations. If no objections by the owners, lessees or operators of the underground mining properties or rights to the well location or operations are made known in writing to the department within 10 days from mailing of notice, and the application is otherwise in order, the permit will be granted.

(d) The notification to the owners, lessees or operators of the underground mining properties or rights and compulsory 10-day waiting period discussed in subdivision (c) of this section will not be required if the resume of planned operations is accompanied by written consent of all owners, lessees, or operators of the underground mining properties or rights to the planned location and operations insofar as they pertain to the protection of any known or anticipated mining operations.

(e) In the event that objection to the location or planned operations insofar as they pertain to the protection of any known or anticipated mining operations is made by the owners, lessees or operators of the underground mining properties or rights within 10 days from mailing of notice, the department shall promptly schedule a public hearing to facilitate a decision on the application.

Part 553: Well Spacing

(Statutory authority: Environmental Conservation Law, §§ 23-0301, 23-0305[8], 23-0501)

[Effective date: May 1, 1972]

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§553.1 Statewide spacing

(a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section and absent a department order establishing spacing units, a well drilled, deepened, plugged back, or converted for the production of oil and gas cannot be located less than 660 feet from any boundary line of the lease, integrated leases or unit and cannot be closer than 1,320 feet from any other oil and gas well in the same pool.

(b) Absent a department order establishing spacing units, a well which is on a lease, integrated leases, or unit having as one of its boundary lines the New York/Pennsylvania border may not be drilled, deepened, plugged back, or converted for the production of oil and gas within 330 feet of that border.

(c) Oil wells located in oil fields or pools that were discovered, developed, and operated before January 1, 1981, are not subject to the provisions of this section.

§553.2 Surface restrictions

No well shall be located nearer than 100 feet from any inhabited private dwelling house without written consent of the owner; nearer than 150 feet from any public building or area which may be used as a place of resort, assembly, education, entertainment, lodging, trade, manufacture, repair, storage, traffic or occupancy by the public; nearer than 75 feet to the traveled part of any State, county, township, or municipal road or any public street, road or highway; or nearer than 50 feet from any public stream, river or other body of water. This regulation, which is adopted in the interest of public safety, does not apply to a building or structure which is incident to agricultural use of the land on which it is located, unless such building is used as a private dwelling house or in the business of retail trade.

§553.3 Spacing units

(a) To promote effective development, use, or conservation of the natural resources of oil and gas, an order establishing well spacing may be promulgated by the department.

(b) Prior to promulgation of any spacing order, a public hearing on the matter will be conducted by the department acting either on its own motion or upon receipt of an application therefor from any interested owner or operator.

(c) Any application for a spacing order shall be made in writing and should include any information the applying owner or operator deems relevant to the following factors which the department will consider in deciding upon a spacing order:

(1) the lease and unit boundaries of the lands underlaid by the pool;

(2) the plan of well spacing currently being employed and that proposed for the pool;

(3) the depth at which production from said pool has been found;

(4) the nature and character of the stratum containing the pool and the fluids contained therein;

(5) an estimate of the maximum area which may be drained efficiently and economically by one well;

(6) any other available information pertaining to said pool which may be of probative value to the department in determining the proper spacing therefor, with due and relative allowance for protection of correlative rights and prevention of waste.

(d) The application shall be accompanied by a neat, legible plat drawn to scale which shows the area for which the spacing order is proposed. When known and relevant, the plat should include well locations and lease and unit boundaries.

(e) After promulgation, any spacing order for a pool will supersede for that pool the state-wide spacing provisions of section 553.1 of this Part.

§553.4 Exceptions

Where in its opinion there exists good and sufficient reason to permit an exception to the well spacing provisions of sections 553.1, 553.2 and 553.3, the department may permit reasonable well location exceptions which will protect correlative rights and prevent waste. Any application for such an exception shall be made in writing in triplicate as a separate attachment to the application for permit as outlined in section 552.1 and shall set forth in ample detail the reason or reasons for such exception request. Upon receipt of this exception request, the department shall promptly schedule a public hearing to facilitate a decision on the application. When a location exception is granted, the department may adjust the production from such well or take such other action as it may deem necessary for the protection of correlative rights or to prevent waste.

Part 554: Drilling Practices and Reports

(Statutory authority: Environmental Conservation Law, §§ 23-0301, 23-0305[8])

[Effective date: May 1, 1972]

[page 1 of 1]

§554.1 Prevention of pollution and migration

(a) The drilling, casing and completion program adopted for any well shall be such as to prevent pollution.

(b) Pollution of the land and/or of surface or ground fresh water resulting from exploration or drilling is prohibited.

(c) (1) Prior to the issuance of a well-drilling permit for any operation in which the probability exists that brine, salt water or other polluting fluids will be produced or obtained during drilling operations in sufficient quantities to be deleterious to the surrounding environment, the operator must submit and receive approval for a plan for the environmentally safe and proper ultimate disposal of such fluids. For purposes of this subdivision, drilling muds are not considered to be polluting fluids. Before requesting a plan for disposal of such fluids, the department will take into consideration the known geology of the area, the sensitivity of the surrounding environment to the polluting fluids and the history of any other drilling operations in the area. Depending on the method of disposal chosen by the applicant, a permit for discharge and/or disposal may be required by the department in addition to the well-drilling permit. An applicant may also be required to submit an acceptable contingency plan, the use of which shall be required if the primary plan is unsafe or impracticable at the time of disposal.

(2) Brine or salt water may be temporarily stored prior to disposal in any watertight tank, container or an earthen pit which is underlaid by soil such as heavy clay or hardpan. Impounding of brine or salt water in an earthen pit is prohibited where the soil underlying the pit is porous and/or is closely underlaid by a gravel, rock or sand stratum unless the pit is lined with watertight material. The tank, container or earthen pit shall be constructed and maintained so as to prevent escape of any fluids therefrom, including any amounts that may be added by natural precipitation.

(3) Storage of brine, salt water or other polluting fluids in such watertight tanks or earthen pits, prior to disposal, shall be for a maximum of 45 days after cessation of drilling operations, unless the department approves an extension based on circumstances beyond the operator's control. The department may also approve an extension if the fluid is to be used in subsequent operations according to the submitted plan, and the department has inspected and approved the storage facilities.

(d) Except as hereinafter provided, sufficient surface casing shall be run in all wells to extend below the deepest potable fresh water level.

(e) The drilling, casing and completion program adopted for any well shall be such as to prevent the migration of oil, gas or other fluids from one pool or stratum to another.

(f) The drilling, casing and completion program adopted for any well shall be such as to exclude oil, gas or other fluids from any underground mining properties or rights and to protect them in accordance with prudent operations.

§554.2 Commencement of operations

The regional headquarters administering to the county in which the well is located shall be notified in writing or by telegram at or prior to the start of actual drilling operations.

§554.3 Cable tool drilling practices

(a) On all wells where cable tools are employed, the surface casing shall be tested by bailing to insure a shutoff before drilling below the casing point proceeds.

(b) Wellhead connections adequate to control blowouts will be employed.

(c) Any oil or gas encountered above the ultimate objective in sufficient quantities as to constitute a hazard or waste if permitted to escape must be shut off before drilling proceeds deeper. Shutoff may be accomplished either by mudding, cementation or by the running of a string of casing. The hole must be tested by bailing to insure shutoff before drilling is resumed.

§554.4 Rotary tool drilling practices

(a) On all wells where rotary tools are employed, and the subsurface formations and pressures to be encountered have been reasonably well established by prior drilling experience, the operator shall have the option of either running surface casing as provided in section 554.1(b) of this Part or of cementing the production casing from below the deepest potable fresh water level to the surface. In areas where the subsurface formations and pressures to be encountered are unknown or uncertain, surface casing shall be run as provided in section 554.1(b) of this Part.

(b) When surface casing is utilized, it shall be cemented by the pump and plug or displacement method with sufficient cement to circulate to the top of the hole. Drilling shall not be resumed until the cement has been permitted to set in accordance with prudent current industry practices.

(c) In areas where the subsurface formations and pressures have been reasonably well established by prior drilling experience, the use of blowout equipment shall be in accordance with the established local practice. In areas where the subsurface formations and pressures are unknown or uncertain, all rotary drilled wells shall be equipped with blowout equipment maintained in good working condition at all times as follows:

(1) a master gate valve or its equivalent;

(2) a blowout preventer;

(3) a flowline equipped with a shutoff valve of adequate size and working pressure.

(d) If it is elected to complete a rotary-drilled well and production casing is run, it shall be cemented by a pump and plug or displacement method with sufficient cement to circulate above the top of the completion zone to a height sufficient to prevent any movement of oil or gas or other fluids around the exterior of the production casing. In such instance, operations shall be suspended until the cement has been permitted to set in accordance with prudent current industry practices.

§554.5 Deviation

(a) The maximum point at which a well penetrates a producing formation shall not vary unreasonably from the vertical drawn from the center of the hole at the surface. Minor deviations will be permitted, however, without special permission for short distances, to straighten the hole, to sidetrack junk, or to correct other mechanical difficulties.

(b) If for any reason the department feels that a well has been deviated excessively, it shall have the right to require the operator to have a complete angular deviation and directional survey made in the well by an approved well surveying company and certified as to correctness at the operator's sole cost, risk and expense. In the event the survey reveals any unreasonable violations of the applicable well location or spacing regulations, the department may either require the excessively deviated well to be redrilled or to be plugged and abandoned at the option of the operator.

(c) Any owner or operator so desiring, also may petition the department for permission to have an angular deviation and directional survey made in any wells on leases or units offsetting the leases or units of the interested owner or operator. If after public hearing on the petition, the department feels the request is justified, and the petitioner has deposited good and sufficient security or bond, the department may issue an order authorizing the survey to be made by an approved well surveying company and certified as to correctness at the sole cost, risk and expense of the petitioner. In the event the survey reveals an unreasonable violation of the applicable well location or spacing requirements, the department then will assess all the costs of the survey to the violator and may either require any excessively deviated well to be redrilled or to be plugged and abandoned at the option of its operator.

(d) Controlled directional drilling also shall be permitted upon the approval of the department. Any operator desiring to intentionally deviate a well from the vertical shall first make written application to the department. The application, which shall be in addition to the permit application as provided in section 552.1, must contain the following information:

(1) names of the county, field or area, pool and lease and well number;

(2) description of the surface location and of the target bottomhole location in feet from the two nearest lease boundaries;

(3) reason for the proposed intentional deviation;

(4) names and addresses of the offsetting operators and a statement that each has been sent a copy of the application by registered mail, and the date of such mailing.

(e) The application must be accompanied by a neat, legible plat drawn to scale which shows the well, all offsetting leases and the wells located thereon, the pool in which they are completed, and the names of the offsetting operators.

(f) Concurrently with the filing with the department of the application to intentionally deviate the well, the applicant must send a copy of said application and accompanying plat or plats by registered mail to the operators of all leases or units offsetting the lease or unit on which the well is to be drilled.

(g) Upon receipt of the application to intentionally deviate the well, the department will hold same for 10 days. If within said 10-day period any offset operator reciting reasonable cause, shall file in writing with the department a protest to such intentional deviation, or if the department is not in accord with the proposed deviation, the application shall be scheduled for public hearing. If no objection from either an offset operator or the department is interposed within the 10-day period, and all other things being in order, the application shall be approved and written permission for the intentional deviation shall be issued by the department. The compulsory 10-day waiting period shall not be required if the application for permission to intentionally deviate the well is accompanied by the written consent of the operators of all leases or units offsetting the lease or unit containing the well proposed for deviation.

(h) Within 30 days after the completion of an intentionally deviated well, a complete angular deviation and directional survey of the well obtained by an approved well surveying company and certified as to correctness shall be filed with the department.

§554.6 Multiple completion

(a) It shall be unlawful for any owner or operator to commingle the production from two or more pools prior to the metering or measurement thereof unless specific permission for such commingling has been granted by the department. Said permission may be granted on an administrative basis or after public hearing at the discretion of the department.

(b) For any well in which a multiple completion has been effected, the completion report shall contain relevant supplemental information as specified in section 554.7 (c) of this Part.

(c) Upon request by the department, any well in which a multiple completion has been effected shall be tested at any reasonable time to demonstrate the effectiveness of the separation of the pools, such tests to be witnessed by representatives of the department and any offset operators so desiring.

§554.7 Completion reports, well logs and samples

(a) Within 30 days after the completion of any well, a completion report utilizing form OG10 shall be filed in triplicate by the owner or operator with the department summarizing thereon the completion details.

(b) Each copy of the completion report on form OG10 also shall be accompanied by a well log and such other information as the department may specifically require. The measurement datum for the well log and all other measurements in connection with the well shall be clearly specified. The well log also must show the elevation in feet of the measurement datum with respect to mean sea level.

(c) In the event a multiple completion has been effected in a well, each copy of the completion report on form OG10 also shall be accompanied by a diagrammatic sketch of the multiple completion installation and a written resume of the procedures and equipment employed in effecting the completion and testing to insure separation of the pools.

(d) The operator also may be required to provide up to two sets of bagged and labeled drill cutting samples upon request of the department. If these are to be required, the operator will be so advised at the time the permit on form OG9 is issued. The samples are to be washed unless the well is drilled with rotary tools using air or gas as to the drilling fluid.

(e) If so requested by the owner or operator, the information contained in the completion report and well log and the drill cutting samples shall be only for the confidential use of the department and the Geological Survey of the State Museum and Science Service of the New York State Department of Education until one year after the date of commencement of operations for the well so involved. Upon receipt of successive petitions from the owner or operator, and the demonstration of continued sufficient good cause, the confidential period may be extended for one or more additional periods of one year in length up to a maximum total confidential period of five years.

§554.8 Applicability to other operation

In addition to being applicable to newly drilled wells, the applicable provisions of all of the foregoing sections of Part 554 shall be in effect for all deepening, plug back and conversion operations except for deepening or plug back operations to be conducted exclusively within the producing horizon of a pool and for which no application for permit under section 552.1 shall have been required.

Part 555: Plugging and Abandonment

(Statutory authority: Environmental Conservation Law, §§ 23-0301, 23-0305[8])

[Effective date: May 1,1972]

[page 1 of 1]

§555.1 Policy

It shall be unlawful for any owner or operator to abandon any well, wells or lease without having plugged and abandoned such well or wells and effected surface restoration in the manner prescribed herein.

§555.2 Shut-in wells

(a) It shall be unlawful for the owner or operator thereof to shut in a well capable of being produced on a commercial basis for more than one year without specific permission from the department for an extension of the time period during which shut-in is permitted.

(b) Permission for an extension of the time period during which shut-in is permitted shall be granted administratively by the department upon written application therefor by the owner or operator and the demonstration of sufficient good cause. Such extension shall be granted for a period of not more than one year, but shall be renewable for additional successive periods of equivalent length upon receipt of successive petitions from the owner or operator and the demonstration of continued sufficient good cause.

(c) Upon termination of the period of lawful shut-in, the owner or operator must begin producing the well or permanently plug and abandon it as provided hereinafter.

§555.3 Temporary abandonment

(a) It shall be unlawful for the owner or operator of any well to temporarily abandon same for more than 90 days without specific permission from the department for an extension of the time period during which temporary abandonment is permitted.

(b) Permission for an extension of the time period during which temporary abandonment is permitted shall be granted administratively by the department upon written application therefor by the owner or operator and the demonstration of sufficient good cause. Such extension shall be granted for a reasonable time period and shall be renewable for additional reasonable time periods upon receipt of successive petitions from the owner or operator and the demonstration of continued sufficient good cause.

(c) Upon termination of the period of lawful temporary abandonment, the owner or operator must either resume operations or permanently plug and abandon the well as provided hereinafter.

§555.4 Permanent abandonment

(a) It shall be unlawful for the owner or operator of any well to permanently plug and abandon same until he has given notice at least 10 days in advance of the commencement of plugging operations to the department on form OG11, which is to be filed in triplicate, and has received a permit from the department therefor on form OG12. During the period while abandonment operations are in progress, this permit must be posted at the well site so as to be clearly visible and legible at all times.

(b) Upon receipt of the notice of intention to abandon, the department will send the permit therefor to the owner or operator or person responsible for the plugging operations and arrange for a representative to be present at the well to witness the plugging operations. The permit will contain a confirmation of the well location and date and time of the commencement of the plugging operation as specified by the owner or operator on form OG11. If the representative of the department is not at the well site at the specified date and time, the operator may proceed to plug and abandon the well without waiting for official witness.

(c) In the event the well to be plugged and abandoned is one upon which the drilling or rework operations have been in progress on a continuous basis as authorized or acknowledged by the department on form OG9 as provided in Part 552, the notice of intention to abandon may be given verbally or by telegram to the regional headquarters administering to the county in which the well is located. In such event, the regional headquarters will acknowledge receipt of the notice of intention to abandon either verbally or by telegram. Although this procedure shall be allowed to prevent excessive waiting time, the owner or operator still must provide the department with formal notice of intention to abandon utilizing form OG11 as promptly as is reasonably possible, and will be furnished with a permit on form OG12.

(d) In an emergency or where compliance with the normal procedure of 10 days advance notification to the department of a planned permanent plugging and abandonment of a well clearly will cause undue hardship upon the owner or operator, the notice of intention to abandon may be given verbally to the department (normally to the regional headquarters administering to the county in which the well is located). In such event the notice of intention to abandon will be acknowledged verbally or by telegram. Although this procedure shall be allowed in an emergency or to prevent undue hardship, the owner or operator still must provide the department with formal notice of intention to abandon utilizing form OG11 as promptly as is reasonably possible, and will be furnished with a permit on form OG12.

§555.5 Plugging methods, procedures and reports

(a) The plugging of a well shall be conducted in accordance with the following sequence of operations:

(1) The well bore, whether to remain cased or uncased, shall be filled with cement from total depth to at least 15 feet above the top of the shallowest formation from which the production of oil or gas has ever been obtained in the vicinity. Alternatively, a bridge topped with at least 15 feet of cement shall be placed immediately above each formation from which the production of oil or gas has ever been obtained in the vicinity.

(2) If any casing is to be left in the ground, a cement plug of at least 15 feet in length shall be placed at the bottom of such section of casing. A similar plug shall be placed at the top of such section of casing unless it shall extend to the surface. In the latter event, the casing shall be capped in any such manner as will prevent the migration of fluids and not interfere with normal soil cultivation.

(3) If casing extending below the deepest potable fresh water level shall not remain in the ground, a cement plug of at least 15 feet in length shall be placed in the open hole at a position approximately 50 feet below the deepest potable fresh water level.

(4) If the conductor or surface casing is drawn, a cement plug of at least 15 feet in length shall be placed immediately below the point where the lower end of the conductor or surface casing shall previously have rested. The hole thereabove then shall be filled with cement, sand or rock sediment or other suitable material in such a manner as will prevent erosion of the well bore area and not interfere with normal soil cultivation.

(5) The interval between all plugs mentioned in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this subdivision shall be filled with a heavy mud-laden or other approved fluid.

(6) The operator shall have the option as to the method of placing any cement in the hole by either (i) dump bailer, (ii) pumping or siphoning through tubing or drill pipe, (iii) pump and plug, or (iv) such other method as shall be approved by the department.

(b) In the event mechanical or other unusual conditions in the well are such as to make plugging following the sequence outlined in subdivision (a) above impractical, the owner or operator may be granted permission by the department to use some alternative or equivalent plugging procedure.

(c) As a part of the plugging and abandonment operation, the owner or operator shall fill with earth any pit or other excavation, including any rat hole or mouse hole, which has been created to facilitate the drilling or production of the well. In addition, a reasonable effort to smooth the surface adjacent to the well and filled pit or excavation so as to place the surface in a condition similar to the adjacent terrain and without undue elevation shall be made. If it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the department that no hazard will result and the landowner has signed an appropriate release, these surface restoration requirements will be waived.

(d) Within 30 days after the plugging of any well, a plugging report on form OG13 shall be filed with the department by the owner or operator or person responsible for the plugging operation.

§555.6 Conversion to fresh water wells

When any well to be plugged may safely be used as a fresh water well, and such utilization is desired by the landowner, the well bore need not be filled above the required plug placed below the deepest potable fresh water level. Permission for such plugging and conversion procedure will be issued by the department upon application therefor from the owner or operator accompanied by a written statement from the landowner granting authority for such action and accepting full responsibility for the well.

Part 556: Operating Practices

(Statutory authority: Environmental Conservation Law, §§ 23-0301, 23-0305[8])

[Effective date: May 1, 1972]

[page 1 of 1]

§556.1 Oil wells

(a) The operating practice requirements of subdivisions (b) through (h) below shall be applicable only to oil wells.

(b) All oil wells capable of production shall be equipped with wellhead controls adequate to properly contain and control the flow thereof.

(c) All flowing oil wells except those flowed artificially as a result of water flooding or other secondary recovery techniques must be flowed through an adequate oil and gas separator. In addition, connections or fittings of size adequate to permit efficient measurement of the effluent gas by meter or orifice or other industry-accepted well tester for the purpose of obtaining gas-oil ratios shall be installed on the gas vent line of said separator. Wellhead equipment also shall be installed and maintained in first-class condition so that static bottom hole pressure may be obtained at any reasonable time by the department after notification to the owner or operator and valves shall be installed so that surface pressures can readily be obtained on both casing and tubing.

(d) Except where some alternative rules governing a specific pool are in effect, the owner or operator of any oil well producing from a pool which contains both oil and gas shall be required at least once each calendar year to measure the gas-oil ratio of said well and report same to the department on form OG14. Unless the owner or operator wishes some alternative reporting time, the gas-oil ratio report should be filed with the annual production report on form OG2 as specified in section 551.2 (a) of this Title. At the option of the owner or operator of the well, or upon written request from the department, in order to demonstrate the status of the well on a more current basis, the gas-oil ratio test may be made at a more frequent interval and the results thereof filed with the department on form OG14. Such more recent test shall remain in effect until the annual test shall again be required.

(e) Each oil well shall be permitted to produce without penalty of a restriction in oil production only that volume of gas equivalent to the applicable limiting gas-oil ratio multiplied by the oil production potential of the well as determined by the production rate reported on form OG14. In the event the department has not established a specific gas-oil ratio limit for a particular oil pool, the limiting gas-oil ratio shall be 2,000 cubic feet for each barrel of oil production. If the gas-oil ratio exceeds 2,000 cubic feet of gas for each barrel of oil, it shall be unlawful to produce more oil than is determined by multiplying the oil production potential of the well as reported on form OG14 by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the limiting gas-oil ratio for the pool and the denominator of which shall be the official gas-oil ratio test of the well as reported on form OG14. All gas produced with the current oil production pursuant to the foregoing ruling shall be deemed to have been lawfully produced.

(f) All wells or developed spacing units which are to be restricted in production because of high gas-oil ratios will be so indicated in a production schedule prepared by the department.

(g) Upon the application therefor by any interested owner or operator, or on the department's own motion, a limiting gas-oil ratio shall be established only after appropriate notice and public hearing. Subsequent hearings may be held in the same manner for the purpose of considering a change in the limiting gas-oil ratio when there is apparent good cause for such revision.

(h) Water-oil ratio surveys and reports shall be conducted by the owner or operator of any producing oil well or wells upon request of the department. Such request may be made on the department's own motion or as a result of a petition therefor and subsequent demonstration of good cause in a public hearing. After a study of the results of the water-oil ratio survey by the department and all interested owners or operators to whom same shall be made available by the department upon request, a public hearing will be held and a ruling issued by the department on the establishment of water-oil ratio limits and restrictions in oil production as a result of excessive water production.

§556.2 Gas wells

(a) The operating practice requirements of subdivisions (b) through (d) below shall be applicable only to gas wells.

(b) No gas from any gas well, except such as is produced in a clean up period not to exceed 48 hours after any completion or stimulation operation, plus that used for the controlled testing of the well's potential in a period not to exceed 24 hours, plus that used in any operational requirements, shall be permitted to escape into the air. Extensions of these time periods shall be granted administratively by the department upon application therefor by the owner or operator and the demonstration of sufficient good cause.

(c) All gas wells capable of production shall be equipped with wellhead controls adequate to properly contain and control the flow thereof.

(d) The department may require the periodic testing of any gas well in such a manner as the department may prescribe in order to establish the producing capacity and characteristics of the well. The owner or operator of any offsetting lease or unit will be permitted to have a representative present to witness any such test.

(e) All gas when produced or sold shall be measured with an adequate and suitable meter of sufficient capacity or measured in such other manner as may be approved by the department. The gas may be metered or measured from a lease or unitized property as a whole or on an individual well basis at the option of the operator. The meter charts and relevant records shall be kept in a permanent file for a period of at least three years and be made available to the department upon written request therefor.

§556.3 Vacuum pumps

The use of vacuum pumps or other devices for the purpose of putting a vacuum on any gas or oil-bearing stratum is prohibited. Exceptions to this ruling may be obtained on an administrative basis, however, from the department upon application and demonstration of good cause.

§556.4 Safety

(a) Oil shall not be produced, stored or retained in earthen reservoirs.

(b) The operation of any well, lease or unit shall be such as to keep and maintain all well locations and lease or unit installations free of rubbish, debris, dead grass, brush, weeds and other inflammable material. All waste oil shall be disposed of in a manner which will not create a fire hazard.

(c) When it is deemed necessary by the department for the protection of life, health, or property, the department may require any lease or other oil storage tanks to be surrounded by an earthen dike which shall have a capacity of one and one-half times the capacity of the tank or tanks it surrounds. This dike shall be continually maintained and the reservoir within shall be kept free from vegetation, water or oil.

(d) All persons controlling or operating any oil and gas wells or pipelines, or receiving tanks, storage tanks, or receiving and storage receptacles into which crude oil is produced, received or stored, or through which oil or gas production or products is piped or transported, shall immediately notify verbally or by telegram the regional headquarters administering to the county in which the disruption specified below has occurred giving current details, and by letter within five days after the event, giving full details concerning all fires including those occasioned by discharges of lightning which occur at such oil or gas wells or tanks or receptacles. A similar report also shall be required for any breaks or leaks in or from tanks or receptacles and pipelines from which oil or gas production or products is escaping or has escaped. In all such reports of fires, breaks, leaks or escapes, or other accidents of this nature, the location of the well, tank, receptacle or line break shall be given so that the location thereof can be readily located on the ground. Such report shall likewise specify what steps have been taken or are in progress to remedy the situation reported and shall detail the quantity of oil or gas lost, destroyed or permitted to escape. In case any tank or receptacle is permitted to run over, the escape thus occurring shall be reported as in the case of a leak. The report hereby required shall be necessary only in case such oil or gas loss creates a fire or pollution hazard or exceeds 100 barrels of oil in the aggregate, or three million cubic feet of gas in the aggregate.

§556.5 Pollution and disposal

(a) Pollution of the land and/or surface or ground fresh water resulting from producing, refining, transportation or processing of oil, gas and products, or in connection with solution mining, is prohibited.

(b) Brine or salt water liquids shall not be stored or disposed of except as follows, unless an alternative procedure has been approved by the department after written application therefor and demonstration of good cause, said permission to be granted on an administrative basis or after public hearing at the discretion of the department:

(1) Brine or salt water may be stored prior to disposition in any watertight tank or container including an earthen pit which is underlaid by tight soil such as heavy clay or hardpan. Where the soil underlying the pit is porous and/or is closely underlaid by a gravel or sand stratum, impounding of brine or salt water in such earthen pit is prohibited unless the pit is lined with watertight material. The earthen pit shall be constructed and maintained so as to prevent escape of brine or salt water therefrom, including maintenance of the level of the impounded fluids, including those added by natural precipitation so that no fluids shall be allowed to escape over or into adjacent lands or into streams or other bodies of water. The department shall have the authority to condemn any pit which does not properly impound such water.

(2) Salt water may be disposed of by injection into the strata from which produced or other proved salt water bearing strata after application for such injection has been approved by the department and under such conditions as may be prescribed. Concurrently with the filing with the department of the application to dispose of salt water by injection, the applicant must send a copy of said application by registered mail to the operators of all leases or units offsetting the lease or unit on which the input well is or will be located and the application must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the offsetting operators and a statement that each has been sent a copy of the application by registered mail, and the date of such mailing. Upon receipt of the application to dispose of salt water by injection, the department will hold same for 10 days. If within said 10-day period, any offset operator reciting reasonable cause, shall file in writing with the department a protest to such disposal, or if the department is not in accord with the proposed injection, the application shall be scheduled for public hearing. If no objection from either an offset operator or the department is interposed within the 10-day period and all other things being in order, the application will be approved and written permission for the injection will be issued by the department prescribing thereon any special conditions that must prevail. The compulsory 10-day waiting period will not be required if the application for permission to dispose of salt water by injection is accompanied by the written consent of the operators of all leases or units offsetting the lease or unit containing the well into which it is proposed to inject salt water and the department has no objection.

§556.6 Lease and well

Any owner or operator of a lease or unit containing one or more producing or producible oil or gas wells shall cause a weatherproof sign to be conspicuously placed where the principal lease road enters the lease or on the tank battery or other lease facilities. Said signs shall show the name of the lease owner or operator, the name of the lease and the lease location as to township. In addition, a legible identifying numeral shall be attached or painted on the wellhead, pumping unit or jack of each well or alternatively, a legible identifying sign shall be placed near each well. In the case of a multiple completion, each wellhead connection shall be appropriately identified.

§556.7 Pool and field names

(a) In order that a clear and ready identification of all oil and gas pools and fields shall be possible, the department shall, after conducting an appropriate review of past and existing nomenclature and usage, issue and maintain a glossary assigning a specific name to each pool and field following an organized system designed to eliminate confusion and duplication. In the pursuance of this activity, the department may require that the owner or operator of any now depleted or producing oil or gas, input or storage well provide a listing of such wells, specifying therewith the pool and field names he has customarily used and recommends be adopted.

(b) The department shall have the authority to assign a specific name to each pool and field. These names shall be assigned following an organized system designed to eliminate confusion and duplication and will be added to and maintained within the glossary discussed in subdivision (a) of this section. The owner or operator of the well in which the discovery completion is effected shall submit in writing to the department within 30 days after the completion thereof three proposed names in order of decreasing preference. The department then will assign an appropriate pool and field name following this sequence of preference, eliminating such as will tend to create confusion and duplication.

(c) In assigning pool and field names under the provisions of subdivisions (a) and (b) of this section, the department will consult with and be aided by the Geological Survey of the State Museum and Science Service of the New York State Department of Education.

(d) The pool and field names as assigned under the provisions of subdivisions (a) and (b) of this section shall be utilized in all correspondence, forms and other relevant identification to or at the order of the department.

Part 557: Secondary Recovery and Pressure Maintenance

(Statutory authority: Environmental Conservation Law, §§ 23-0301, 23-0305 [8] [10], 23-0901)

[Effective date: May 1, 1972]

[page 1 of 1]

§557.1 Application

(a) It shall be unlawful for the owner or operator of any lease or unit to initiate any secondary recovery or pressure maintenance operations until a written application has been filed therefor with the department and written permission has been received for such operations.

(b) The application for permission to conduct secondary recovery or pressure maintenance operations must be accompanied by or contain, but is not limited to, the following items:

(1) a statement outlining in brief resume what secondary recovery or pressure maintenance operations are proposed, including the injection medium to be used, its source, and the estimated amounts to be injected daily plus a forecast of the anticipated rate of development of the area included within the project;

(2) a statement of the name, description and depth of the formation for which the operations are proposed;

(3) a copy of the log of any existing well to be used for input, or in the absence of any log, such information as is available relative to the geological sequence of formations adjacent to and including the pool for which the operations are proposed;

(4) a description of the casing program of the existing or proposed input well or wells and the proposed method for testing of the casing seat or seats;

(5) a neat, legible plat drawn to scale showing the lease, group of leases or unit containing the proposed project. The plat also must identify the offsetting leases, including the names of the offsetting operators. It also must show the location of all drilling wells, existing oil and gas wells, abandoned wells and dry holes together with their surface elevations plus an identification as to the zone of past and/or present completion of said wells if ever productive. The plat also must show the location of the proposed intake well or wells plus any major surface facilities pertinent to the proposed secondary recovery or pressure maintenance operations;

(6) a tabulation showing recent gas-oil ratio and oil and water production tests for each of the producing oil and gas wells;

(7) a list of the names and addresses of the offsetting operators and a statement that each has been sent a copy of the application by registered mail, and the date of such mailing.

(c) Concurrently with the filing with the department of the application for permission to conduct any secondary recovery or pressure maintenance operations, the applicant must send a copy of said application by registered mail to the operators of all leases or units offsetting the lease, group of leases or unit containing the proposed project.

(d) Upon receipt of the application for permission to conduct secondary recovery or pressure maintenance operations, the department shall, except as hereafter provided for the unit operation of a pool or part thereof, hold same for 15 days. If within said 15-day period any offset operator reciting reasonable cause, shall file in writing with the department a protest to such secondary recovery or pressure maintenance operations, or if the department is not in accord with the proposed secondary recovery or pressure maintenance operations, the application shall be scheduled for public hearing. If no objection from either an offset operator or the department is interposed within the 15-day period, and all other things being in order, the application will be approved and written permission for the secondary recovery or pressure maintenance operations shall be issued by the department.

(e) The compulsory 15-day waiting period discussed in subdivision (d) of this section shall not be required if the application for permission to conduct secondary recovery or pressure maintenance operations is accompanied by the written consent of the operators of all leases or units offsetting the lease, group of leases or unit containing the proposed project and the department has no objection.

(f) In the event the proposed secondary recovery or pressure maintenance operations will involve the unit operation of a pool or a part thereof which has been or is proposed to be the subject of an integration and unitization ruling by the department under section 79 of the Conservation Law, the application therefor must, in addition to those items specified in subdivision (b) of this section, be accompanied by or contain, but is not limited to, the following additional items:

(1) a statement or graph showing the rate of anticipated oil and gas (if any) production from the project;

(2) a statement showing the value of the estimated additional recovery of oil and gas will exceed the estimated additional cost incident to conducting such operations; and

(3) evidence that 60 percent or more in interest of the owners and 60 percent or more of royalty interest have approved the proposed plan of secondary recovery or pressure maintenance.

(g) In the event the proposed secondary recovery or pressure maintenance operations will involve the unit operation of a pool or a part thereof which has been or is proposed to be the subject of an integration and unitization ruling by the department under section 79 of the Conservation Law, the department shall not follow the procedure outlined in subdivision (d) of this section, but instead shall promptly schedule a public hearing to facilitate a decision on the application.

§557.2 Casing program

Wells used for injection of gas, air, water or other extraneous fluids shall be cased with safe and adequate casing in such a manner as to prevent migration, leakage or damage to oil, gas, or fresh potable water reservoirs.

§557.3 Commencement and cessation of operations

(a) For all injection projects for which permission has been granted by the department as specified in section 557.1 of this Part, the operator thereof shall immediately upon the commencement of injection notify the department in writing of the date when such injection began.

(b) Within 10 days after the cessation of injection operations, the operator shall notify the department of the date of such cessation and the reasons therefor.

§557.4 Records and reports

Each operator of a pressure maintenance or secondary recovery project shall keep records showing the volumes of fluid or fluids injected and produced and the injection pressures. Unless an alternative procedure is specified by the department, each operator shall submit to the department annually a statement showing the volumes of fluid or fluids injected and produced plus such other relevant data as may be required by the department, said statement to be provided to the department no later than March 1st of the succeeding year. If the operator so desires, the information contained in the statement will be held confidential for a period of one year except insofar as it may be used in statistical compilations wherein specific

projects are not identified as such. Upon written request of the operator, and for good cause shown, the confidential period may be extended for one additional period of one year.

Part 558: Transportation

(Statutory authority: Environmental Conservation Law, §§ 23-0301, 23-0305(8))

[Effective date: May 1, 1972]

[page 1 of 1]

§558.1 Suspension

No pipeline company or carrier shall transport oil, gas or products purchased or taken from any owner or operator after such pipeline company or carrier has received written notice from the department that the owner or operator involved has been in violation of one or more rules, regulations, orders or amendments thereof of the department, and ordering the suspension of such transportation. Such suspension shall remain in force until the pipeline company or carrier is in receipt of written notice from the department that the violation has ceased, and ordering the reinstatement of transportation.

§558.2 Maps

Neat, legible maps drawn to scale showing the location, size, extensions and any portions abandoned or not used of all pipelines and appurtenant tankage used by the pipeline company or carrier for the transportation of oil, gas or products shall be filed with the department as may be requested but no more often than yearly. This requirement shall not apply to lease lines which are used in the operation of the lease or unit on which located, to any local lines which customarily depend upon gravity (as that term is generally understood in the pipeline industry) for fluid flow, or to any pipeline or appurtenant tankage not located within the State.

Part 559: "Bass Island" Regulations

(Statutory authority: Environmental Conservation Law, §§ 3-0301, 23-0305[8])

[Effective date: May 25, 1986]

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§559.1 Applicability and special definitions

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b) of this section, this Part applies only to a "Bass Island" well. Each person who intends to drill, drills, or operates such a well must comply with this Part's requirements and with those contained in Parts 550 through 558, inclusive, of this title that have not been specifically superseded by provisions of this Part.

(b) Section 559.6 of this Part applies to:

(1) a well to be drilled below the Tully horizon in an area determined by the department to have the potential to be an extension of a field of "Bass Island" pools;

(2) a well for which the operator designates a "Bass Island" pool as the primary target; and

(3) a well to be drilled into a pool lying below the Tully horizon and above the base of the lowest Salina Group Salt horizon whose primary permeability results from faults or natural fractures and which is expected to produce nonassociated gas with or without condensate.

(1) A "Bass Island" well is an oil and gas well completed in a "Bass Island" pool that has daily production of more than 60,000 standard cubic feet of gas or of more than 10 barrels of oil measured at the stock tank, or both.

(2) A "Bass Island" pool is a pool lying below the Tully horizon and above the base of the lowest Salina Group Salt horizon whose primary permeability results from faults or natural fractures, other than one in the Devonian shales as the department determines and other than one producing nonassociated gas with or without condensate, which is located in any of the following counties:

Allegany	Genesee
Cattaraugus	Livingston
Chautauqua	Steuben
Erie	Wyoming

(3) A "Bass Island" wildcat well is the first "Bass Island" well completed in a "Bass Island" pool, or is a "Bass Island" well drilled one mile or more from any existing "Bass Island" well.

§559.2 Reporting requirements: logs

Before completion, the operator of a "Bass Island" well must run, in open hole, a gamma ray log, a neutron or resistivity log, and a density log on the well. The operator may run any or all of the logs, other than the resistivity log, in a cased hole if running of the log in open hole may pose a safety hazard. The operator must file three copies of each of those logs with the department within 30 calendar days of their being run. The operator also must file with the department, within 30 calendar days of its being specifically requested by the department, a copy of any other log that was run on that well.

§559.3 Reporting requirements: initial testing and records maintenance

(a) After completion of and after cleanup or stimulation, but before placing the well on production, the operator of a "Bass Island" well must measure initial bottom hole pressure. The operator must do this by shutting-in the well for a minimum of 72 hours and then obtaining a bottom hole pressure, using best efforts to obtain that pressure by running a pressure bomb as close to the midpoint of the production zone as prudent practices indicate, making gradient stops 1,000 feet and 500 feet above that point of sufficient duration to record the pressures at each of those levels. In instances where wellbore conditions and/or equipment would make the use of a pressure bomb imprudent, the operator must determine a bottom hole pressure by calculations based upon a dead-weighted surface pressure and measurement of any liquid level in the wellbore.

(b) (1) The operator of a "Bass Island" well must calculate the gas-oil ratio based on actual production for the first seven days the well is on production and report the results of those calculations to the department on a form the department prescribes within 30 days of the end of the seven-day production period.

(2) The operator of a "Bass Island" well must measure by means of a chart recording device all gas separated, and must certify to the department the accuracy of those results and the gas-oil ratio determined under paragraph (1) of this subdivision. If gas is not measured in the final stage of separation, the gas volume in the gas-oil ratio calculation must include an estimate of the gas left in solution after the last stage where measurement occurred.

(3) The operator must have available for department inspection the charts used in the gas-oil ratio calculation for no less than three years after the charts were made.

§559.4 Reporting requirements: periodic testing

(a) Starting with the year after the first year of production and during the last two weeks of a month prescribed by the department, the operator of a "Bass Island" well must annually measure static pressures at the midpoint of the production zone and at points 500 feet and 1,000 feet above that point. The department will notify operators at least 60 days in advance of the taking of those pressures that the respective "Bass Island" pool must be shut-in for a minimum period stated in the notice, not to exceed two weeks. The operator must make measurements as set forth in section 559.3(a) of this Part. That operator must file with the department on a form the department prescribes the results of those measurements no later than 30 days after the measurements were taken. The department may, on an administrative basis, revise the testing procedures or reduce the frequency or eliminate the tests under this subdivision when in its judgment, revision, reduction, or elimination is indicated.

(b) (1) The provisions of this subdivision supersede those contained in section 551.2(b) of this Title that concern production reports, and in section 556.1(d)-(e) of this Title that concern gas-oil ratio test reports.

(2) The operator of a "Bass Island" well must file with the department on a form the department prescribes a report of the oil and gas produced from that well. The report must provide a statement of the actual amount of oil and gas produced from the well during each of the three months to which the report pertains; must state the actual number of days in each of those months the well was on production; and must set forth the operator's calculation of the gas-oil ratios for that well for each period in each month during which oil and gas was produced and for the three-month period the report covers. The operator must file this report no later than 60 calendar days after the end of the three-month period to which it pertains. The end days of the three-month periods are March 31st, June 30th, September 30th, and December 31st.

§559.5 Production rates

(a) The provisions of this section supersede section 556.1(e) of this Title.

(b) Absent a department order establishing oil production rates for a particular "Bass Island" pool and subject to subdivision (c) of this section, the daily oil production allowable for those days a "Bass Island" well is on production is 2-1/2 barrels of oil for each acre which that well's application to drill, deepen, plug back or convert shows is assigned to it, but not to exceed 200 barrels; and in gas production to whatever is produced in association with the well's daily oil production allowable. In the case of a "Bass Island" wildcat well, the daily production allowable is 200 barrels of oil per day, regardless of the number of acres assigned to it, for a period of one year from the date on which production from that well first begins. Subsequently, that well's daily oil production allowable will be determined by the method stated in the first sentence of this subdivision. Upon provision to the department of copies of bottom hole oil sample analyses and other data demonstrating that a "Bass Island" well may produce oil at a daily rate greater than 200 barrels without going below the bubble point pressure at the midpoint of the production interval, the department may, on an administrative basis, allow production at that rate to occur until the bubble point is reached; subsequently, the daily production allowable will be determined by the methods stated in the first three sentences of this subdivision. Data demonstrating that continued daily production in excess of 200 barrels of oil is warranted must be submitted to the department monthly. Oil not actually produced under the daily production allowable cannot be produced at a later date.

(c) If a "Bass Island" well is determined to have a gas-oil ratio greater than 2,000 standard cubic feet of gas per barrel of oil measured at the stock tank based upon the gas-oil ratio tests under sections 559.3(b) and 559.4(b) of this Part, that well is limited in oil production to the amount determined by multiplying the allowable as calculated under subdivision (b) of this section by a fraction, the numerator of which is 2,000 standard cubic feet of gas per barrel of oil measured at the stock tank and the denominator of which is the latest reported gas-oil ratio; and in gas production to whatever is produced with the oil produced under the well's daily oil production allowable. If the gas-oil ratio approaches infinity, the well is limited in daily gas production to the amount determined by multiplying the daily oil allowable as calculated under subdivision (b) of this section by 2,000 standard cubic feet of gas. Gas not actually produced under the daily production allowable cannot be produced at a later date. The department may increase the limiting gas-oil ratio on an administrative basis to an amount greater than 2,000 standard cubic feet whenever the operator presents data to the department which the department determines on an administrative basis is adequate justification for such increase.

(d) The operator of a "Bass Island" well may at any time petition the department for a change in production allowable for that well. In so doing, he must use the procedures set forth in section 559.3(b) of this Part if gas-oil ratio test results are submitted with that request.

§559.6 Drilling practices

(a) This section applies to a "Bass Island" well and to a well described in section 559.1(b) of this Part.

(b) (1) The operator of a well described in subdivision (a) of this section must make every effort to accomplish penetration of the target interval during daylight hours, and must notify the department's regional permitting office administering to the county in which the well is located of its intention to penetrate that interval at least eight hours before that interval is reached. A rig that has been certified by the drilling contractor as having an approved vapor-proof lighting system and air shut-off on the rig engines is exempt from the daylight hour requirement.

(2) That operator must notify the local fire department of that well's location and the potential hazards involved before penetrating the target interval, unless the operator has adequate firefighting equipment and personnel on a standby basis approved in writing by the department.

(c) (1) The operator of a well described in subdivision (a) of this section must construct and have ready for use before penetrating the target interval, a completely lined and sealed pit sized to fully contain all drilling fluids and any fluids resulting from natural precipitation.

(2) That operator must maintain all fluids onsite and properly dispose of them as soon as possible after completion of drilling operations. The disposal must be undertaken only by a solid waste hauler having a permit issued under Part 364 of this Title.

(d) (1) Unless the department's studies show some other requirements to be more appropriate in a particular area, the operator of a well described in subdivision (a) of this section must set surface casing to the greater depth of 450 feet from the surface or 100 feet into bedrock and must cement that casing to the surface by circulating cement, using enough excess cement to ensure cement returns. That operator must use centralizers and baskets at appropriate intervals, and the surface casing must have a minimum bursting pressure of 1,800 pounds per square inch. That operator must notify the department of the start of cementing operations at least four hours before those operations start. If a State inspector is not present during cementing operations, that operator must attach a copy of the cement ticket to the well's completion report.

(2) To ensure adequate cementing results, that operator must add material to control lost circulation to the cement used in cementing the conductor and surface casing strings. If a lost circulation zone is encountered, the operator must try to seal off that zone with lost circulation materials before pumping the cement slurry. If cement circulation is not achieved, that operator must grout the well from the surface using cement having materials to control lost circulation, to ensure a complete cement bond. If cement grouting is inadequate, the department may require a cement bond log and additional remedial measures to ensure adequacy of the bond.

(e) (1) The operator of a well described in subdivision (a) of this section must install on the surface casinghead blow-out prevention equipment of the pipe and blind ram type or of the spherical annular type that must be actuated by an energy source other than rig hydraulics. The blow-out prevention equipment must be tested to a minimum of 1,000 pounds per square inch before drilling out the surface casing cement. That operator must notify the department at least eight hours before the testing of the equipment. If the department's inspector is not on location at the designated time, the test may proceed, with the witness' name and results of the test being noted on the driller's log. All blow-out prevention equipment control lines must be made of high pressure tubular steel with flanged connections. A new air-head rubber must be installed in a rotating head before penetrating the target interval.

(2) That operator must install a flanged choke manifold assembly no closer than 25 feet from the wellhead. This assembly must not contain any elbows or T's either at the wellhead or before the choke that controls the flow through the kill lines. Each kill line must be connected with welded flanges from the flange spool to the choke assembly.

(3) That operator must stake and chain all pipes and lines and must remove any diverters from the flow lines before penetrating the interval between the Tully horizon and above the base of the lowest Salina Group Salt horizon.

(4) Once fluid has been put into the well to kill it, that operator must have pressure control devices (e.g., spherical annular blow-out preventers, lubricators, wipers, etc.) installed and ready for use during logging operations. That operator also must have a blow-out preventer installed and ready for use while running production casing.

(5) That operator must provide the drilling company with a well prognosis, indicating formation tops and appropriate warning comments. That operator must ensure that this prognosis is clearly posted and maintained in the dog house. Drilling companies must post in the dog house individual crew member responsibilities for blow-out control. That operator, or his designee, must be on site before and during the penetration of the target interval.

(f) The operator of a well described in this section must provide supplementary connected mud pumping capability on site, either with a secondary mud pump or with a standby service company pump truck. At least 300 barrels of kill fluid must be on site and ready for use if required by well conditions. Additionally, appropriate amounts of bentonite, weight material, and material to control lost circulation must be on site to aid in well control.

(g) The operator of a well described in subdivision (a) of this section must construct the flow line from the wellhead to the pit using T and C tubular goods with a working pressure of 1,500 pounds per square inch and with flanged connections at the wellhead.

(h) If oil is produced during drilling operations of a well described in subdivision (a) of this section, the operator of that well must store the oil on site in tanks.

§559.7 Temporary allowances: Gerry-Onondaga Oil and Gas Pool

(a) For a period of 18 months from the effective date of this Part, daily oil production allowable for each of the following wells: the Piazza No. 2 well (API No. 31-013-17719); the Lebarron No. 1 well (API No. 31-013-17998); the Forbes No. 3 well (API No. 31-013-16909); the Torrey No. 1 well (API No. 31-013-16061); any wells found in pressure communication with these four wells; the Oag No. 4 well (API No. 31-013-16884); and the Gross No. 3 well (API No. 31-013-16706); is 150 percent of that determined under section 559.5 of this Part.

(b) In the event the department determines that they are subject to this Part, for a period of 18 months from the effective date of this Part, the daily oil production allowable for each of the following wells: the Howard No. 1 well (API No. 31-013-18401); the Main No. 1 well (API No. 31-013-18339); and the Josephson No. 2 well (API No. 31-013-17716); is 150 percent of that determined under section 559.5 of this Part.

(c) Upon the expiration of the 18-month period described in subdivisions (a) and (b) of this section, this section shall have no further force and effect, and the determination of production allowables of the wells identified in this section shall be made under the provisions of section 559.5 of this Part.

Monday, November 21, 2011

NY Rules and Regulations for Oil, Gas and Solution Mining

Regulations

Rules and Regulations for Oil, Gas and Solution Mining

Part 550: Promulgation and Enforcement Of Rules and Regulations

Contents:

§550.1 Policy

§550.2 Organization

§550.3 Definitions

§550.4 Hearings and emergency orders

§550.5 Access to properties and records

§550.6 Offenses and penalties

§550.7 Scope of rules

Part 551: Reports and Financial Security

Contents:

§551.1 Organizational reports

§551.2 Production and purchase reports

§551.3 Other reports

§551.4 Financial security: generally

§551.5 Amount of financial security: wells up to 6,000 feet deep

§551.6 Amount of well financial security: wells over 6,000 feet deep

§551.7 Well salvagers

Part 552: Permits To Drill, Deepen, Plug Back Or Convert Wells

Contents:

§552.1 Application and fee

§552.2 Issuance of permit

§552.3 Reissuance of permit

§552.4 Permit in mining areas

Part 553: Well Spacing

Contents:

§553.1 Statewide spacing

§553.2 Surface restrictions

§553.3 Spacing units

§553.4 Exceptions

Part 554: Drilling Practices and Reports

Contents:

§554.1 Prevention of pollution and migration

§554.2 Commencement of operations

§554.3 Cable tool drilling practices

§554.4 Rotary tool drilling practices

§554.5 Deviation

§554.6 Multiple completion

§554.7 Completion reports, well logs and samples

§554.8 Applicability to other operation

Part 555: Plugging and Abandonment

Contents:

§555.1 Policy

§555.2 Shut-in wells

§555.3 Temporary abandonment

§555.4 Permanent abandonment

§555.5 Plugging methods, procedures and reports

§555.6 Conversion to fresh water wells

Part 556: Operating Practices

Contents:

§556.1 Oil wells

§556.2 Gas wells

§556.3 Vacuum pumps

§556.4 Safety

§556.5 Pollution and disposal

§556.6 Lease and well

§556.7 Pool and field names

Part 557: Secondary Recovery and Pressure Maintenance

Contents:

§557.1 Application

§557.2 Casing program

§557.3 Commencement and cessation of operations

§557.4 Records and reports

Part 558: Transportation

Contents:

§558.1 Suspension

§558.2 Maps

Part 559: "Bass Island" Regulations

Contents:

§559.1 Applicability and special definitions

§559.2 Reporting requirements: logs

§559.3 Reporting requirements: initial testing and records maintenance

§559.4 Reporting requirements: periodic testing

§559.5 Production rates

§559.6 Drilling practices

§559.7 Temporary allowances: Gerry-Onondaga Oil and Gas Pool