New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 19 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE
Chapter 15 - OIL AND GAS
Part 15 - WELL SPACING AND LOCATION
Section 19.15.15.10 - GAS WELL ACREAGE AND WELL LOCATION REQUIREMENTS

Universal Citation: 19 NM Admin Code 19.15.15.10

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024

A wildcat well that the operator projects to drill as a gas well to a formation and in an area that in the division's opinion may reasonably be presumed to produce gas rather than oil and each development well for a defined gas pool, unless otherwise provided in special pool orders, shall be spaced and located as follows.

A. 640-acre spacing applies to a deep gas well in Rio Arriba, San Juan, Sandoval or McKinley county that is projected to be drilled to a gas producing formation older than the Dakota formation or is a development well within a gas pool created and defined by the division after June 1, 1997 in a formation older than the Dakota formation, which formation or pool is located within the surface outcrop of the pictured cliffs formation (i.e., the San Juan basin). The well shall be located on a spacing unit consisting of 640 contiguous surface acres, more or less, substantially in the form of a square that is a section and legal subdivision of the United States public land surveys and shall be located no closer than:

(1) 1200 feet to an outer boundary of the spacing unit;

(2) 130 feet to a quarter section line; and

(3) 10 feet to a quarter-quarter section line or subdivision inner boundary.

B. 320-acre spacing applies to a deep gas well in Lea, Chaves, Eddy or Roosevelt county that is projected to be drilled to a gas producing formation, or is within a defined gas pool, that is in the Wolfcamp or an older formation. The well shall be located on a spacing unit consisting of 320 surface contiguous acres, more or less, comprising any two contiguous quarter sections of a single section that is a legal subdivision of the United States public land surveys provided that:

(1) the initial well on a 320-acre unit is located no closer than 660 feet to the outer boundary of the quarter section on which the well is located and no closer than 10 feet to a quarter-quarter section line or subdivision inner boundary; and

(2) only one infill well on a 320-acre unit shall be allowed provided that the well is located in the quarter section of the 320-acre unit not containing the initial well and is no closer than 660 feet to the outer boundary of the quarter section and no closer than 10 feet to a quarter-quarter section line or subdivision inner boundary.

C. 160-acre spacing applies to a gas well not covered above. The well shall be located in a spacing unit consisting of 160 surface contiguous acres, more or less, substantially in the form of a square that is a quarter section and a legal subdivision of the United States public land surveys and shall be located no closer than 660 feet to an outer boundary of the unit and no closer than 10 feet to a quarter-quarter section or subdivision inner boundary.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.