North Dakota Administrative Code
Title 43 - Industrial Commission
Article 43-02 - Mineral Exploration and Development
Chapter 43-02-03 - Oil and Gas Conservation
Section 43-02-03-31 - Well log, completion, and workover reports

After the plugging of a well, a plugging record (form 7) shall be filed with the director. After the completion of a well, recompletion of a well in a different pool, or drilling horizontally in an existing pool, a completion report (form 6 or form provided by the commission) shall be filed with the director. In no case shall oil or gas be transported from the lease prior to the filing of a completion report unless approved by the director. The operator shall cause to be run an open hole electrical, radioactivity, or other similar log, or combination of open hole logs, of the operator's choice, from which formation tops and porosity zones can be determined. The operator shall cause to be run a gamma ray log from total depth to ground level elevation of the well bore. Within six months of reaching total depth and prior to completing the well, the operator shall cause to be run a log from which the presence and quality of bonding of cement can be determined in every well in which production or intermediate casing has been set. The obligation to log may be waived or postponed by the director if the necessity therefor can be demonstrated to the director's satisfaction. Waiver will be contingent upon such terms and conditions as the director deems appropriate. All logs run shall be available to the director at the well site prior to proceeding with plugging or completion operations. All logs run shall be submitted to the director free of charge. Logs shall be submitted as one digital TIFF (tagged image file format) copy and one digital LAS (log ASCII) formatted copy, or a format approved by the director. In addition, operators shall file one copy of drill stem test reports and charts, formation water analyses, core analyses, geologic reports, and noninterpretive lithologic logs or sample descriptions if compiled by the operator.

All information furnished to the director on permits, except the operator name, well name, location, permit date, confidentiality period, spacing or drilling unit description, spud date, rig contractor, central tank battery number, any production runs, or volumes injected into an injection well, shall be kept confidential from the time a request by the operator is received in writing until the six-month confidentiality period has ended. The six-month period shall commence on the date the well is completed or the date the written request is received, whichever is earlier. If the written request accompanies the application for permit to drill or is filed after permitting but prior to spudding, the six-month period shall commence on the date the well is spudded. The director may release such confidential completion and production data to health care professionals, emergency responders, and state, federal, or tribal environmental and public health regulators if the director deems it necessary to protect the public's health, safety, and welfare.

All information furnished to the director on recompletions or reentries, except the operator name, well name, location, permit date, confidentiality period, spacing or drilling unit description, spud date, rig contractor, any production runs, or volumes injected into an injection well, shall be kept confidential for not more than six months if requested by the operator in writing. The six-month period shall commence on the date the well is completed or the date the well was approved for recompletion or reentry, whichever is earlier. Any information furnished to the director prior to approval of the recompletion or reentry shall remain public.

Approval must be obtained on a sundry notice (form 4) from the director prior to perforating or recompleting a well in a pool other than the pool in which the well is currently permitted.

After the completion of any remedial work, or attempted remedial work such as plugging back or drilling deeper, acidizing, shooting, formation fracturing, squeezing operations, setting liner, perforating, reperforating, or other similar operations not specifically covered herein, a report on the operation shall be filed on a sundry notice (form 4) with the director. The report shall present a detailed account of all work done and the date of such work; the daily production of oil, gas, and water both prior to and after the operation; the shots per foot, size, and depth of perforations; the quantity of sand, crude, chemical, or other materials employed in the operation; and any other pertinent information or operations which affect the original status of the well and are not specifically covered herein.

Upon the installation of pumping equipment on a flowing well, or change in type of pumping equipment designed to increase productivity in a well, the operator shall submit a sundry notice (form 4) of such installation. The notice shall include all pertinent information on the pump and the operation thereof including the date of such installation, and the daily production of the well prior to and after the pump has been installed.

All forms, reports, logs, and other information required by this section shall be submitted within thirty days after the completion of such work, although a completion report shall be filed immediately after the completion or recompletion of a well in a pool or reservoir not then covered by an order of the commission.

General Authority: NDCC 38-08-04

Law Implemented: NDCC 38-08-04