Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 12, December 1, 2024
In addition to the requirements of ORS
520.095(1), OAR
632-010-0002 through 632-010-0240 and any other applicable statutes, orders, or
rules, wells drilled for the purpose of storing natural gas in an underground
reservoir must be drilled in a manner that protects the underground reservoir
against contamination and against waste of natural gas.
(1) Application and Approval: After applying
for and receiving approval, the permittee of any well or proposed well may
inject gas under pressure into the formation containing water, oil or gas for
the purpose of increasing production of oil or gas from the reservoir or for
storing natural gas.
(2) Casing and
Cement: Wells used for the injection of gas into the producing formation must
be cased with sound casing so as not to permit leakage, and the casing must be
cemented in a manner such that damage will not be caused to oil, gas, or
freshwater resources. All injection of gas must be through tubing with a casing
packer set at the lower end above the zone of injection, and the annular space
between tubing and casing must be monitored to be sure the packer is holding.
The requirement for a casing packer may be waived by the department for
temporary test injection into a depleted or partially depleted gas pool when an
existing well is utilized as the temporary injection well. Prior to temporary
injection, the casing must be tested for mechanical integrity to verify that
there are no leaks in the casing. The department must be notified of all
mechanical integrity tests.
(3)
Application, Contents, Notice, Objection, Hearing, and Approval:
(a) No gas may be injected into a well until
approved by the department pursuant to application and notice as herein
required;
(b) A written request for
gas injection of oil and gas properties must be submitted to the department and
include the following:
(A) The location of the
injection well;
(B) The location
and depth of all oil and gas wells and the names of mineral rights owners
within a one-half mile radius of the injection well;
(C) The name, description, and depth of the
formations from which wells are producing or have produced;
(D) The name, description, and depth of the
formations to be injected;
(E) The
depths of each formation into which gas is to be injected;
(F) The elevations of the top of the oil- or
gas-bearing formation in the injection well and the wells producing from the
same formation within one-half mile of the injection well;
(G) The log of the injection well, or similar
available information;
(H)
Description of the injection well casing;
(I) The estimated amounts to be injected
daily and the proposed injection pressure;
(J) An engineering and geological study of
the proposed injection site including:
(i)
Characteristics of reservoir and caprock, including areal extent, thickness,
and lithology;
(ii) Remaining gas
or oil reserves of storage zones, including calculations, if
applicable;
(iii) If an aquifer is
to be injected, known water wells, aquifer extent, thickness, and water
quality; and
(iv) Proposed use of
monitor wells for the project;
(K) The names and addresses of the
permittees; and
(L) Other
information the department may require to ascertain whether the gas injection
plan meets the requirements of law and does not pose a significant risk to
human health or the environment.
(c) Applications may be made to include the
use of more than one injection well on the same spacing unit or on more than
one spacing unit; and
(d)
Applications must be executed by all permittees who are to participate in the
proposed gas injection plan.
(4) Notice of Commencement and Discontinuance
of Gas Injection.
(a) The permittee must
notify the department at least 10 days prior to the commencement of gas
injection operations.
(b) Within 10
days after the discontinuance of gas injection operations, the permittee must
notify the department of the date of discontinuance and the reasons for the
discontinuance.
(c) Before any
injection well is decommissioned, the permittee must submit an application to
the department per OAR 632-010-0198.
(d) The above notification requirements do
not apply to a gas storage facility except for the initial injection and
filling of the reservoir and for the decommission of the storage
reservoir.
(5) Records:
The permittee must keep the following records and make them available to the
department:
(a) The amount of gas injected
into the injection wells;
(b) The
amount of gas produced;
(c) The
amount of oil produced from leases affected by the gas injection; and
(d) The well-head injection
pressures.
Stat. Auth.: ORS 520
Stats. Implemented: ORS
520.095