Texas Administrative Code
Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION
Part 1 - RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS
Chapter 3 - OIL AND GAS DIVISION
Section 3.86 - Horizontal Drainhole Wells

Universal Citation: 16 TX Admin Code ยง 3.86

Current through Reg. 49, No. 12; March 22, 2024

(a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) Correlative interval--The depth interval designated by the field rules or by new field designation on Form P-7 (New Field Designation).

(2) First take point--The take point in a horizontal drainhole well nearest to the point where the drainhole penetrates the top of the correlative interval. The first take point may be at a location different from the penetration point.

(3) Horizontal drainhole--That portion of the wellbore drilled in the correlative interval, between the penetration point and the terminus.

(4) Horizontal drainhole displacement--The calculated horizontal displacement of the horizontal drainhole from the first take point to the last take point.

(5) Horizontal drainhole well--Any well that is developed with one or more horizontal drainholes having a horizontal drainhole displacement of at least 100 feet.

(6) Last take point--The take point in a horizontal drainhole well nearest the terminus. The last take point may be at a location different from the terminus.

(7) Nonperforation zone (NPZ)--A portion of a horizontal drainhole well within the field between the first take point and the last take point that the operator has intentionally designated as containing no take points pursuant to the spacing requirements in § RSA 3.37 of this title (relating to Statewide Spacing Rule).

(8) Penetration point--The point where the drainhole penetrates the top of the correlative interval.

(9) Record well--The single horizontal drainhole within a stacked lateral well designated by the operator as the record well for reporting purposes.

(10) Stacked lateral well--A horizontal drainhole well in which the following conditions are met:
(A) there are two or more horizontal drainhole wells on the same lease, pooled unit, or unitized tract at different depths within the correlative interval for the field;

(B) the horizontal drainholes are drilled from different surface locations;

(C) all take points of a stacked lateral well's horizontal drainholes are within a rectangular area the width of which is 660 feet, and the length of which is 1.2 times the distance between the first and last take points of the record well;

(D) all horizontal drainholes are tested independently and have the same classification (i.e., gas or oil). Only horizontal drainholes of the same classification are eligible to be designated as a stacked lateral well; and

(E) there is only one operator for the stacked lateral well.

(11) Take point in a horizontal drainhole well--Any point along a horizontal drainhole where oil and/or gas can be produced from the correlative interval.

(12) Terminus--The farthest point required to be surveyed along the horizontal drainhole from the penetration point and within the correlative interval.

(13) Unconventional fracture treated (UFT) field--A field designated by the Commission under subsection (i) of this section for which horizontal well development and hydraulic fracture treatment (as defined in § RSA 3.29<subdiv>(a)(15) and (16)</subdiv> of this title (relating to Hydraulic Fracturing Chemical Disclosure Requirements)) must be used in order to recover resources from all or a part of the field and which may include the drilling of vertical wells along with the drilling of horizontal wells.

(b) Drainhole spacing.

(1) No take point on a horizontal drainhole shall be located nearer than 1,200 feet (horizontal displacement), or other between-well spacing requirement under applicable rules for the field, to any take point along any other horizontal drainhole in another well, or to any other well completed or permitted in the same field on the same lease, pooled unit, or unitized tract.

(2) No take point on a horizontal drainhole shall be located nearer than 467 feet, or other lease-line spacing requirement under applicable rules for the field, from any property line, lease line, or subdivision line.

(3) All wells developed with horizontal drainholes shall otherwise comply with § RSA 3.37 of this title (relating to Statewide Spacing Rule), or other applicable spacing rules.

(4) If the drilling permit application indicates that there will be one or more NPZs, then the as-drilled plat filed after completion of the well shall be certified by a person with knowledge of the facts pertinent to the application that the plat is accurately drawn to scale and correctly reflects all pertinent and required data. In addition to the information required under subsection (f) of this section, the certified as-drilled plat shall include:
(A) the as-drilled track of the wellbore;

(B) the location of each take point on the wellbore;

(C) the boundaries of any wholly or partially unleased tracts within the distance permitted under § RSA 3.37 of this title or applicable special field rules of the wellbore; and

(D) notations of the shortest distance from each wholly or partially unleased tract within the distance permitted under § RSA 3.37 of this title or applicable special field rules of the wellbore to the nearest take point on the wellbore.

(5) To comply with the spacing requirements set forth in paragraph (3) of this subsection, the take-points along the as-drilled location of a properly permitted horizontal drainhole shall fall within a rectangle established as follows:
(A) two sides of the rectangle are parallel to the permitted drainhole and 50 feet or 10% of the minimum distance to any property line, lease line or subdivision line, whichever is greater, on either side of the drainhole; and

(B) the other two sides of the rectangle are perpendicular to the sides described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, with one of those sides passing through the permitted first take point and the other side passing through the permitted last take point.

(6) Prior to perforating the wellbore within an approved NPZ, the operator must amend the permit to authorize perforations within the originally-approved NPZ.

(c) Well densities. All wells developed with horizontal drainholes shall comply with § RSA 3.38 of this title (relating to Well Densities) or other applicable density rules.

(d) Proration and drilling units.

(1) Acreage may be assigned to each horizontal drainhole well for the purpose of allocating allowable oil or gas production up to the amount specified by applicable rules for a proration unit for a vertical well plus the additional acreage assignment as provided in this paragraph.

Attached Graphic

(2) Assignment of acreage to proration and drilling units for horizontal drainhole wells shall comply with § RSA 3.40 of this title (relating to Assignment of Acreage to Pooled Development and Proration Units).

(3) All proration and drilling units shall consist of continuous and contiguous acreage and proration units shall consist of acreage that can be reasonably considered to be productive of oil or gas.

(4) The maximum daily allowable assigned to a horizontal well shall comply with the table in subsection (d)(1) of this section and the maximum daily allowable specified by paragraph (5) of this subsection, unless special field rules specify different requirements for acreage or maximum daily allowable.

(5) The maximum daily allowable for a horizontal drainhole well in a designated UFT field shall be 100 barrels of oil for each acre that is assigned to an oil well for allowable purposes, or 600 Mcf of gas for each acre that is assigned to a gas well for allowable purposes. This paragraph does not affect suspension of the allocation formula under § RSA 3.31<subdiv>(j)</subdiv> of this title (relating to Gas Reservoirs and Gas Well Allowable). The maximum daily allowable for a horizontal drainhole well in a field that has not been designated as a UFT field shall be determined by multiplying the applicable allowable for a vertical well in the field with a proration unit containing the maximum acreage authorized by the applicable rules for the field, exclusive of tolerance acreage, by a fraction:
(A) the numerator of which is the acreage assigned to the horizontal drainhole well for proration purposes; and

(B) the denominator of which is the maximum acreage authorized by the applicable field rules for proration purposes, exclusive of tolerance acreage. The daily oil allowable shall be adjusted in accordance with § RSA 3.49<subdiv>(a)</subdiv> of this title (relating to Gas-Oil Ratio), when applicable.

(6) All points on the horizontal drainhole from the first take point to the terminus shall be within the proration and drilling unit. If the penetration point is located on an offsite tract, the conditions prescribed in subsection (g) of this section shall be met before the drilling permit application is submitted to the Commission.

(e) Multiple drainholes allowed.

(1) A single well may be developed with more than one horizontal drainhole originating from a single vertical wellbore.

(2) A horizontal drainhole well developed with more than one horizontal drainhole shall be treated as a single well.

(3) The horizontal drainhole displacement used for calculating additional acreage assignment for a well completed with multiple horizontal drainholes shall be the horizontal drainhole displacement of the longest horizontal drainhole plus the projection of any other horizontal drainhole on a line that extends in a 180 degree direction from the longest horizontal drainhole.

(f) Stacked lateral wells.

(1) For oil and gas wells, stacked lateral wells within the correlative interval for the field may be considered a single well for density and allowable purposes, at an operator's discretion. If an operator chooses to designate horizontal drainholes as a stacked lateral well, the operator shall designate:
(A) one horizontal drainhole within the stacked lateral well as the record well. An operator may change the record well designation to another wellbore by filing amended drilling permit applications and completion reports for the previous and the new record well; and

(B) all points, from the first take point to the last take point, of the record well for a stacked lateral well are within the proration and drilling unit designated for that well. Notwithstanding paragraph (4) of this subsection, all points from the first take point to the last take point of any other horizontal drainhole comprising the stacked lateral well are not required to be within the proration and drilling unit designated for the record well so long as they otherwise comply with the requirements of this section and any applicable lease line spacing rules.

(2) For the purpose of assigning additional acreage to the stacked lateral well, the horizontal drainhole displacement shall be calculated based on the distance from the first take point to the last take point in the horizontal drainhole for the record well, regardless of the horizontal drainhole displacement of other horizontal drainholes of the stacked lateral well.

(3) Each surface location of a stacked lateral well shall be permitted separately and assigned an API number. When applying for a drilling permit for a stacked lateral well, the operator shall:
(A) identify each surface location of such well as a stacked lateral well on the Form W-1 drilling permit application;

(B) identify on the plat any other existing, or applied for, horizontal drainholes comprising the stacked lateral well being permitted; and

(C) depict on the plat a rectangle described in subsection (a)(10)(C) of this section indicating the lateral boundaries of the stacked lateral well.

(4) Each horizontal drainhole of a stacked lateral well shall comply with: the applicable minimum spacing distance under § RSA 3.37 of this title or any applicable special field rules for any lease, pooled unit or property line; and the applicable minimum between well spacing distance under § RSA 3.37 of this title or any applicable special field rules for any different well, including all horizontal drainholes of any other stacked lateral well, on the same lease or pooled unit in the field. An operator may seek an exception to § RSA 3.37 or § RSA 3.38 of this title for stacked lateral wells in accordance with the Commission's rules in this chapter or any applicable special field rule. There are no maximum or minimum distance limitations between horizontal drainholes of a stacked lateral well in a vertical direction.

(5) An operator shall file separate completion forms for each surface location of the stacked lateral well. An operator shall also file a certified plat showing the as-drilled location for each surface location of a stacked lateral well. The certified as-drilled plat shall:
(A) show each horizontal drainhole from each surface location; and

(B) depict on the plat a rectangle described in subsection (a)(10)(C) of this section indicating the lateral boundaries of the stacked lateral well.

(6) In addition to the record well, each surface location of a stacked lateral well shall be listed on the proration schedule, but no allowable shall be assigned for an individual surface location. Each surface location of a stacked lateral well shall be required to have a separate well status report (Form G-10 or Form W-10, as applicable) and the sum of all horizontal drainhole test rates shall be reported as the test rate for the record well.

(7) An operator shall report all production from horizontal drainholes included as a stacked lateral well on the production report that includes the record well. Production reported for a record well shall equal the total production from all of the horizontal drainholes comprising the stacked lateral well. An operator shall measure the production from each surface location of a stacked lateral well. An operator shall measure the full well stream with the measurement adjusted for the allocation of condensate based on the gas to liquid ratio established by the most recent Form G-10 test rate for that surface location. The gas and condensate production shall be identified by individual API number, and recorded and reported on the "Supplementary Attachment to Form PR".

(8) If the field is designated as absolute open flow (AOF) pursuant to § RSA 3.31<subdiv>(j)</subdiv> of this title and that designation is removed, the Commission shall assign a single gas allowable to each record well classified as a gas well. The assigned allowable may be produced from any one, all, or a combination of the horizontal drainholes that constitute the stacked lateral well.

(9) An operator shall file Form W-3A, Notice of Intention to Plug and Abandon, and Form W-3, Well Plugging Report, for each horizontal drainhole within the stacked lateral well as required by § RSA 3.14 of this title (relating to Plugging).

(10) In order to maintain a single operator of record for a stacked lateral well, a certificate of compliance changing the designation of an operator for a horizontal drainhole in a stacked lateral well pursuant to § RSA 3.58 of this title (relating to Certificate of Compliance and Transportation Authority; Operator Reports) may only be approved if certificates of compliance designating the same operator have been filed for all horizontal drainholes within the stacked lateral well.

(11) An operator may remove a horizontal drainhole from a designated stacked lateral well by filing an amended drilling permit application and a completion report. If the horizontal drainhole being removed is the record well for the stacked lateral and there are still multiple horizontal drainholes remaining within the designated stacked lateral well, then the operator shall designate a new record well for the stacked lateral well prior to removing the existing record well from the designated stacked lateral well.

(g) Drilling applications and required reports.

(1) Application. Any intent to develop a new or existing well with horizontal drainholes must be indicated on the application to drill. An application for a permit to drill a horizontal drainhole shall include the fees required by § RSA 3.78 of this title (relating to Fees and Financial Security Requirements), and shall be certified by a person acquainted with the facts, stating that all information in the application is true and complete to the best of that person's knowledge. If the penetration point on the proposed horizontal drainhole is located on an offsite tract, the following conditions shall be met prior to submission of the application to drill:
(A) The applicant shall give written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all mineral owners of any offsite tracts through which the proposed wellbore path traverses from the point of penetration. The notice shall identify the proposed well, include a plat clearly depicting the projected path of the entire wellbore, and allow the party notified not less than 21 days to object to the proposed offsite tract penetration. Notice of offsite tract penetration is not required if:
(i) written waivers of objection are received by the applicant from all mineral owners of any offsite tracts and the waivers are attached to the drilling permit application; or

(ii) the applicant is the only mineral owner of any offsite tracts.

(B) For purposes of this subsection, the mineral owners of any offsite tracts through which the proposed wellbore path traverses from the point of penetration include:
(i) the designated operator;

(ii) all lessees of record for any offsite tracts which have no designated operator; and

(iii) all owners of unleased mineral interests where there is no designated operator or lessee.

(C) In the event the applicant is unable after due diligence to locate the whereabouts of any person to whom notice is required by this subsection, the applicant shall publish notice of this application pursuant to Chapter 1 of this title (relating to Practice and Procedure).

(D) If any mineral owner of an offsite tract objects to the location of the penetration point, the applicant may request a hearing to demonstrate the necessity of the location of the penetration point of the well to prevent waste or to protect correlative rights.

(E) If any person specified in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph did not receive notice as required in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, that person may request a hearing. If the Commission determines at a hearing that the applicant did not provide the notice as required by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the Commission may cancel the permit.

(F) To mitigate the potential for wellbore collisions, the applicant shall provide copies of any directional surveys to the parties entitled to notice under this section, upon request, within 15 days of the applicant's receipt of a request.

(2) Drilling unit plat. The application to drill a horizontal drainhole shall be accompanied by a plat as required by § RSA 3.5<subdiv>(h)</subdiv> of this title (relating to Application to Drill, Deepen, Reenter, or Plug Back).
(A) For fields that require a proration unit plat, in addition to the plat requirements provided for in § RSA 3.5<subdiv>(h)</subdiv> of this title, the plat shall include the lease, pooled unit or unitized tract, showing the acreage assigned to the drilling unit for the proposed well and the acreage assigned to the drilling units for all current applied for, permitted, or completed oil, gas, or oil and gas wells on the lease, pooled unit, or unitized tract.

(B) An amended drilling permit application and plat shall be filed after completion of the horizontal drainhole well if the Commission determines that the drainhole as drilled is not reasonable with respect to the drainhole represented on the plat filed with the drilling permit application. A horizontal drainhole, as drilled, shall be considered reasonable with respect to the drainhole represented on the plat filed with the drilling permit application if the take points on the as-drilled plat comply with subsection (b)(4) and (5) of this section and with any applicable lease line spacing rules.

(3) Directional survey. A directional survey from the surface to the farthest point drilled on the horizontal drainhole shall be required for all horizontal drainholes. The directional survey and accompanying reports shall be conducted and filed in accordance with § RSA 3.11 and § RSA 3.12 of this title (relating to Inclination and Directional Surveys Required, and Directional Survey Company Report, respectively). No allowable shall be assigned to any horizontal drainhole well until an acceptable directional survey and survey plat has been filed with the Commission.

(4) Proration unit plat. The required proration unit plat must depict the lease, pooled unit, or unitized tract, showing the acreage assigned to the proration unit for the horizontal drainhole well, the acreage assigned to the proration units for all wells on the lease, pooled unit, or unitized tact, and the path, penetration point, take points, and terminus of all drainholes. No allowable shall be assigned to any horizontal drainhole well until an acceptable proration unit plat has been filed with the Commission. Proration unit plats are not required for wells in a designated UFT field. However, an operator of a well in a designated UFT field may file a proration unit plat along with Form P-16. Designated UFT fields have no maximum diagonal limit.

(5) As-drilled plat. An as-drilled plat is required for each horizontal drainhole well. The as-drilled plat for each horizontal drainhole well shall show the surface location, actual wellbore path, penetration point, terminus, and first and last take points of the horizontal drainhole. If the drilling permit for the horizontal drainhole well is approved with one or more NPZs, the as-drilled plat shall show the nearest take point on either side of each NPZ.

(6) Plat requirements. All plats required by this section shall be prepared using blue or black ink and shall include a certification by a professional land surveyor registered in accordance with Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1071, relating to Land Surveyors, or by a registered professional engineer registered in accordance with Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1001, relating to Professional Engineers.

(h) Exceptions and procedure for obtaining exceptions.

(1) The Commission may grant exceptions to this section in order to prevent waste, prevent confiscation, or to protect correlative rights.

(2) If a permit to drill a horizontal drainhole requires an exception to this section, the notice and opportunity for hearing procedures for obtaining exceptions to the density provisions prescribed in § RSA 3.38 of this title shall be followed as set forth in § RSA 3.38<subdiv>(h)</subdiv> of this title.

(3) For notice purposes, the Commission presumes that for each adjacent tract and each tract nearer to any point along the proposed or existing horizontal drainhole than the prescribed minimum lease-line spacing distance, affected persons include:
(A) the designated operator;

(B) all lessees of record for tracts that have no designated operator; and

(C) all owners of record of unleased mineral interests.

(i) UFT field designation criteria, application and approval procedures.

(1) Criteria for UFT field designation.
(A) Administrative UFT field designation. To be designated administratively as a UFT field, a field shall have the following characteristics:
(i) the in situ permeability of at least one distinct producible interval within the field is 0.1 millidarcies or less prior to hydraulic fracture treatment, as determined by core data or other supporting data and analysis; and

(ii) as to producing wells for which the Commission issued the initial drilling permit on or after February 1, 2012, that have been completed in the field, either:
(I) there are at least five such wells of which at least 65% were drilled horizontally and completed using hydraulic fracture treatment; or

(II) there are at least twenty-five such wells drilled horizontally and completed using hydraulic fracture treatment.

(B) Alternative UFT field designation obtained through evidentiary hearing. If an applicant demonstrates in a hearing that reservoir characteristics exist other than the characteristics specified in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph such that horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracture treatment must be used in order to recover the resources from all or a part of the field and that UFT field designation will promote orderly development of the field, the hearings examiner may recommend to the Commission that the field be designated as a UFT field.

(2) Procedures for UFT field designation.
(A) Commission motion to designate a UFT field. The Commission may on its own motion propose that a field be designated as a UFT field upon written notice of the motion to all operators in the field.
(i) If no written objection is filed within 21 days after the date the notice is issued, Commission staff may present a recommendation to the Commission regarding designation of the field as a UFT field.

(ii) If the Commission receives a timely filed written objection, the Commission shall notify the operators in the field that an objection was received and allow any operator in the field 21 days to request a hearing. Pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection, the operator requesting the hearing shall bear the burden of proof at the hearing. If no request to set the matter for hearing is received from an operator in the field, the Commission may either dismiss the matter or set the matter for hearing on its own motion. If the matter is set for hearing on the Commission's motion, the proponents of UFT field designation shall bear the burden of proof.

(B) Operator application for UFT designation.
(i) An operator may propose that a field be designated as a UFT field by submitting an application to the Commission that includes an affirmative statement that the field qualifies for designation as a UFT field and providing core data or other supporting data and analysis in support of that affirmative statement.

(ii) If, on review of the completed application, Commission staff determines that the field meets the criteria in paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection, Commission staff shall notify all operators in the field that a UFT field designation order may be presented to the Commission for approval not less than 21 days after the date the notice is issued unless the Commission receives a written objection. If the applicant provides written waivers of objection from all operators in the field, then notice to the operators in the field shall not be required.

(iii) If the Commission receives a timely filed written objection to the notice of the proposal to designate the field as a UFT field, or if Commission staff determines that the field does not qualify for designation as a UFT field, then the applicant for UFT field designation may request that the application be set for hearing.

(iv) If the applicant requests a hearing, the Commission shall send a notice of hearing to all operators in the field proposed for designation as a UFT field at least 15 days in advance of the hearing.

(v) Following a hearing on the request, the hearings examiner may present a recommendation to the Commission regarding the request to designate the field as a UFT field.

(j) Effect of special field rules for UFT fields.

(1) Special field rules for a UFT field shall prevail over all conflicting provisions of this chapter.

(2) The Commission may on its own motion or on the motion of an operator in a field call a hearing to review the current special field rules applicable in a field that is designated or proposed to be designated as a UFT field and request amendment or rescission of any portion of the current field rules, in conjunction with such designation, so that the field is regulated with the appropriate combination of special field rules and the rules in this chapter to effectively and efficiently protect correlative rights and/or prevent waste.

(3) The following provisions shall apply with respect to specific amendments to the special field rules for a UFT field.
(A) A special field rule amendment hearing is not required for the following amendments:
(i) reduction of the standard and/or optional density to one-half of the existing standard and/or optional density;

(ii) deletion of the between-well spacing rule; or

(iii) replacement of the allowable provided by special field rules with the allowable provided by § RSA 3.31 of this title, § RSA 3.45 of this title (relating to Oil Allowables), and subsection (d)(4) and (5) of this section.

(B) To request one or more of the amendments listed in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the operator shall submit to the Commission a request for amendment and engineering and/or geological data to support the requested amendments. For each exhibit submitted, the operator shall include a written explanation showing that the requested amendment will result in the protection of correlative rights and/or the prevention of waste.

(C) Upon receipt of a request for amendment, the Commission shall provide notice of the request to all operators in the field. If no written objection is filed within 21 days after the date the notice is issued, Commission staff may present a recommendation to the Commission regarding the requested amendment. If the Commission receives a timely filed written objection, the applicant may request a hearing to establish through the submission of competent evidence that the requested amendment is necessary for continued development of a designated UFT field, and will result in the protection of correlative rights and/or prevention of waste.

(k) Exceptions to §3.38 for a well in a UFT field. To request an exception to § RSA 3.38 of this title for a well in a UFT field:

(1) The operator shall submit to the Commission a written request for an exception to § RSA 3.38 of this title. The operator shall clearly state on the drilling permit application whether the density exception is sought under this subsection or through the provisions of § RSA 3.38 of this title.

(2) The Commission shall send written notice of the request for an exception to § RSA 3.38 of this title filed under this subsection to any designated operators, lessees of record for tracts that have no designated operator, and all owners of unleased mineral interests:
(A) within 600 feet from the location of a vertical well completed within the UFT field; or

(B) within 600 feet from any take point on a horizontal well within the UFT field correlative interval.

(3) Persons who have received notice pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection shall have 21 days from the date of issuance of the notice to file a written objection with the Commission.

(4) If no timely filed written objection is received by the Commission, the applicant provides written waivers from all persons entitled to notice under paragraph (2) of this subsection, or there are no persons entitled to notice, then the application may be a pproved administratively without the requirement of filing supporting data.

(5) If a timely filed written objection is received by the Commission, the applicant may request a hearing, at which the applicant shall show that the proposed exception to § RSA 3.38 of this title is necessary to effectively drain an area of the UFT field that will not be effectively drained by existing wells or to prevent waste or confiscation. Notice of a hearing for a protested exception application under § RSA 3.38 of this title for a well in a UFT field will be provided to those persons entitled to notice of such an application as specified in paragraph (2) of this subsection.

(6) Permits granted pursuant to paragraphs (1) - (5) of this subsection shall be issued as exceptions to § RSA 3.38 of this title.

(7) Nothing in this subsection prevents an operator from electing to apply for and obtain a density exception under the provisions of § RSA 3.38 of this title rather than the provisions of paragraphs (1) - (6) of this subsection.

(l) Tubing requirements for completions in UFT fields. An operator of a flowing oil well in a UFT field may obtain a six-month exception to the requirement in § RSA 3.13<subdiv>(b)(4)(A)</subdiv> of this title (relating to Casing, Cementing, Drilling, Well Control, and Completion Requirements) that flowing oil wells shall be produced through tubing. The exception may be granted administratively. A revised completion report shall be filed once the oil well has been equipped with the required tubing string to reflect the actual completion configuration.

(1) For good cause shown, including a showing that the well is flowing at a pressure in excess of 300 psig surface wellhead flowing pressure, an operator may obtain from the District Director one or more extensions to the six month exception. Each extension shall be no more than six months in duration. If the request for an extension is denied, the operator may request a hearing. If a hearing is requested, the exception shall remain in effect pending final Commission action on the request for an extension.

(2) This subsection applies to new drills, reworks, recompletions, or new fracture stimulation treatments for any flowing oil well in the field.

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