1. An initial board
order compulsory pooling any interests in a drilling unit, including the terms
and conditions of a JOA as adopted by the board, shall apply to any
subsequently drilled well in the drilling unit as authorized under Subsection
40-6-6.5(12),
subject to compliance with the following:
1.1. The operator has filed with the board a
motion to modify the initial order to apply its terms to an additional well in
the drilling unit which sets forth by affidavit:
1.1.1. The docket and cause numbers of said
initial board order;
1.1.2. The
location, identification, and description of the well drilled to which the
order is to apply;
1.1.3. An
identification of those owners who the operator asserts have no consented to
participate in the subsequent well after having been provided a notice of an
opportunity to participate and failing to consent or make objections as allowed
by Section
R649-2-8a,
and those owners who are either locatable, unlocatable, or cannot be
identified;
1.1.4. Certification
that the operator has made reasonable efforts to locate and provide notice to
the alleged Nonconsenting owner which shall include:
1.1.4.1. Copies of the written notice of
opportunity to participate sent to them together with a proof of service;
or
1.1.4.2. Proof of notice by
publication as required by Subsection
R649-2-9a (1.2) if any such alleged Nonconsenting owner is unlocatable or not identified;
and
1.1.5. A statement
that the average weighted landowner's royalty for the drilling unit remains the
same as that provided for in the initial board order or a calculation of the
average weighted landowner's royalty for the drilling unit at the time of
commencement of the drilling of the subsequent well as provided in Subsection
40-6-6.5(6);
1.1.6. The anticipated costs of plugging the
well; and
1.1.7. The risk
compensation award as determined by the board in the original order;
and
1.2. The motion to
modify the initial board order has been mailed by the operator, together with
copies of the initial board order and a recitation of the provisions of
Subsection
40-6-6.5(12) and Subsection
R649-2-8a to any such alleged nonconsenting owners, with a certification of service
evidencing the same executed and filed with the board; and
1.3. Within 30 days of the mailing of the
motion, no party has filed any objection to the motion to modify the initial
board order to apply to the subsequently drilled well in the drilling unit,
including, without limitation, any objection to said party's alleged nonconsent
status, the applicable risk compensation percentage or the reasonableness of
the actual costs incurred for the subsequently drilled
well.
2. Upon a written
notice filed with the board stating the foregoing conditions have been
satisfied, the board may enter an order declaring its initial compulsory
pooling order to be applicable to such subsequently drilled well, with
modifications for the matters addressed in the motion to modify the
order.
3. If an owner or other
person with an interest affected by the motion shall have filed an objection
within 30 days of the mailing of the motion to modify the order including, but
not limited to, an objection to said person's alleged nonconsent status, the
applicable risk compensation percentage, or the reasonableness of the costs of
the well, then the board shall set a time for a hearing in accordance with
Rules of Practice Before the Board in Rule R641-100.
3.1. The hearing shall be limited to
addressing the objections to the motion to modify the order as asserted by any
party.
3.2. The operator shall have
the burden to satisfy the requirements under Section
40-6-6.5
for the granting of the motion and the objecting owner shall have the burden of
establishing the merit to its objections.
3.3. The board shall enter an order
determining the application of the initial order to the subsequent well as to
any party who filed objections, and how the initial order will apply to others
who have not objected.
4.
If there are no objections made to the motion to modify the initial compulsory
pooling order, the initial order shall apply to the subsequent well as
requested.
5. The terms of any JOA
adopted by the board in an initial compulsory pooling order and applicable to
any subsequent order may not be in the contravention of the provisions under
Section 40-6-6.5, including providing that an owner shall be entitled to
receive notice of opportunity to participate in any subsequent well proposed in
the drilling unit regardless of the owner's prior consent or nonconsent status
on a prior well in the drilling unit.
