| (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 §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 §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 §3.37
or §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 §3.31(j) 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 §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 §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 §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
Cont'd... |
