N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 6 § 553.4

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 45, November 2, 2024

Section 553.4 - Exceptions

Where in its opinion there exists good and sufficient reason to permit an exception to the well spacing provisions of sections 553.1, 553.2 and 553.3 of this Part, the department may permit reasonable well location exceptions which will protect correlative rights and prevent waste. Any application for such an exception shall be made in writing in triplicate as a separate attachment to the application for permit as outlined in section 552.1 of this Title and shall set forth in ample detail the reason or reasons for such exception request. Upon receipt of this exception request, the department shall promptly schedule a public hearing to facilitate a decision on the application. When a location exception is granted, the department may adjust the production from such well or take such other action as it may deem necessary for the protection of correlative rights or to prevent waste.

Departmental Order

In the Matter of Considering the Establishment of Drilling Units in the Oriskany

and Reef Gas Pools of the Wyckoff Field in Steuben County

The Conservation Department of the State of New York does hereby order as follows:

1. Contiguous spacing units of 160 acres, more or less, subject to an accurate survey, are hereby established for the production of gas from the Oriskany and Reef Pools underlying the said Wyckoff Field.

2. Such spacing units shall as nearly as possible conform to those delineated on the map below, hereby, made a part of this order, except that minor variances may be granted by the department to correct any errors that may exist in said map or to simplify spacing unit formation and/or operations.

3. All indicated spacing unit boundaries coinciding with property lines, roads, or extensions thereof, will continue to remain so and all adjustments that may be necessary will be made on spacing unit boundaries that do not coincide with such established features.

4. The department reserves the right to decide what constitutes a minor variance and the right to grant or deny such variance.

5. The single permitted well in each spacing unit may be drilled at any point within an approximate 40-acre area in the center of the unit, but in no case nearer than 660 feet to any boundary of the unit, subject however, to the restrictions contained in section 553.2 of the rules and regulations of the department applicable thereto.

6. Unless otherwise agreed, pursuant to section 78 of the Conservation Law or ordered pursuant to section 79 of said law, the owner of each royalty interest within any spacing unit shall participate in the royalty income from the unit well in the relation that the acreage owned by him bears to the total acreage in such unit.

7. In the absence of any agreement to the contrary or an order pursuant to section 79 of the Conservation Law, the party holding the largest percentage of working interest in a spacing unit will be considered the operator thereof.

8. It will be the operator's responsibility to identify by accurate survey, the spacing unit boundaries and fractional acreages therein; to set forth the participation factors of the working and royalty interests and to file a formal unit declaration thereof with the Division of Oil and Gas in the Conservation Department and, as a matter of record, at the Steuben County Courthouse.

9. If all of the working interests in any spacing unit fail to agree upon a plan for the development and operation thereof, including their participation factors, or if any royalty interests which have not granted the necessary pooling powers to the working interests fail to agree on their participation factors, such unit shall not be developed, any gas produced or sold therefrom, unless the proceeds of all such production are paid into escrow pending final determination of a proceeding under section 79 of the Conservation Law and any judicial review thereof.

10. All wells shall be completed in such manner that there will be no commingling of gas from the Oriskany and Reef Pools below the surface of the ground.

11. If a well is completed in a manner permitting simultaneous production from the Oriskany and Reef Pools, the well head assembly and connections must be such as will permit individual testing of the pools.

12. The department will establish additional spacing units at the perimeter of those delineated on the attached map if future drilling so requires.

13. The existing four wells and their respective spacing units will be subject to all phases of this order.

14. This order shall be effective immediately. [Filed July 19, 1968]

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N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 6 § 553.4