BEFORE THE OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
IN THE MATTER OF THE PROMULGATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF
FIELD RULES TO GOVERN OPERATIONS IN THE WATTENBERG FIELD, WELD COUNTY, COLORADO |
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CAUSE NO. 407
ORDER NO. 407-677
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REPORT OF THE COMMISSION
The Commission heard this matter on July 9, 2012, in Suite 801, The Chancery
Building, 1120 Lincoln Street, Denver, Colorado, upon application for an
order to pool all interests in an approximate 150.04-acre designated wellbore
spacing unit for Section 18, Township 7 North, Range 63 West, 6th
P.M., to accommodate the Bashor AC18-62HN Well, for the development and
operation of the Niobrara Formation.
FINDINGS
The Commission finds as follows:
1.
Noble Energy, Inc. (“Noble” or
“Applicant”), as applicant herein, is an interested party in the subject
matter of the above-referenced hearing.
2.
Due notice of the time, place and purpose of the hearing has been given
in all respects as required by law.
3.
The Commission has jurisdiction over the subject matter embraced in said
Notice, and of the parties interested therein, and jurisdiction to promulgate
the hereinafter prescribed order pursuant to the Oil and Gas Conservation Act.
4.
On April 27, 1988, the Commission
adopted Rule 318A which, among other things, allowed certain drilling locations
to be utilized to drill or twin a well, deepen a well or recomplete a well and
to commingle any or all Cretaceous Age Formations from the base of the Dakota
Formation to the surface. Rule 318A supersedes all prior Commission drilling and
spacing orders affecting well location and density requirements of Greater
Wattenberg Area wells. On December
5, 2005, Rule 318A was amended to, among other things, allow interior infill and
boundary wells to be drilled and wellbore spacing units to be established.
On August 8, 2011, Rule 318A was again amended, among other things, to address
drilling of horizontal wells.
Section 18, Township 7 North, Range 63 West, 6th P.M. is subject to
Rule 318A for the Niobrara Formation.
5.
On May 15, 2012, Noble, by its attorneys, filed with the Commission a
verified application (“Application”) for an order to pool all interests in an
approximate 150.04-acre designated wellbore spacing unit for the below-described
lands (“Application Lands”) to accommodate the Bashor AC18-62HN Well (API No.
05-123-35093) (“Well”), for the development and operation of the Niobrara
Formation, effective as of the earlier of the date of the Application, or the
date that any of the costs specified in C.R.S. § 34-60-116(7)(b)(II) were first
incurred for the drilling of the Well, and to subject any nonconsenting
interests to the cost recovery provisions of C.R.S. § 34-60-116(7):
Township 7 North, Range 63 West, 6th P.M.
Section 18:
S½ S½
6.
On June 26, 2012, Noble, by its attorneys, filed with the Commission a
written request to approve the Application based on the merits of the verified
Application and the supporting exhibits.
Sworn written testimony and exhibits were submitted in support of the
Application.
7.
Testimony and exhibits submitted in support of the Application by Joseph
H. Lorenzo, Senior Land Manager for Noble, showed that all nonconsenting
interest owners were notified of the Application and received an Authority for
Expenditure (“AFE”) and an offer to participate in the Well. Further
testimony concluded that the AFE sent by the Applicant to the interest owners
was a fair and reasonable estimate of the costs of the proposed drilling
operation and was received at least 30 days prior to the July 9, 2012 hearing
date.
8.
The above-referenced testimony and exhibits show that granting the
Application will allow more efficient reservoir drainage, will prevent waste,
will assure a greater ultimate recovery of hydrocarbons, and will not violate
correlative rights.
9.
Noble
agreed to be bound by oral order of the Commission.
10.
Based on the facts stated in the verified Application, having received no
protests, and based on the Hearing Officer review of the Application under Rule
511., the Commission should enter an order
to pool all interests in an approximate 150.04-acre designated wellbore spacing
unit for Section 18, Township 7 North, Range 63 West, 6th P.M., to
accommodate the Bashor AC18-62HN Well, for the development and operation of the
Niobrara Formation.
ORDER
NOW, THEREFORE IT IS ORDERED,
that:
1.
Pursuant to the provisions of §34-60-116, C.R.S., as amended, of the Oil
and Gas Conservation Act, all interests in an approximate 150.04-acre designated
wellbore spacing unit for the below-described lands, are hereby pooled, for the
development and operation of the Niobrara Formation, effective as of the earlier
of the date of the Application, or the date that the costs specified in C.R.S.
§34-60-116(7)(b)(II) are first incurred for the drilling of the
Bashor AC18-62HN Well:
Township 7 North, Range 63 West, 6th P.M.
Section 18:
S½ S½
2.
The production obtained from the wellbore spacing unit shall be allocated
to each owner in the unit on the basis of the proportion that the number of
acres in such tract bears to the total number of mineral acres within the
wellbore spacing unit; each owner of an interest in the wellbore spacing unit
shall be entitled to receive its share of the production of the Well located on
the wellbore spacing unit applicable to its interest in the wellbore spacing
unit.
3.
The nonconsenting leased (working interest) owners must reimburse the
consenting working interest owners for their share of the costs and risks of
drilling and operating the Well (including penalties as provided by
§34-60-116(7)(b), C.R.S.) out of production from the wellbore spacing unit
representing the cost-bearing interests of the nonconsenting working interest
owners as provided by §34-60-116(7)(a), C.R.S.
4.
Any unleased owners are hereby deemed to have elected not to participate
and shall therefore be deemed to be nonconsenting as to the Well and be subject
to the penalties as provided for by §34-60-116 (7), C.R.S.
5.
Each nonconsenting unleased owner within the wellbore spacing unit shall
be treated as the owner of the landowner's royalty to the extent of 12.5% of its
record title interest, whatever that interest may be, until such time as the
consenting owners recover, only out of each nonconsenting owner's proportionate
87.5% share of production, the costs specified in §34-60-116(7)(b), C.R.S. as
amended. After recovery of such
costs, each unleased nonconsenting mineral owner shall then own its
proportionate 8/8ths share of the Well, surface facilities and production, and
then be liable for its proportionate share of further costs incurred in
connection with the Well as if it had originally agreed to the drilling.
6.
The operator of the well drilled on the above-described wellbore spacing
unit shall furnish the nonconsenting owners with a monthly statement of all
costs incurred, together with the quantity of oil and gas produced, and the
amount of proceeds realized from the sale of production during the preceding
month.
7.
Nothing in this order is intended to conflict with §34-60-116, C.R.S., as
amended. Any conflict that may arise
shall be resolved in favor of the statute.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that the wellbore spacing unit described above, shall be
considered a drilling and spacing unit established by the Commission for
purposes of Rule 530.a.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED,
that the provisions contained in the above order shall become effective
immediately.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that the Commission expressly reserves its right, after
notice and hearing, to alter, amend or repeal any and/or all of the above
orders.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that under the State Administrative Procedure Act the
Commission considers this Order to be final agency action for purposes of
judicial review within 30 days after the date this Order is mailed by the
Commission.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that an application for reconsideration by the Commission
of this Order is not required prior to the filing for judicial review.
ENTERED this
11th
day of July, 2012, as of July 9,
2012.
OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
By____________________________________
Robert J. Frick, Secretary
Dated at Suite 801
1120 Lincoln Street
Denver, Colorado 80203
July 11, 2012