BEFORE THE OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
IN THE MATTER OF THE INVESTIGATION TO TAKE MEASURES TO PREVENT WASTE OF OIL AND GAS IN THE BLANCO-MESAVERDE FIELD, LA PLATA COUNTY, COLORADO	) ) ) )	CAUSE NO.   45 ORDER NO.   45-2

REPORT OF THE COMMISSION

This cause came on for hearing before the Commission on April 13, 1955, at 10:00 a.m., in Room 330, State Office Building, Denver, Colorado, after publication of Notice of Hearing as required by law, on the petition of the Southern Union Gas Company for an order amending Order No. 45-1, insofar as it pertains to the designation of drilling units adjacent to the Colorado-New Mexico state boundary, in the Blanco-Mesaverde Field, La Plata County, Colorado.

FINDINGS

The Commission finds as follows:

1.      That due notice of the time, place, and purpose of the Hearing has been given in all respects as required by law.

2.      That 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.

3.      That the Mesaverde Formation of the Blanco-Mesaverde Field constitutes a common source of supply of gas underlying, in addition to the area set forth in Cause No. 45, order no. 45-1, the following described lands in La Plata County, Colorado, to-wit:

Township 32 North, Range 10 West, N.M. P.M.*

Section 23:  W/2

Township 32 North, Range 11 West, N.M. P.M.*

Section 19:  E/2 E/2

* [sic]

4.      That the Commission finds that Rules 2 and 3 of its Order No. 45-1 should be amended to provide for redesignation of units lying immediately adjacent to the Colorado-New Mexico state boundary.

5.      That an exception should be allowed for the Southern Union Gas Company's Virbeth No. 1 well, located 990 feet west of the east line, and 990 feet south of the north line of Section 22, Township 32 North, Range 11 West of the New Mexico P.M., and that said well should be the permitted gas well for the drilling and spacing unit upon which it is located.

ORDER

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED, that the following rules and regulations shall apply hereafter to a well drilled, completed, or recompleted in the Mesaverde Formation of the Blanco-Mesaverde Field in La Plata County, Colorado, as set forth in this Order, and to those lands set forth in Cause No. 45, Order No. 45-1, in addition to other applicable rules, regulations, and orders of the Commission heretofore adopted and not in conflict herewith.

Rule 1.    The following drilling and spacing units shall be, and the same are hereby established for the production of gas from the Mesaverde Formation of the Blanco-Mesaverde Field, common source of supply underlying the following described lands in La Plata County, Colorado, which include the original Blanco-Mesaverde Field and the additional area herein described in the Findings:

Sections Six (6), Seven (7), Eight (8), Sixteen (16), Seventeen (17), Eighteen (18), Nineteen (19), Twenty (20), Twenty-one (21), Twenty-two (22), and West Half (W/2) Twenty-three (23), Township Thirty-two (32) North, Range Ten (10) West of the New Mexico Principal Meridian; and

Section One (1), Two (2), Ten (10), Eleven (11), Twelve (12), Thirteen (13), Fourteen (14), Fifteen (15), Sixteen (16), East Half of East Half (E/2E/2) Nineteen (19), Twenty (20), Twenty-one (21), Twenty-two (22), Twenty-three (23), and Twenty-four (24), Township Thirty-two (32) North, Range Eleven (11) West of the New Mexico Principal Meridian.

Rule 2.    No well shall be drilled or completed in the Blanco-Mesaverde Field, and no notice of intention to drill shall be approved by the Commission unless:

(a) Such well be located on a designated drilling unit of not less than Three Hundred Twenty (320) acres of land, more or less, according to legal subdivisions of the United States Land Surveys, in which unit all of the interests are consolidated by a pooling agreement or otherwise, and on which no other well is completed or approved for completion in the same pool;
(b) Such drilling unit be in the shape of a rectangle except for normal variations in legal subdivisions of the United States Land Surveys, the North Half (N/2), South Half (S/2) East Half (E/2), or West Half (W/2) of each full section (i.e., a section containing Six Hundred Forty (640) acres, more or less) to constitute a drilling unit, and the following legal subdivisions to constitute the drilling units in the cases of the fractional sections in Rang es Ten (10) and Eleven (11) West of the New Mexico Principal Meridian lying immediately adjacent to the Colorado-New Mexico state boundary:
	Township Thirty-two (32) North, Range Ten (10) West of the New Mexico Principal Meridian
	West Half (W/2) and West Half of East Half (W/2 E/2), Section Nineteen (19)
	East Half of East Half (W/2 E/2), Section Nineteen (19), and West Half (W/2), Section Twenty (20)
	East Half (E/2), Section Twenty (20); and West Half of West Half (E/2 W/2), Section Twenty-one (21)
	East Half of West Half (E/2 W/2) and East Half (E/2), Section Twenty-one (21)
	West Half (W/2) and West Half of East Half (W/2 E/2), Section Twenty-two (22)
	East Half of East Half (E/2 E/2), Section Twenty-two (22); and West Half (W/2), Section Twenty-three (23)
	Township Thirty-two (32) North, Range Eleven (11) West of the New Mexico Principal Meridian
	East Half of East Half (E/2 E/2), Section nineteen (19); and West Half (W/2), Section Twenty (20)
	East Half (E/2), Section Twenty (20); and West Half of West Half (W/2 W/2), Section Twenty-one (21)
	East Half of West Half (E/2 W/2) and East Half (E/2), Section Twenty-one (21)
	West Half (W/2) and West Half of East Half (W/2 E/2), Section Twenty-two (22)
	East Half of East Half (E/2 E/2), Section Twenty-two (22); and West Half (W/2), Section Twenty-three (23)
	East Half (E/2), Section Twenty-three (23); and West Half of West Half (W/2 W/2), Section Twenty-four (24)
	East Half of West Half (E/2 W/2) and East Half (E/2), Section Twenty-four (24)

(c) Such well, if to be drilled within full section, be either in the Northeast Quarter (NE/4) or Southwest Quarter (SW/4) of the section, and no closer than Nine Hundred Ninety (990) feet to boundaries of the quarter-section upon which it is located; and

(d) Such well, if to be drilled within a fractional section, be no closer than Nine Hundred Ninety (990) feet to the boundaries of the drilling unit upon which it is located.

Rule 3.    The Commission may, by order entered after due notice and hearing, and to prevent waste or confiscation of property, or to prevent inclusion of unproductive land in a drilling unit, grant exceptions to the provisions of Rule 2 above; and the Commission may, without additional notice and hearing, grant exceptions to Rule 2 (c) and (d) above when, because of topographical reasons, it is necessary to locate such well closer than Nine Hundred Ninety (990) feet to any applicable boundary referred to in such rules.

Rule 4.    In the event a 320-acre unit, according to the spacing pattern herein established, contains patented lands and Indian lands, and if the Department of the Interior fails to approve such unit, then the patented lands therein shall not be affected by the terms and requirements of this Order, or of Order No. 45-1, except for Rule 4 thereof.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that an exception shall be allowed for the Southern Union Gas Company's Virbeth No. 1 well, located Nine Hundred Ninety (990) feet west of the east line, and Nine Hundred Ninety (990) feet south of the north line of Section Twenty-two (22), Township Thirty-two (32) North, Range Eleven (11) West of the New Mexico Principal Meridian; and that said well shall be the permitted well for the drilling and spacing unit upon which it is located.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that the rules and regulations contained herein shall become effective forthwith, and henceforth the commencement of the drilling of any well or wells in the Mesaverde Formation of the Blanco-Mesaverde Field, as defined herein, for the purpose of producing gas therefrom, at a location other than authorized by this Order, is hereby prohibited.

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 rules and regulations.

ORDERED this 13th day of April, 1955, by the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission of the State of Colorado.

OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
	By	Annabel Hogsett, Secretary