BEFORE THE OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF COLORADO

REPORT OF THE COMMISSION

The Commission heard this matter on May 6, 2013, at the Weld County Southwest Services Complex, 4209 Weld County Road 24 ½, Longmont, Colorado, upon application for an order to pool all interests in an approximate 1280-acre exploratory drilling and spacing unit for Sections 18 and 19, Township 6 North, Range 60 West, 6^th P.M., to accommodate the Wickstrom 18-2H Well, for the development and operation of the Niobrara Formation.

FINDINGS

The Commission finds as follows:

1.         Condor Energy Technology, LLC (“Condor” 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.         Rule 318.a. of the Rules and Regulations of the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission requires that wells drilled in excess of 2,500 feet in depth be located not less than 600 feet from any lease line, and located not less than 1,200 feet from any other producible or drilling oil or gas well when drilling to the same common source of supply.  Sections 18 and 19, Township 6 North, Range 60 West, 6^th P.M. are subject to Rule 318.a. for the Niobrara Formation.

5.         On March 7, 2013, Condor, by its attorneys, filed with the Commission pursuant to §34-60-116 C.R.S., a concurrent application (“Concurrent Application”), Docket No. 1302-SP-62, for an order to establish an approximate 1280-acre exploratory drilling and spacing unit, and approve up to eight horizontal wells within the unit, for the production of oil, gas and associated hydrocarbons from the Niobrara Formation.

6.         On March 7, 2013, Condor, by its attorneys, filed with the Commission pursuant to §34-60-116 C.R.S., a verified application (“Application”) for an order to pool all interests in an approximate 1280-acre exploratory drilling and spacing unit for the below-described lands (“Application Lands”), for the development and operation of the Niobrara Formation, effective as of the earlier of the date of this 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 Wickstrom 18-2H Well (“Well”), and to subject any nonconsenting interests to the cost recovery provisions of C.R.S. § 34-60-116(7):

Township 6 North, Range 60 West, 6^th P.M.

Section 18:      All

Section 19:      All

7.         On April 22, 2013, Prima Exploration, Inc. (“Prima”) and The William K. Warren Foundation (“Warren Foundation”), by their individual attorneys, filed with the Commission written protests (“Protests”) to the Application.

8.         On April 26, 2013, a prehearing conference on the matter was held by the Hearing Officer.  Following the prehearing conference, the Warren Foundation and Condor entered into a confidential settlement Letter Agreement dated April 30, 2013, resolving all issues in the Warren Foundation’s Protest.  Pursuant to the Letter Agreement, any application of the cost recovery provisions pursuant to § 34-60-116(7), C.R.S shall be made in accordance with the Letter Agreement.  The Warren Foundation has since withdrawn its Protest of the Application.

9.         On May 6, 2013, the Commission convened an adjudicatory hearing on the Concurrent Application in Docket No. 1305-SP-62, which was heard in conjunction with this matter and resulted in an order establishing an approximate 1,280-acre drilling and spacing unit for the Application Lands.  Condor presented evidence in support of its Application and Prima presented evidence in support of its Protest.  The Commission deliberated and made the following findings and entered the following orders.

10.       Land testimony and exhibits submitted in support of the Application by Sean Fitzgerald, Engineering and Land Manager of South Texas Reservoir Alliance LLC for Condor, showed that all nonconsenting interest owners were notified of the Application and received an Authority for Expenditure ("AFE") and 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 May 6, 2013 hearing date.

11.       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.

12.       Prima should be allowed until June 1, 2013, to make its election to participate in the Well. 

13.       Condor agreed to be bound by oral order of the Commission. 

14.       Based on the facts stated in the verified Application, having received two protests, and based on the evidence presented to the Commission at an adjudicatory hearing, the Commission should enter an order to pool all interests in an approximate 1280-acre exploratory drilling and spacing unit established for Sections 18 and 19, Township 6 North, Range 60 West, 6^th P.M., to accommodate the Wickstrom 18-2H 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 the approximate 1280-acre exploratory drilling and spacing unit established 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 any of the costs specified in C.R.S. §34-60-116(7)(b)(II) are first incurred for the drilling of the Wickstrom 18-2H Well:

Township 6 North, Range 60 West, 6^th P.M.

Section 18:      All

Section 19:      All

2.         The production obtained from the drilling and 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 drilling and spacing unit; each owner of an interest in the drilling and spacing unit shall be entitled to receive its share of the production of the Well located on the drilling and spacing unit applicable to its interest in the drilling and 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 drilling and 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 drilling and 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 drilling and 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 Prima shall have until June 1, 2013 to make its election to participate in the Wickstrom 18-2H Well.

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 _____ day of May, 2013, as of May 6, 2013.

                                                                        OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION

                                                                        OF THE STATE OF COLORADO

                                                                        By____________________________________       

                                                                                    Robert J. Frick, Secretary