RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
October
29, 2001
The
Oil and Gas Conservation Commission met on October 29th at 10:00
a.m. in Suite 801, the Chancery Building, 1120 Lincoln Street, Denver, Colorado, for a hearing in Cause Nos. 112, 113,
316 and 317.
Those
present were:
Stephen
Sonnenberg Chair
Tom
Ann Casey Commissioner
Michael
Klish Commissioner
Peter
Mueller Commissioner
Abe
Phillips Commissioner
Lynn
Shook Commissioner
Carol
Harmon Assistant
Attorney General
Rich
Griebling Director
Brian
Macke Deputy
Director
Patricia
Beaver Hearings
Manager
The Commission
unanimously approved the minutes from the August 2001 meeting.
Executive Director’s
Report: Shane Henry, Assistant Director, Department of Natural Resources
discussed the following: He is pleased
to be with the Department and welcomed new Commissioners Mueller and Shook;
Lyle Lafferty, new Director for Parks should be on board by December 1st;
the process to hire a new Land Board Director is ongoing but should be
completed within the next several months; a new report on the health of trees
in Colorado is forthcoming.
Director’s Report: Director Griebling provided a written report
and discussed the following: The number
of permits approved to date has dropped off slightly but is expected to resume
the projected pace for the remainder of the year; the next Northwest Oil and
Gas Forum will be held on November 15th; Brian Macke addressed the
Colorado Association of Soil Conservation Districts on October 4th,
with field inspector Linda Pavelka present.
Changes have been proposed to Order Nos. 112-156 and 112-157 regarding
frequency of GORT meetings and onsite inspection requirements. After discussion and comments from the
audience, the Commission agreed that the Director should grant a variance under
Rule 502.b. to make the proposed changes.
A new inspector for southeast Colorado is expected to be hired
soon. The frequency of the
WQCC/WQCD/OGCC meetings has changed from four to two each year. COGCC staff has a rulemaking hearing at the
WQCC on December 10th.
Welcome to Shannon Haliw who joined the staff on September 10th
as the new Administrative Assistant.
The well log imaging project is almost complete and many logs are
available on the COGCC website. The
staff has proposed a policy for Commission adoption to address plugged and
abandoned wells and E&P waste encountered by surface development
projects. A discussion on the policy
will be noticed for the December hearing and notice will be given to homebuilders’
groups. Variances as described in the
staff report were granted by the Director.
The Commission approved the 2002 hearing schedule.
AAG’s Report: Assistant Attorney General Harmon responded
to Commissioner questions regarding whether the Commission has authority over
surface developers encroaching on oil and gas operations. She stated that it is clear the Commission
has broad authority over oil and gas operations but it is less clear that the
authority extends to surface developers encroaching on oil and gas
operations. She requested a motion
under §24-6-402(3)(a)(11). C.R.S., 2001 to go into executive session to discuss
pending litigation. The Commission
voted unanimously to go into and come out of executive session.
Commissioner
Comments: Commissioners Shook and
Mueller introduced themselves and provided a brief background on their
education and experience. Chair
Sonnenberg expressed his gratitude for the years of service Commissioner Bruce
Johnson gave the Commission and the state of Colorado. He stated that Commissioner Klish will
replace former Commissioner Johnson as the Commission representative for the
WQCC/WQCD/OGCC meetings and that Commissioner Cree will replace former
Commissioner Johnson on the MEGA Board.
Review
of Trinidad Area Earthquake Study: Mark
Meremonte made a presentation on the current results from the U.S.G.S.
earthquake study. Questions were
answered by Art Frankel, U.S.G.S. and Vince Matthews, C.G.S. The U.S.G.S. cannot determine the cause of
the earthquakes. The Commission would
like to be updated if a cause is determined and noted that the number and
magnitude of the earthquakes is diminishing. Chair Sonnenberg suggested the
COGCC staff perform a quick review of earthquake activity prior to permitting
injection wells.
Audience Comments: Ken Wonstolen, Colorado Oil and Gas
Association (“COGA”) invited the new Commissioners to COGA’s annual meeting on
November 7th as previous invitations were extended to existing
Commissioners. He updated the
Commission on the following: pending
federal energy legislation; possible state legislation for the 2002 session to
designate oil and gas development areas, address dormant minerals, completely
fund the COGCC from severence taxes, possible surface damages bill, possible
COGCC Commissioner make-up bill and possible bill to handle surface and
subsurface conflicts. Mr. Wonstolen
also updated the Commission on COGA’s litigation in the Town of Frederick, five
counties’ Rule 303.a. litigation, and the Las Animas County litigation.
Cause No. 1, Docket No.
0108-GA-06, request by Apache Canyon Gas, LLC for an order for payment from
Evergreen Resources, Inc. for proceeds from the W½ SE¼ and NE¼ SE¼ of Section
27, Township 33 South, Range 66 West, 6th P.M. was withdrawn.
Cause No. 1, Docket No.
0108-EX-04, request by Prima Oil & Gas Company for an order allowing the drilling of the Eaton Cattle No.
19-21 Well at an exception location 282.9 feet from the north line and 2765.72
feet from the east line of Section 19, Township 4 North, Range 66 West, 6th
P.M. was withdrawn.
Cause No. 112, Docket No.
0110-EX-05, request by Texaco Exploration and Production Company for an order allowing the drilling of the
Wheeler No. 13-4 Well at an exception location 475 feet from the north line and
1670 feet from the east line in the NW¼ NE¼ of Section 13, Township 34, Range
10 West, 6th P.M. for production from the Fruitland Coal Formation was withdrawn.
Consent Agenda: The Commission unanimously approved the
consent agenda, which included the following:
Cause No. 316, Docket No.
0110-AW-09, request by Rosewood Resources, Inc. to allow additional wells to be
drilled on certain lands in Township 2 North,
Ranges 46 and 47 West and Township 4 North, Range 66 West, 6th P.M.
for production from the Niobrara Formation.
Cause No. 317, Docket No.
0110-AW-10, request by Rosewood Resources, Inc. to allow additional wells to be
drilled on certain lands in Township 3 North, Range
47 West, 6th P.M. for production from the Niobrara Formation.
Cause No. 113, Docket No.
0110-SP-03, request by Beartooth Oil and Gas Company to rescind the spacing in
the W½ of Section 23, Township 8 North, Range 90 West and to establish 160-acre
spacing in Sections 13, 14, 24 and the W½ of 23, Township 8 North, Range 90
West, 6th P.M. for production from the Lewis Formation.
Cause No. 112, Docket No
0110-GA-09, request by Texaco Exploration and Production Company to
allow the Wheeler No. 12U-4 Well to be located 1335 feet from the north line
and 1070 feet from the east line in the SE¼ NE¼ of Section 12U, Township 34
North, Range 10 West, N.M.P.M., within one and one-half miles of the outcrop
contact between the Fruitland and Pictured Cliffs Formation.
The
meeting adjourned at 12:05 p.m.
==============================================
The Secretary was therefore authorized to issue the
following orders:
Order No. 316-6, Shout Field, Yuma County: Approves the request by Rosewood Resources, Inc. for an order to
allow additional wells to be drilled on certain lands in Township 2 North, Ranges 46 and 47 West and Township 4
North, Range 66 West, 6th P.M. for production of gas and associated
hydrocarbons from the Niobrara Formation.
Order
No. 317-6, Whisper Field, Yuma County:
Approves the request by Rosewood Resources, Inc. to allow additional wells to be drilled on certain
lands in Township 3 North, Range 47 West, 6th P.M. for production of
gas and associated hydrocarbons from the Niobrara Formation.
Order No. 113-7, Craig-North
Field, Moffat County: Approves the
request by Beartooth Oil and Gas Company to rescind the spacing in
the W½ of Section 23, Township 8 North, Range 90 West and to establish 160-acre
spacing in Sections 13, 14, 24 and the W½ of 23, Township 8 North, Range 90
West, 6th P.M. for production of
gas,j and associated hydrocarbons from the Lewis Formation.
Order No. 112-161,
Ignacio-Blanco Field, La Plata County:
Approves the request by Texaco Exploration and Production Company to allow the Wheeler No. 12U-4 Well to be
located 1335 feet from the north line and 1070 feet from the east line in the
SE¼ NE¼ of Section 12U, Township 34 North, Range 10 West, N.M.P.M., within one
and one-half miles of the outcrop contact between the Fruitland and Pictured
Cliffs Formation.
Signed:
Patricia C. Beaver, Secretary
Approved:
Stephen Sonnenberg, Chair