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 "D" SAND OF THE BIJOU-WEST FIELD, MORGAN COUNTY, COLORADO

)

)

)

)

CAUSE NO. 124

 

ORDER NO. 124-1

 

REPORT OF THE COMMISSION

 

This cause came on for hearing before the Commission on January 13, 1959, at 10 a.m., in the Auditorium of the Department of Employment Building, Denver, Colorado, after publication of Notice of Hearing as required by law, on the application of The British-American Oil Producing Company for itself and the Far-West Trading Company, Petroleum, Inc., and Thames, Turnbull, and Zoch, for an order amending Order No. 116-3, to increase the maximum daily production of gas from any one producible well completed in the "D" sand formation; to provide that gas-oil-ratio tests be taken quarterly; and to provide that datum reservoir pressure tests be made at six-month intervals; and that the Commission issue such other rules as it may deem necessary in the premises.

 

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 geologic and engineering testimony presented at the hearing indicates that the area known as the Bijou Area contains five separate pools, as follows:  three D2 sand pools containing oil and gas, and two D1 sand pools containing dry gas; and that said area should be divided into three separate fields.

 

4.      That the Bijou-West Field, heretofore contained in the Bijou Area, Cause No. 116, should include only the following described lands in Morgan County, Colorado; to-wit:

 

Township 4 North, Range 60 West, 6th P.M.

 

 

Section 1:  All

Section 12:  All

Section 2:  E½

Section 13:  N½

Section 11:  E½

Section 14:  NE¼

 

5.      That in order to prevent waste, and to prevent the drilling of unnecessary wells, an order should be made establishing drilling and spacing units consisting of approximately forty (40) acres, according to the governmental survey thereof, for the production of oil from the D2 sand; and that the permitted well for each such drilling unit should be located in the center of each quarter-quarter section in the governmental survey; and that a tolerance of One Hundred (100) feet in any direction from the prescribed location should be permitted to avoid surface hazards and obstructions; and that no intention to drill a well should be approved until owners of interest within a given drilling and spacing unit have pooled their interests.

 

6.      That an increase in the gas allowable, for wells capable of producing from the D2 sand of the Bijou-West Field, from the present 150,000 cubic feet per day per well to 200,000 cubic feet per day per well will not result in waste, provided that the gas so produced is either (1) marketed and sold to supply domestic, industrial, commercial, or municipal needs; or (2) used for lease fuel, development or operations; or (3) returned to the D2 sand reservoir.

 

7.      That quarterly capacity and gas-oil-ratio tests and semi-annual bottom-hole-pressure surveys should be conducted.

 

ORDER

 

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED, that the following rules and regulations shall apply hereafter to a well drilled, completed or recompleted in the D2 sand formation underlying the Bijou-West Field herein described, in addition to other applicable rules and regulations and orders of the Commission if any, heretofore adopted and not in conflict herewith:

 

Rule 1.    Approximately forty (40) acre drilling and spacing units for oil shall be and the same are hereby established for the D2 sand formation underlying the following described lands in Morgan County, Colorado, to-wit:

 

Section One (1); East Half (E½) of Section Two (2); East Half (E½) of Section Eleven (11); all of Section Twelve (12); North Half (N½) of Section Thirteen (13), and Northeast Quarter (NE¼) of Section Fourteen (14), Township Four (4) North, Range Sixty (60) West, 6th P.M.,

 

and such area shall henceforth be known as the Bijou-West Field.

 

Rule 2.    Said units shall consist of approximately forty (40) acres, and the permitted well for each such drilling unit shall be located in the center of each quarter-quarter section in the governmental survey, and a tolerance of One Hundred (100) feet in any direction from the prescribed location shall be permitted to avoid surface hazards and obstructions; and no intention to drill a well shall be approved until all owners of interest within a given drilling and spacing unit have pooled their interests.

 

Rule 3.    (a)  In order to prevent waste and protect correlative rights, and to prevent the escaping, blowing, and releasing of gas in an excessive or unreasonable amount from wells capable of producing both oil and gas, the maximum daily production of gas from any one producible well completed in the D2 sand formation underlying said Bijou-West Field shall not exceed an approximately volume of Two Hundred Thousand (200,000) cubic feet; provided, however, that the gas so produced is either (1) marketed and sold to supply domestic, industrial, commercial, or municipal needs, or (2) used for lease fuel, development or operations; or (3) returned to the D2 sand reservoir; and provided further, that no gas shall be released directly or indirectly into the open air from any gas well.  A "gas well," as used herein, shall mean any well which has a producing gas-oil ratio of Twenty Thousand (20,000) cubic feet per barrel, or greater.

 

(b)     In order that the operators may produce any one lease in the most efficient manner possible, the gas allowable for any well or combination of wells on any given lease may be transferred and produced by any other well or combination of wells on the same lease; provided, however, that in no case shall an allowable greater than the capacity of the well be transferred.

 

(c)     Under and over production of gas from the D2 sand formation shall be adjusted on a quarterly basis.  Underproduction of gas during any one quarter may be made up only during the quarter immediately following; and any overproduction of gas during any one quarter shall be made up during the quarter immediately following.  A quarter, as used within this order, shall mean three consecutive months, beginning with January, April, July or October.

 

Rule 4.    Operators and owners of wells capable of producing from the "D" sand formation of the Bijou-West Field, as defined in Rule 1 hereof, shall make a quarterly gas-oil-ratio test of each of his [sic] producible wells.  Such tests shall be taken during the first fifteen (15) days of the last month of each quarter, and the results of such tests shall be submitted to the Commission on or before the 25th day of said month.  Each well shall be produced at its normal stabilized rate for a period of forty-eight (48) consecutive hours, and the gas-oil ratio shall be computed on the basis of the measurement of oil and gas during the last twenty-four (24) hours of said forty-eight (48) hour period.  A schedule shall be submitted to the office of the Commission and offset operators prior to testing, showing the wells and respective dates of tests.  The volume of gas measured shall be reported in units of cubic feet at a base pressure of 15.025 psia, and a base temperature of 60° Fahrenheit.

 

Rule 5.    A determination of datum reservoir pressure shall be made during the months of April and October of each year, such tests to be conducted during the first fifteen (15) days of a test month.  All wells capable of producing from said "D" sand formation shall be shut in and shall remain shut in until completion of the survey.  Datum reservoir pressure shall be determined after the entire field has been shut in for a period of at least twenty-four (24) hours, and such pressure shall be measured at a datum of Seventeen Hundred Twenty (1720) feet below sea level.  The results of said survey shall be reported to the Commission on or before the 25th day of said test month.

 

Rule 6.    Operators and owners of wells producing from the "D" sand formation shall file with the Commission a monthly report of production by wells, showing the number of days produced, covering the month next preceding the date of filing on or before the twenty-fifth (25th) day of each month.

 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that the provisions of this order shall apply to all operators and owners of wells capable of producing from the "D" sand formation underlying the Bijou-West Field, and shall remain in effect unless otherwise authorized by the Commission.

 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that this order shall become effective on April 1, 1959.

 

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, rules and regulations.

 

 

ORDERED this 11th day of February, 1959.

 

OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF COLORADO

 

 

By 

Annabel Hogsett, Secretary