BEFORE
THE OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
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IN THE MATTER OF THE PROMULGATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF FIELD RULES TO GOVERN OPERATION FOR THE NIOBRARA FORMATION, WATTENBERG FIELD, WELD COUNTY, COLORADO |
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CAUSE NO. 407
DOCKET NO. 161000423
TYPE: POOLING
ORDER NO. 407-1950
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REPORT OF THE COMMISSION
The Commission heard this matter on May 1, 2017, at the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission offices, 1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 801, Denver, Colorado, upon application for an order to pool all interests in an approximate 640-acre horizontal wellbore spacing unit established for certain portions of Sections 4, 5, 8 and 9, Township 6 North, Range 67 West, 6th P.M., for the development and operation of the Niobrara Formation.
FINDINGS
The Commission finds as follows:
1. Extraction Oil & Gas LLC, Operator No. 10459 (“Extraction” 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, 1998, the Commission adopted Rule 318A, the Greater Wattenberg Area Special Well Location, Spacing and Unit Designation Rule.
5. On August 25, 2016, Extraction, 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 640-acre horizontal wellbore spacing unit established for the below-described lands (“Application Lands”), for the development and operation of the Niobrara Formation, and to subject any nonconsenting interests to the cost recovery provisions of §34-60-116(7), C.R.S., for the drilling of the Varra #12 Well (API No. 05-123-39992) (WSU #1) (“Wells”):
Township 6 North, Range 67 West, 6th P.M.
Section 4: S½S½
Section 5: S½S½
Section 8: N½N½
Section 9: N½N½
Wellbore Spacing Unit (“WSU”) No. 1
Varra #12 Well (Niobrara Formation)
6. On April 10, 2017, Applicant, 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 Ellen Brown, Landman for Applicant, showed that all nonconsenting interest owners were notified of the Application and received Authorities for Expenditure ("AFEs") and offers to participate in the Well. Further testimony concluded that the AFEs sent by the Applicant to the interest owners were fair and reasonable estimates of the costs of the proposed drilling operation and were received at least 35 days prior to the May 1, 2017 hearing date.
8. Land testimony showed the Applicant complied with the requirements of Rule 530., and is entitled to the cost recovery provisions pursuant to §34-60-116(7), C.R.S., for the Varra #12 Well.
9. 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.
10. Applicant agreed to be bound by oral order of the Commission.
11. 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 640-acre horizontal wellbore spacing unit established for certain portions of Sections 4, 5, 8, and 9, Township 6 North, Range 67 West, 6th P.M., for the development and operation of the Niobrara Formation.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:
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 640-acre horizontal wellbore 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 the costs specified in §34-60-116(7)(b), C.R.S., are first incurred for the drilling of the Varra #12 Well (API No. 05-123-39992) (WSU #1) (“Wells”):
Township 6 North, Range 67 West, 6th P.M.
Section 4: S½S½
Section 5: S½S½
Section 8: N½N½
Section 9: N½N½
Wellbore Spacing Unit (“WSU”) No. 1
Varra #12 Well (Niobrara Formation)
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 owners must reimburse the consenting working interest owners for their share of the costs and risks of drilling and operating the Wells (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 units 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 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.
8. The designated horizontal wellbore spacing unit described above shall be considered a drilling and spacing unit established by the Commission for purposes of Rule 530.a.
1. The provisions contained in the above order shall become effective immediately.
2. The Commission expressly reserves its right, after notice and hearing, to alter, amend or repeal any and/or all of the above orders.
3. Under the State Administrative Procedure Act, the Commission considers this Order to be final agency action for purposes of judicial review within 35 days after the date this Order is mailed by the Commission.
4. An application for reconsideration by the Commission of this Order is not required prior to the filing for judicial review.
ENTERED this 12th day of May, 2017, as of May 1, 2017.
OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
By____________________________________
Peter Gowen, Acting Secretary