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

REPORT OF THE COMMISSION

The Commission heard this matter on August 20, 2012, at the offices of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, 1120 Lincoln Street, Denver, Colorado, upon application for an order to pool all interests in two approximate 160-acre designated wellbore spacing units for Sections 4 and 5, Township 3 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M. and Sections 32 and 33, Township 4 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M., to accommodate the drilling of the Guttersen D04-30D Well and the Gutterson D04-31D Well, for the development and operation of the Codell-Niobrara Formation.

FINDINGS

The Commission finds as follows:

1.         Noble Energy, Inc. (“Noble” 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 December 19, 1983, the Commission issued Order No. 407-1 (amended March 29, 2000), which among other things, established 80-acre drilling and spacing units for the production of oil, gas and associated hydrocarbons from the Codell Formation, with the unit to be designated by the operator drilling the first well in the quarter section.  The permitted well shall be located in the center of either 40-acre tract within the unit with a tolerance of 200 feet in any direction.  The operator shall have the option to drill an additional well on the undrilled 40-acre tract in each 80-acre drilling and spacing unit.  Sections 4 and 5, Township 3 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M. and Sections 32 and 33, Township 4 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M. are subject to this Order for the Codell Formation.

5.         On February 19, 1992, the Commission issued Order No. 407-87 (amended August 20, 1993), which among other things, established 80-acre drilling and spacing units for the production of oil, gas and associated hydrocarbons from the Codell and Niobrara Formations, with the permitted well locations in accordance with the provisions of Order No. 407-1.  Sections 4 and 5, Township 3 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M. and Sections 32 and 33, Township 4 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M. are subject to this Order for the Codell-Niobrara Formation.

6.         On April 27, 1988, the Commission adopted Rule 318A, which among other things, allowed certain drilling locations to be utilized to drill or twin a well, deepen a well or recomplete a well and to commingle any or all Cretaceous Age Formations from the base of the Dakota Formation to the surface. Rule 318A. supersedes all prior Commission drilling and spacing orders affecting well location and density requirements of Greater Wattenberg Area wells.   On December 5, 2005, Rule 318A was amended, among other things, to allow interior infill and boundary wells to be drilled and wellbore spacing units to be established.  On August 8, 2011, Rule 318A was again amended, among other things, to address drilling of horizontal wells.  Sections 4 and 5, Township 3 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M. and Sections 32 and 33, Township 4 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M. are subject to this Order for the Codell-Niobrara Formation.

7.         On April 29, 2010, the Commission issued Order No. 407-363 which, among other things, pooled all nonconsenting interests in an approximate 160-acre designated wellbore spacing unit, for the development and operation of the Codell-Niobrara Formation.  Sections 4 and 5, Township 3 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M. are subject to this Order for the Codell-Niobrara Formation.

8.         On May 16, 2011, the Commission issued Order No. 407-410 which, among other things, established an approximate 320-acre wellbore spacing unit and approved one horizontal well within the unit, with the treated interval of the wellbore to be located no closer than 460 feet from the boundary of the unit, for the production of gas, oil and associated hydrocarbons from the Niobrara Formation.  Section 4, Township 3 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M. and Section 33, Township 4 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M. are subject to this Order for the Niobrara Formation.

9.         On June 20, 2012, Noble, by its attorneys, filed with the Commission a verified application (“Application”) for an order to pool all interests in two approximate 160-acre designated wellbore spacing units for the below-described lands (“Application Lands”) to accommodate the Guttersen D04-30D Well (API No. 05-123-33985) and the Gutterson D04-31D Well (API No. 05-123-33987) (“Wells”), for the development and operation of the Codell-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) were first incurred for the drilling of each respective Well, and to subject any nonconsenting interests to the cost recovery provisions of C.R.S. § 34-60-116(7):

                                    WSU #1         160-acre (Guttersen D04-30D Well):

Township 3 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M.

                        Section 4:      NW¼ NW¼                          

Section 5:      NE¼ NE¼                            

Township 4 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M.

Section 32:    SE¼ SE¼

Section 33:    SW¼ SW¼

                                    WSU #2         160-acre (Gutterson D04-31D Well):

Township 3 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M.

Section 4:      W½ NW¼                             

Section 5:      E½ NE¼

10.       On August 7, 2012, Noble, 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.

11.       Testimony and exhibits submitted in support of the Application by Joseph H. Lorenzo, Senior Land Manager for Noble Energy, Inc. showed that all nonconsenting interest owners were notified of the Application and received an Authority for Expenditure (“AFE”) and an offer to participate in the Wells.  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 and operation and was received at least 30 days prior to the August 20, 2012 hearing date.

12.       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.

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

14.       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 two approximate 160-acre designated wellbore spacing units for Sections 4 and 5, Township 3 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M. and Sections 32 and 33, Township 4 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M., to accommodate the drilling of the Guttersen D04-30D Well and the Gutterson D04-31D Well, for the development and operation of the Codell-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 two approximate 160-acre designated wellbore spacing units established for the below-described lands, are hereby pooled, to accommodate the drilling of the Guttersen D04-30D Well and the Gutterson D04-31D Well, for the development and operation of the Codell-Niobrara Formation, effective as of the earlier of the date of the 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 each respective Well:

WSU #1         160-acre (Guttersen D04-30D Well):

Township 3 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M.

                        Section 4:      NW¼ NW¼                          

Section 5:      NE¼ NE¼                            

Township 4 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M.

Section 32:    SE¼ SE¼

Section 33:    SW¼ SW¼

                                    WSU #2         160-acre (Gutterson D04-31D Well):

Township 3 North, Range 64 West, 6^th P.M.

Section 4:      W½ NW¼                             

Section 5:      E½ NE¼

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 leased (working interest) 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 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 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.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the wellbore spacing unit described above, shall be considered a drilling and spacing unit established by the Commission for purposes of Rule 530.a.

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 August, 2012, as of August 20, 2012.

                                                                        OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION

                                                                        OF THE STATE OF COLORADO

                                                                        By____________________________________         

                                                                                    Robert J. Frick, Secretary

Dated: August 30, 2012