NY Env Conserv L § 23-0501 (2021)
2021 New York Laws ENV - Environmental Conservation Article 23 - Mineral Resources Title 5 - Well Permits and Well Spacing in Oil and Natural Gas Pools and Fields 23-0501 - Well Permits.

§ 23-0501. Well permits.   1.  a.  This  section  shall not apply to (1) wells drilled, deepened, plugged back or converted in oil fields or pools which were  discovered, developed   and  operated  prior  to  January  first,  nineteen  hundred eighty-one, and (2) wells drilled, deepened, plugged back  or  converted in  natural  gas  fields  or  pools which were discovered, developed and operated prior to January first, nineteen hundred ninety-five and  which are not being extended.   b.  As used in titles five, seven and nine of this article, unless the context otherwise requires:  (1) "Statewide spacing" means spacing units for gas or oil wells  that are  within  ten  percent  of the following sizes, as applicable, unless another percentage is specifically stated:  (i) For Medina gas pools at any depth,  40  acres  with  the  wellbore within  the  target  formation  no  less  than  460  feet  from any unit boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres  necessary and  sufficient to ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target formation is not less than 460 feet from any unit boundary;  (ii) For Onondaga reef or Oriskany gas pools at any depth,  160  acres with the wellbore within the target formation no less than 660 feet from any  unit  boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to ensure that any horizontal  wellbore  within the target formation is not less than 660 feet from any unit boundary;  (iii)  For  fault-bounded  Trenton  and/or  Black  River  hydrothermal dolomite gas pools where the majority of the pool is between  4,000  and 8,000  feet  deep, 320 acres with the proposed productive section of the wellbore within the target formation no less than one-half mile from any other well in another unit in the same pool and no less than 1,000  feet from any unit boundary that is not defined by a field-bounding fault but in no event less than 660 feet from any unit boundary;  (iv)   For  fault-bounded  Trenton  and/or  Black  River  hydrothermal dolomite gas pools where the majority of the pool is below  8,000  feet, within five percent of 640 acres with the proposed productive section of the  wellbore within the target formation no less than one mile from any other well in another unit in the same pool and no less than 1,500  feet from any unit boundary that is not defined by a field-bounding fault but in no event less than 660 feet from any unit boundary;  (v)  For shale gas pools at any depth, for a vertical well outside any existing spacing unit for the same formation, 40 acres with the wellbore within the target  formation  no  less  than  460  feet  from  any  unit boundary;  (vi)  For  shale gas pools at any depth, for a horizontal well outside any existing spacing unit for the same  formation  and  with  a  written commitment  from  the  well  operator  to drill infill wells pursuant to subdivision 4 of section 23-0503 of  this  title,  with  all  horizontal infill  wells  in  the  unit to be drilled from a common well pad within three years of the date the first well in the unit  commences  drilling, notwithstanding   the   ten   percent   tolerance   specified   in  this subparagraph, up to 640 acres with the initial  horizontal  wellbore  or wellbores  within  the  target  formation  approximately centered in the spacing unit and no wellbore in the target formation less than 330  feet from any unit boundary;  (vii)  For shale gas pools at any depth, for a horizontal well outside any existing spacing unit for the same formation and in the absence of a written commitment from the well operator to drill infill wells pursuant to subdivision 4 of section 23-0503 of this title,  40  acres  with  the wellbore within the target formation no less than 330 feet from any unit boundary plus the number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to  ensure  that  the  wellbore within the target formation is not less than 330 feet from any unit boundary;  (viii) For all other gas pools where the majority of the pool is above the  depth  of  4,000 feet, 80 acres with the wellbore within the target formation no less than  460  feet  from  any  unit  boundary,  plus,  if applicable,  the  number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target formation  is  not less than 460 feet from any unit boundary;  (ix)  For  all other gas pools where the majority of the pool is 4,000 to 6,000 feet deep, 160  acres  with  the  wellbore  within  the  target formation  no  less  than  660  feet  from  any  unit boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres necessary and  sufficient  to ensure  that  any horizontal wellbore within the target formation is not less than 660 feet from any unit boundary;  (x) For all other gas pools where the majority of the pool is 6,000 to 8,000 feet deep, 320 acres with the wellbore within the target formation no less than 1,000 feet from any unit boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to ensure  that  any horizontal  wellbore  within the target formation is not less than 1,000 feet from any unit boundary;  (xi) For all other gas pools where the majority of the pool  is  below 8,000  feet,  within  five percent of 640 acres with the wellbore within the target formation no less than 1,500 feet  from  any  unit  boundary, plus,  if  applicable,  the  number  of  additional  acres necessary and sufficient to ensure that any  horizontal  wellbore  within  the  target formation is not less than 1,500 feet from any unit boundary;  (xii) For oil pools in the Bass Island, Trenton, Black River, Onondaga reef or other oil-bearing reefs at any depth, 40 acres with the wellbore within  the  target  formation  no  less  than  460  feet  from any unit boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres  necessary and  sufficient to ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target formation is not less than 460 feet from any unit boundary; and  (xiii) For all other oil pools at any depth, the wellbore  within  the target formation shall be no less than 165 feet from any lease boundary.   Wells completed under a well permit issued pursuant to clause (xii) or (xiii)  of  this  subparagraph  that do not produce oil may not commence production of natural gas prior to  modification  of  the  spacing  unit pursuant to applicable provisions of this title.  (2) "Well operator" means the applicant for a permit to drill, deepen, plug  back or convert a well subject to this title and titles 7 and 9 of this article, or the actual operator of the well  if  the  well  is  not operated by the original applicant.  (3)  "Permit"  or  "well permit" means a permit to drill, deepen, plug back or convert a well for production of oil or gas.   2. Every person who applies for a permit to drill an oil or  gas  well or  deepen  or  plug back a well to a different pool after the effective date of  this  section,  notwithstanding  prior  orders,  shall  control through  fee  ownership, voluntary agreement, or integration pursuant to section 23-0701 or 23-0901 of this article no less than sixty percent of the acreage within the proposed spacing unit for  such  well  and  shall provide the department with:   a.  A  map  in  a  format  specified  by  the department depicting the proposed spacing  unit  for  the  well,  the  surface  and  bottom  hole locations  of  the  well,  the  location  of  the wellbore in the target formation, the location of any field-bounding faults within the proposed spacing unit,  the  acreage  of  the  proposed  spacing  unit,  and  the boundaries of each tract wholly or partially within the proposed spacing unit as may be evidenced by tax identification numbers; and    b.  A demonstration that the applicant controls the oil or gas rights, as applicable, in the target formation to be penetrated by the wellbore, provided that, if the applicant does not control such oil or gas rights, the department shall  issue  a  permit  that  is  conditional  upon  the applicant completing the integration process required by section 23-0901 of  this  article  before the applicant can exercise the right to drill, deepen, plug back or convert under the permit.   3. (a) No permits shall be issued authorizing an applicant  to  drill, deepen,  plug  back,  or  convert  wells  that use high-volume hydraulic fracturing to complete or recomplete natural gas or oil  resources.  For purposes  of  this  section,  high-volume  hydraulic fracturing shall be defined as the stimulation of a well using  three  hundred  thousand  or more gallons of water as the base fluid for hydraulic fracturing for all stages  in a well completion, regardless of whether the well is vertical or directional, including horizontal.  (b) There shall be a moratorium on the department  taking  actions  on applications  filed  after the effective date of the chapter of the laws of 2020 which added this subdivision to drill,  deepen,  plug  back,  or convert  wells  that use gelled propane hydraulic fracturing to complete or  recomplete  natural  gas  or  oil  resources  until  the  department completes  an  analysis  of  the  potential  impacts  of  gelled propane fracturing and makes the analysis publicly available. The scope  of  the department's analysis shall reflect the potential for development of oil and  gas  wells  using  gelled  propane  hydraulic  fracturing and shall disclose the potential adverse impacts to the environment. For  purposes of this section, gelled propane hydraulic fracturing shall be defined as the  stimulation  of  a well using gelled propane or liquefied petroleum gas as the base fluid for hydraulic fracturing for all stages in a  well completion,  regardless  of whether the well is vertical or directional, including horizontal.   4. In furtherance of  the  policy  objectives  of  this  article,  the department  shall  take  all actions required by it under this title and titles 7 and 9 of this article as expeditiously as possible.