North Dakota Administrative Code › Title 43 - Industrial Commission › Article 43-02 - Mineral Exploration and Development › Chapter 43-02-03 - Oil and Gas Conservation › Section 43-02-03-55 - Abandonment of wells, treating plants, underground gathering pipelines, or saltwater handling facilities - Suspension of drilling

Current through Supplement No. 393, July, 2024
1. The removal of production equipment or the
				failure to produce oil or gas for one year constitutes abandonment of the well.
				The removal of production equipment or the failure to produce water from a
				source well for one year constitutes abandonment of the well. The removal of
				injection equipment or the failure to use an injection well for one year
				constitutes abandonment of the well. The removal of monitoring equipment from
				or the failure to use a subsurface observation well for one year constitutes
				abandonment of the well. The failure to plug a stratigraphic test hole within
				one year of reaching total depth constitutes abandonment of the well. The
				removal of treating plant equipment or the failure to use a treating plant for
				one year constitutes abandonment of the treating plant. The removal of
				saltwater handling facility equipment or the failure to use a saltwater
				handling facility for one year constitutes abandonment of the saltwater
				handling facility. An abandoned well must be plugged and its site must be
				reclaimed, an abandoned treating plant must be removed and its site must be
				reclaimed, and an abandoned saltwater handling facility must be removed and its
				site must be reclaimed, pursuant to sections 43-02-03-34 and 43-02-03-34.1. A
				well not producing oil or natural gas in paying quantities for one year may be
				placed in abandoned-well status pursuant to subsection 1 of North Dakota
				Century Code section 38-08-04. If an injection well is inactive for extended
				periods of time, the commission may, after notice and hearing, require the
				injection well to be plugged and abandoned. If an underground gathering
				pipeline is inactive for seven years, the commission may, after notice and
				hearing, require the pipeline to be properly abandoned pursuant to sections 43-02-03-29 and 43-02-03-29.1.
2.
				The director may waive for one year the requirement to plug and reclaim an
				abandoned well by giving the well temporarily abandoned status for good cause.
				If a well is given temporarily abandoned status, the well's perforations must
				be isolated, the integrity of its casing must be proven, and its casing must be
				sealed at the surface, all in a manner approved by the director. The director
				may extend a well's temporarily abandoned status and each extension may be
				approved for up to one year. A fee of one hundred dollars shall be submitted
				for each application to extend the temporary abandonment status of any well. A
				surface owner may request a hearing to review a well temporarily abandoned for
				at least seven years pursuant to subsection 1 of North Dakota Century Code
				section 38-08-04. Temporarily abandoned status for oil and gas wells may be
				given only to wells that are to be used for purposes related to the production
				of oil and gas within the next seven years.
3. The director may approve an oil well for
				enhanced oil recovery potential status if the subject oil well was completed
				with surface casing set and cemented to properly isolate the Fox Hills
				formation, additional strings of casing are properly cemented to adequately
				protect and isolate all formations containing water, oil, or gas or any
				combination of these, protect the pipe through salt sections encountered, and
				isolate the uppermost sand of the Dakota group, and the director has deemed the
				subject well to have a potential use in an enhanced oil recovery project. If a
				well is given enhanced oil recovery potential status, the well's perforations
				must be isolated, the integrity of its casing must be proven, and its casing
				must be sealed at the surface, all in a manner approved by the director. A
				surface owner may request a hearing to review a well that has been on enhanced
				oil recovery potential status for at least twelve years, pursuant to subsection
				1 of North Dakota Century Code section 38-08-04.
4. In addition to the waiver in subsection 2,
				the director may also waive the duty to plug and reclaim an abandoned well for
				any other good cause found by the director. If the director exercises this
				discretion, the director shall set a date or circumstance upon which the waiver
				expires.
5. The director may
				approve suspension of the drilling of a well. If suspension is approved, a plug
				must be placed at the top of the casing to prevent any foreign matter from
				getting into the well. When drilling has been suspended for thirty days, the
				well, unless otherwise authorized by the director, must be plugged and its site
				reclaimed pursuant to sections 43-02-03-34 and 43-02-03-34.1.
General Authority:
NDCC 38-08-04
Law Implemented:
NDCC
					 38-08-04