North Dakota Administrative Code › Title 43 - Industrial Commission › Article 43-02 - Mineral Exploration and Development › Chapter 43-02-02 - Subsurface Mineral Exploration and Development › Section 43-02-02-12 - Application for permit to drill and recomplete

Current through Supplement No. 393, July, 2024
A permit shall be required prior to commencement of
				  operations for the exploration or evaluation of subsurface minerals. The
				  application for a permit to drill (form 1-sm) shall be filed with the director,
				  together with a permit fee of one hundred dollars. In extenuating
				  circumstances, verbal approval may be given for site preparation by the
				  director. No drilling activity shall commence until such application is
				  approved and a permit to drill is issued by the director. The application must
				  be accompanied by the bond pursuant to section
				  43-02-02-11 or the applicant must
				  have previously filed such bond with the commission, otherwise the application
				  is incomplete. An incomplete application received by the commission has no
				  standing and will not be deemed filed until it is complete.
A permit shall be required for each deep well not included in
				  an approved mining plan.
A permit shall be required for each testhole drilling program
				  exploring for subsurface minerals. The area to be explored shall be outlined on
				  the application and the permit shall be valid in the area so outlined.
The application for permit to drill shall be accompanied by
				  an accurate plat certified by a registered surveyor showing the location of the
				  proposed well with reference to true north and the nearest lines of a
				  governmental section. The plat shall also include latitude and longitude of the
				  proposed well location to the nearest tenth of a second. Information to be
				  included in such application shall be the proposed depth to which the well will
				  be drilled; estimated depth to the top of important markers; estimated depth to
				  the top of objective horizons; the proposed mud program; the proposed casing
				  program, including size and weight; the depth at which each casing string is to
				  be set; the proposed pad layout, including cut and fill diagrams; and the
				  proposed amount of cement to be used, including the estimated top of the
				  cement.
Prior to the commencement of recompletion operations or
				  drilling horizontally, an application for permit shall be filed with the
				  director. Included in such application shall be the notice of intention (form
				  4-sm) to reenter a well by drilling horizontally, deepening, or plugging back
				  to any source of supply other than the producing horizon in an existing well.
				  Such notice shall include the name and file number and exact location of the
				  well, the approximate date operations will begin, the proposed procedure, the
				  estimated completed total depth, the anticipated hydrogen sulfide content in
				  produced gas from the proposed source of supply, the weight and grade of all
				  casing currently installed in the well unless waived by the director, the
				  casing program to be followed, and the original total depth with a permit fee
				  of fifty dollars. The director may deny any application if it is determined, in
				  accordance with the latest version of ANSI/NACE MR0175/ISO 15156, that the
				  casing currently installed in the well would be subject to sulfide stress
				  cracking.
The applicant shall provide any additional information
				  requested by the director, in addition to that specifically required by this
				  section. The director may impose such terms and conditions on the permits
				  issued under this section as the state geologist deems necessary.
The director shall deny an application for a permit under
				  this section if the proposal would violate correlative rights or would cause,
				  or tend to cause, waste. The director shall state in writing to the applicant
				  the reason for the denial of the permit. The applicant may appeal the decision
				  of the director to the commission.
A permit to drill automatically expires one year after the
				  date it was issued, unless the well is drilling or has been drilled before
				  surface casing. A permit to recomplete or to drill horizontally automatically
				  expires one year after the date it was issued, unless such project has
				  commenced.
General Authority:
NDCC
					 38-12-03
Law Implemented:
NDCC
					 38-12-03