Texas Administrative Code › Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION › Part 1 - RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS › Chapter 3 - OIL AND GAS DIVISION › Section 3.27 - Gas to Be Measured and Surface Commingling of Gas

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) All natural gas, except casinghead gas,
				produced from wells shall be measured, with each completion being measured
				separately, before the gas leaves the lease, and the producer shall report the
				volume produced from each completion to the Commission. For Commission
				purposes, the measurement requirements of this section are satisfied by the use
				of coriolis or turbine meters or any other measurement device or technology
				that conforms to standards established, as of the time of installation, by the
				American Petroleum Institute (API) or the American Gas Association (AGA) for
				measuring oil or gas, as applicable, or approved by the Director of the Oil and
				Gas Division as an accurate measurement technology. Exceptions to this
				provision may be granted by the Commission upon written application.
(b) All casinghead gas sold, processed for
				its gasoline content, used in a field other than that in which it is produced,
				or used in cycling or repressuring operations, shall be measured before the gas
				leaves the lease, and the producer shall report the volume produced to the
				Commission. Exceptions to this provision may be granted by the Commission upon
				written application.
(c) All
				casinghead gas produced in this state which is not covered by the provisions of
				subsection (b) of this section, shall be measured before the gas leaves the
				lease, is used as fuel, or is released into the air, based on its use or on
				periodic tests, and reported to the Commission by the producer. The volume of
				casinghead gas produced by wells exempt from gas/oil ratio surveys must be
				estimated, based on general knowledge of the characteristics of the wells.
				Exceptions to this provision may be granted by the Commission upon written
				application.
(d) Releases and
				production of gas at a volume or daily flow rate, commonly referred to as "too
				small to measure" (TSTM), which, due to minute quantity, cannot be accurately
				determined or for which a determination of gas volume is not reasonably
				practical using routine oil and gas industry methods, practices, and techniques
				are exempt from compliance with this rule and are not required to be reported
				to the Commission or charged against lease allowable production.
(e) The Commission may approve surface
				commingling of gas or oil and gas described in subsections (a), (b) or (c) of
				this section and produced from two or more tracts of land producing from the
				same Commission-designated reservoir or from one or more tracts of land
				producing from different Commission-designated reservoirs in accordance with
				§
									RSA
				3.26 of this title (relating to Separating
				Devices, Tanks, and Surface Commingling of Oil).
(f) In reporting gas well production, the
				full-well stream gas shall be reported and charged against each gas well for
				allowable purposes. All gas produced, including all gas used on the lease or
				released into the air, must be reported regardless of its
				disposition.
(g) If gas is produced
				from a lease or other property covered by the coastal or inland waters of the
				state, the gas produced may, at the option of the operator, be measured on a
				shore or at a point removed from the lease or other property from which it was
				produced.
(h) All natural
				hydrocarbon gas produced and utilized from wells completed in geothermal
				resource reservoirs shall be measured and allocated to each individual lease
				based on semiannual tests conducted on full well stream lease
				production.
(i) For purposes of
				this rule, "measured" shall mean a determination of gas volume in accordance
				with this rule and other rules of the Commission, including accurate estimates
				of unmetered gas volumes released into the air or used as fuel.
(j) No meter or meter run used for measuring
				gas as required by this rule shall be equipped with a manifold which will allow
				gas flow to be diverted or bypassed around the metering element in any manner
				unless it is of the type listed in paragraphs (1) or (2) of this subsection:
(1) double chambered orifice meter fittings
				with proper meter manifolding to allow equalized pressure across the meter
				during servicing;
(2) double
				chambered or single chambered orifice meter fittings equipped with proper meter
				manifolding or other types of metering devices accompanied by one of the
				following types of meter inspection manifolds:
(A) a manifold with block valves on each end
				of the meter run and a single block valve in the manifold complete with
				provisions to seal and a continuously maintained seal record;
(B) an inspection manifold having block
				valves at each end of the meter run and two block valves in the manifold with a
				bleeder between the two and with one valve equipped with provisions to seal and
				continuously maintained seal records;
(C) a manifold equipped with block valves at
				each end of the meter run and one or more block valves in the manifold, when
				accompanied by a documented waiver from the owner or owners of at least 60% of
				the royalty interest and the owner or owners of at least 60% of the working
				interest of the lease from which the gas is produced.