N.M. Admin. Code § 19.15.16.16
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 23, December 10, 2024
Section 19.15.16.16 - MULTIPLE COMPLETIONS; BRADENHEAD GAS WELLSA. Multiple completions. (1) Filing. An operator intending to multiple complete shall file form C-101 or C-103 with the division for approval before completing and C-104 after completing along with information required by the form instructions.(2) Operation and testing. (a) The operator shall complete and produce wells so that commingling of hydrocarbons from separate pools does not occur.(b) The operator shall commence a segregation or packer leakage test within 20 days after the multiple completion. The operator shall also make segregation tests or packer leakage tests any time the packer is disturbed. The operator shall conduct other tests and determinations the division requires. The operator shall notify the appropriate division district office 48 hours in advance of tests so the district office may schedule personnel to witness the tests. Offset operators may witness such tests and shall advise the operator in writing if they desire to be notified of the tests. The operator shall file test results with the division within 20 days of test completion. In the event a segregation or packer leakage test indicates communication between separate pools, the operator shall immediately notify the division and commence corrective action on the well.(c) The operator shall equip wells so that reservoir pressure may be determined for each of the separate pools, and may install meters so that the gas or oil produced from each of the separate pools may be accurately measured.(d) No multiple completion shall produce in a manner unnecessarily wasting reservoir energy.(e) The division may require the operator to properly plug a zone of a multiple-completed well if the plugging appears necessary to prevent waste, protect correlative rights or protect ground water, public health or the environment.B. Bradenhead gas wells. (1) The division may permit production of gas from a bradenhead gas well only after hearing, except as noted in Paragraph (3) of Subsection B of 19.15.16.16 NMAC.(2) The operator shall submit the application for a hearing to the division in triplicate and include an exhibit showing the location of wells on applicant's lease and offset wells on offset leases, together with a diagrammatic sketch showing the casing program, formation tops, estimated top of cement on each casing string run and other pertinent data, including drill stem tests.(3) The director may grant an exception to Subsection A of 19.15.16.16 NMAC's requirements without notice and hearing where the operator files the application in due form, and when the lowermost producing zone involved in the completion is an oil or gas producing zone within an oil or gas pool's defined limits and the producing zone to be produced through the bradenhead connection is a gas producing zone within a gas pool's defined limits. The applicant shall include with the application a written stipulation that the applicant has properly notified offset operators.(4) The applicant shall furnish operators who offset the lease upon which the subject well is located a copy of the application. The director shall wait at least 10 days before approving gas production from the bradenhead gas well, and shall approve the production only in the absence of an offset operator's objection. If an operator objects to the completion the director shall consider the matter only after proper notice and hearing.(5) The division may waive the 10-day waiting period requirement if the applicant furnishes the division with the written consent to the production of gas from the bradenhead connection by the offset operators involved.(6) Subsection B of 19.15.16.16 NMAC shall apply only to wells completed after January 1, 1950 or, in Lea County after February 1, 1937, as bradenhead gas wells.N.M. Admin. Code § 19.15.16.16
19.15.16.16 NMAC - Rp, 19.15.3.113 NMAC, 12/1/08; 19.15.16.16 NMAC - Rn & A, 19.15.16.15 NMAC, 2/15/12