Before any person shall commence the drilling of a stratigraphic test or any well below the freshwater level (other than an oil or gas well or injection well), such person shall file with the board his application for a permit to drill, accompanied by a fee of Six Hundred Dollars ($600.00), or some lesser sum as may be fixed by order of the board, payable to the State Oil and Gas Board. If the application complies in all respects with the rules and regulations of the board relating thereto, a permit shall be issued promptly by the supervisor. Any such permit, when issued and the fee paid thereon, shall be good for a period of one (1) year from the date thereof; and in the event drilling has commenced within one (1) year, the permit shall be good for the life of the well commenced, unless during the course of drilling or production the operator is changed.
If the application for a permit does not comply in all respects with the rules and regulations of the board relating thereto, said application shall be disallowed, and the supervisor shall promptly notify the applicant of the reason or reasons for the disallowance.
Miss. Code § 53-3-27