Mich. Admin. Code R. 460.862 - Well meters

Rule 12.

(1) No gas shall be withdrawn from wells for transportation or sale, nor for any other regular and extended uses, except for fuel for drilling on the same lease, or for use for domestic purposes by lessors (as usually specified in oil and gas leases), without being metered, provided, however, that the commission may approve in advance an estimate of the amount that will be required for a specific drilling operation off the lease. The commission's representatives shall have access to all meter houses and meters at all times.

(2) Each gas well completed after the effective date of this order shall be equipped with its own separate meter, except that:

(a) The commission may, in cases of small wells, permit the measurement of the gas from more than 1 well through a single meter.

(b) The commission, the interested well operator and the gas purchaser jointly may, in cases of large wells of identical operator control, agree to the measurement of the gas from more than 1 well through a single meter; provided that:

(c) In either case (a) or (b) of this subrule, the gas from only 1 well at a time shall be measured by a single meter, and that through the use of check-valves, "blind" discs or other device or means, lines from all wells except the one from which gas is being measured shall be completely closed so that the gas from any 2 or more wells shall not be in any way intermixed prior to measurement.

(3) Meters shall be located as close to wells as is reasonably practicable, considering accessibility and the possible desirability in some cases of grouping not more than 4 well meters in 1 meter house. Flow lines from wells to meters shall be constructed, maintained and operated in such manner that leakage losses and waste may be avoided, and these lines shall be patrolled regularly to check for leaks or breakage that may develop through unforeseeable and unavoidable accidents.

(4) In view of the latitude allowed in the location of meters and the probability that the "point of delivery" of gas at the wellhead will be some distance from the point of measurement, the gathering company or purchaser is charged with a high degree of care in preventing all gas loss between these 2 points and shall therefore arrange its operating procedure to that end.

(5) The commission shall have authority, upon notice to any purchaser or transmitter, to cause to be made such tests as it may deem necessary to determine the accuracy or other conditions of any meter or if its appurtenances, (see R 460.907 and R 460.909 in "standards of gas service") and any such purchaser or transmitter shall be entitled to be present at any such test if he so elects.

(6) Upon written request by an interested well operator, well owner or fractional well owner, the commission shall cause to be made special tests of meter through which gas from a well is being measured for any purpose, and the applicant, the gas purchaser or transmitter, and other interested parties shall be entitled to be present when any such test is made. One such special test of a meter shall be made during any calendar year for a fee of $5.00; further special tests of the same meter during a calendar year may be made at the discretion of the commission upon written application of an interested well owner or operator presenting evidence of the necessity for such special test, for a fee of $15.00; but for any test after the first one during any calendar year, the commission may at its discretion add to the fixed fee of $15.00 a charge for all traveling and subsistence expenses incurred by its representatives in making such tests.

(7) Any application by an interested well owner or operator for a special meter test shall be accompanied by a deposit of the fixed fee for such test. If the test shows that the calculated measurements of gas are or have been in error more than 2% in favor of the gas purchaser, the deposit made by the well owner or operator shall be refunded to him, and the amount of such refund shall be paid to the commission by the gas purchaser.

(8) In cases where gas measurements are shown by meter tests to have been in error more than 2%, adjustments of accounts shall be made in favor of the party in interest who has been injured by reason of such errors, the measurement error indicated by the meter test being applied to all recorded gas measurements during the time such error has existed if such time is ascertainable, and if not ascertainable then said correction shall be made for 1/2 of the period since the meter was last tested and adjusted in a manner satisfactory to the commission; except that in cases where a different basis of adjustment considered by the commission to be fair and reasonable is provided for in gas purchase contract such different basis shall be effective.

(9) No adjustments in accounts need be made if such adjustments amount to less than $2.00 per month.

Notes

Mich. Admin. Code R. 460.862

1979 AC