N.M. Admin. Code § 19.15.16.16 - MULTIPLE COMPLETIONS; BRADENHEAD GAS WELLS
A. 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.
Notes
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