16 Tex. Admin. Code § 3.27 - Gas to Be Measured and Surface Commingling of Gas
(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
§
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.
(k) Whenever sealing procedures
are used to provide security in the meter inspection manifold systems, the seal
records shall be maintained for at least three years at an appropriate office
and made available for Commission inspection during normal working hours. At
any time a seal is broken or replaced, a notation will be made on the orifice
meter chart along with graphic representation of estimated gas flow during the
time the meter is out of service.
(l) All meter requirements apply to all
meters which are used to measure lease production, including sales meters if
sales meter volumes are allocated back to individual leases.
(m) The Commission may grant an exception to
measurement requirements under subsections (a), (b) and (c) of this section if
the requirements of this subsection are met. An exception granted under this
subsection will be revoked if the most recent well test or production reported
to the Commission reflects a production rate of more than 20 MCF of gas per day
or if any of the other requirements for an exception under this subsection are
no longer satisfied. An applicant seeking an exception under this subsection
must file an application establishing:
(1)
the most recent production test reported to the Commission demonstrates that
the gas well or oil lease for which an exception is sought produces at a rate
of no more than 20 MCF of gas per day;
(2) an annual test of the production of the
gas well or oil lease provides an accurate estimate of the daily rate of gas
flow;
(3) the flow rate established
in paragraph (2) of this subsection multiplied by the recorded duration
determined by any device or means that accurately records the duration of
production each month yields an accurate estimate of monthly production;
and
(4) the operator of the
pipeline connected to the gas well or oil lease concurs in writing with the
application.
(n) Failure
to comply with the provisions of this rule will result in severance of the
producing well, lease, facility, or gas pipeline or in other appropriate
enforcement proceeding.
Notes
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