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Oglala Sioux Tribe: Law and Order Code

Last amended: 1996; New Ordinances Received: 2002.

CHAPTER 40

OIL AND GAS SEVERANCE CODE



OIL PRODUCTION OPERATING PRACTICES.

SECTION 85.106 GAS-OIL RATIO TEST REQUIRED ON NEW OIL WELLS - PROCEDURE. Each operator shall take a gas-oil ratio test within 30 days following the completion or recompletion of an oil well, whose gas-oil ratio exceeds 100 cubic feet per barrel, said test shall follow the procedure authorized by the Agency.

SECTION 85.107 SUBSURFACE PRESSURE TEST REQUIRED ON NEW POOLS - PROCEDURE. The operator shall make a subsurface pressure test on the discovery well of any new pool hereafter discovered and shall report the results to the Agency within 30 days after the completion of such discovery well, said test to follow the procedure outlined and authorized by the Agency.

SECTION 85.108 CO-MINGLING OF OIL FROM SEPARATE POOLS PROHIBITED UNDERGROUND. Except as directed by the Agency after hearing, each pool shall be produced as a single common reservoir without commingling in the well bore of fluids from different pools. After fluids from different pools have been brought to the surface, such fluids may be co-mingled provided that the amount of production from each pool is determined by a method approved by the Agency.

SECTION 85.109 CONTROL OF MULTIPLE COMPLETED WELLS TO INSURE SEGREGATION OF SOURCES REQUIRED. Multiple completed wells which have been authorized by the Agency shall at all times be operated, produced and maintained in a manner to insure the complete segregation of the various common sources of supply. Tests deemed necessary to the Agency shall be complied with to determine the effectiveness of the segregation of the different sources supply.

SECTION 85.110 CASINGHEAD GAS TO BE MEASURED - EXCEPTIONS. The owner of a lease shall not be required to measure the exact amount of casinghead gas produced and used by him for fuel purposes in the development and normal operation of the lease, but that casinghead gas sold or transported away from a lease, except small amounts of flare gas, shall be measured upon a basis approved by the Agency.

SECTION 85.111 VENTED CASINGHEAD GAS TO BE BURNED - ESTIMATED VOLUME TO BE MEASURED. Pending arrangements for disposition for some useful purposes all vented casinghead gas shall be burned, and the estimated volume shall be reported to the Agency.

SECTION 85.112 USE OF VACUUM PROHIBITED. Vacuum pumps or other devices shall not be used for the purpose of creating a partial vacuum in any stratum containing oil or gas.

SECTION 85.113 AMOUNT OF WATER PRODUCED TO BE REPORTED. Operators shall report monthly to the office of the Agency the amount or percentage of water produced by each well making two percent of more water.

SECTION 85.114 OIL TO BE MEASURED BEFORE BEING SENT TO COLLECTION POINT. Oil shall not be transported from a tank battery or a central collection point until its volume has been determined in barrels of oil through use of properly calibrated meter measurements or tank measurements. Central collection may be used, provided the production from each well can be accurately determined at reasonable intervals .

SECTION 85.115 TANK BATTERY METERS TOBE CHECKED - REPORTS. After metering equipment has been installed the meters shall be checked against actual tank measurements at three month intervals and the results of the tests reported to the Agency.

SECTION 85.116 OIL STORAGE IN OPEN RECEPTACLES PROHIBITED - FIRE WALLS REQUIRED ON OIL TANKS . Oil shall not be stored or retained in earthen reservoirs, or in open receptacles. Dikes or fire walls must be erected and kept around all oil tanks, or battery of tanks when deemed necessary by the Agency.

SECTION d5.117 MONTHLY REPORTS OF PRODUCTION RE UIRED - PENALTY. The producer and operator of each and every well or proration unit or both in all pools shall on or before the twenty-fifth day of each month, succeeding the month in which the purchasing or taking occurs, file with the Agency a sworn statement showing the amount of production made by each such well and by each such proration unit upon forms furnished therefore. Wells for which reports of production are not received by the close of business on the twenty-fifth day of the month, shall not be included in the allocation or distribution of the market demand for the following month.

SECTION 85.118 DISPOSAL OF SALT WATER - POLLUTION PROHIBITED. All salt water liquids or brines produced with oil and gas shall be disposed of without pollution of fresh water supplies. At no time shall salt water liquids or brines be allowed to flow over the surface of the land or into streams .

SECTION 85.119 HEARING REQUIRED FOR DISPOSAL OF UNDERGROUND SALT WATER. Underground disposal of salt water liquids and brines shall be in accordance with an order of the Agency, after notice- and hearing, as set forth in Section 85.160 INFRA.

SECTION 85.120 APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR CONSTRUCTION OF SALT WATER HANDLING FACILITIES. Before any operator constructs a salt water handling facility he must first obtain written approval from the Agency.

SECTION 85.121 COORDINATOR TO INVESTIGATE COMPLAINTS - NOTICE OF FINDINGS - INSTIGATION OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS. Upon receipt of a complaint from an interested party, alleging oil well drilling or production operations which are in violation of the oil and gas regulations or any rule or order of the Agency, the Coordinator shall immediately cause an investigation of such complaint to be made. If, after such investigation, the Coordinator affirms that cause for complaint exists, he/she shall cause written notice of the results of his/her investigation to be mailed to the operator of the oil well drilling or production operation, within ten days after the completion of the investigation, in writing of his/her investigation. The Coordinator shall institute legal complaints) to instigate such legal proceedings as, in his/her discretion, he/she believes necessary to enjoin further activities resulting in the violation. Said Coordinator is authorized to enjoin or take other appropriate legal actions as authorized by the subsequent adoption of administrative regulations. An operator sanctioned by said Coordinator shall have a right to appeal to the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court.

TITLE IV GAS PRODUCTION OPERATING PRACTICES

SECTION 85.122 ANNUAL TESTS REQUIRED TO DETERMINE POTENTIAL OF GAS WELLS. All operator shall take tests annually to determine the daily open flow potential volumes of all gas wells from which gas is being used or marketed by using a procedure approved by the Agency.

SECTION 85.123 METHOD AND TIME FOR MAKING PRESSURE TESTS - SPECIAL ORDERS - FILING. Shut in pressure shall be taken by the operator with a calibrated gauge after a minimum of 24 hours on all gas wells during the months of April and October of each year unless the taking of such pressure is covered by special pool order. All shut in pressures shall be filed with the Agency.

SECTION 85.124 GAS FROM WELLS TO BE MEASURED. All gas produced shall be accounted for by metering, or other methods approved by the Agency and reported to said Agency by common purchaser of the gas . Gas produced from a gas well and delivered to a gas transportation facility, shall be reported by the owner or operator of the gas transportation facility, shall be reported by the owner or operator of the gas transportation facility. Gas produced from a gas well, and required to be reported under this rule, which is not delivered to and reported by a gas transportation facility, shall be reported by the operator of the well.

SECTION 85.125 GAS WASTE PROHIBITED. After the completion of a gas well, no gas from such well shall be permitted to escape to the air except as necessary for cleaning or testing, used expansively in engines or pumps and then vented, used to gas lift oil wells unless all gas produced is processed in a gasoline plant, or beneficially used thereafter without waste, or used for the manufacture of carbon black. Failure to comply with said requirements shall result in a fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) for each well in violation said section.

SECTION 85.126 EXCEPTION FROM RULESFOR STORAGE GAS. With the exception of the amount of requirements to meter and report monthly the amount of gas injected and the amount of gas withdrawn from storage, in the absence of waste, these rules shall not apply to gas being injected into or removed from storage.

SECTION 85.127 RULES APPLICABLE TO CARBON DIOXIDE AND STEAM WELLS. These rules are applicable to wells drilled for gas, carbon dioxide, and steam.

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