CHAPTER 9 HOW TO ACCESS FEDERAL LANDS FOR OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT - A BEST BUSINESS PRACTICES PRIMER
| Jurisdiction | United States |
(Feb 2008)
HOW TO ACCESS FEDERAL LANDS FOR OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT - A BEST BUSINESS PRACTICES PRIMER
U.S. Forest Service
Arlington, Virginia
Randy Karstaedt
U.S. Forest Service
Golden, Colorado
Jim Perry
Bureau of Land Management
Washington, D.C.
Jamie E. Connell
Bureau of Land Management
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Onshore Oil and Gas Order
The Order
Wednesday
March 7, 2007
No. 1
Onshore Oil and Gas Operations;
Federal and Indian Oil and Gas Leases;
Approval of Operations
Issued Under
43 CFR 3160
U.S. Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
[Page 9-2]
* * * * *
The following Order would be implemented by the BLM and the FS, but will not be codified in the Code of Federal Regulations.
Dated: December 1, 2006.
C. Stephen Allred,
Assistant Secretory, Land and Minerals Management.
Appendix--Text of Oil and Gas Onshore Order
Note: This appendix will not appear in the BLM regulations in 43 Code of Federal Regulations.
Onshore Oil and Gas Order Number 1
Approval of Operations
I. Introduction
A. Authority
B. Purpose
C. Scope
II. Definitions
III. Application for Permit To Drill (APD)
A. Where to File
B. Early Notification
C. Notice of Staking Option
D. Components of a Complete APD Package
E. APD Posting and Processing
F. Approval of APDs
G. Valid Period of Approved APD
H. Master Development Plans
IV. General Operating Requirements
V. Rights-of-Way and Special Use Authorizations
VI. Operating on Lands With Private/State Surface and Federal or Indian Oil and Gas
VII. Leases for Indian Oil and Gas
A. Approval of Operations
B. Surface Use
VIII. Subsequent Operations and Sundry Notices
A. Surface Disturbing Operations
B. Emergency Repairs
IX. Well Conversions
A. Conversion to an Injection Well
B. Conversion to a Water Supply Well
X. Variances
XI. Waivers, Exceptions, or Modifications
XII. Abandonment
A. Plugging
B. Reclamation
XIII. Appeal Procedures
Attachment I--Sample Format for Notice of Staking
[Page 9-3]
Onshore Oil and Gas Order Number 1
Approval of Operations
I. Introduction
A. Authority
The Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture have authority under various Federal and Indian mineral leasing laws, as defined in 30 U.S.C. 1702, to manage oil and gas operations. The Secretary of the Interior has delegated this authority to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which has issued onshore oil and gas operating regulations codified at part 3160 of Title 43 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The operating regulations at 43 CFR 3164.1 authorize the BLM's Director to issue Onshore Oil and Gas Orders when necessary to implement and supplement the operating regulations. The section also states that all such Orders are binding on the operator(s) of Federal and Indian onshore oil and gas leases (other than those of the Osage Tribe). For leases on Indian lands, the delegation to the BLM appears at 25 CFR parts 211, 212, 213, 225, and 227.
The Secretary of Agriculture has authority under the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act of 1987 (P.L. 100-203) (Reform Act) to regulate surface disturbing activities conducted pursuant to a Federal oil and gas lease on National Forest Service (NFS) lands. This authority has been delegated to the Forest Service (FS). Its regulatory authority is at Title 36 CFR, Chapter II, including, but not limited to, part 228 subpart E, part 251 subpart B, and part 261. Section 228.105 of 36 CFR authorizes the Chief of the FS to issue, or cosign with the Director of the BLM Onshore Oil and Gas Orders necessary to implement and supplement the operating regulations. The FS is responsible only for approving and regulating surface disturbing activities on NFS lands and appeals related to FS decisions or approvals.
B. Purpose
The purpose of this Order is to state the application requirements for the approval of all proposed oil and gas and service wells, certain subsequent well operations, and abandonment.
C. Scope
This Order applies to all onshore leases of Federal and Indian oil and gas (other than those of the Osage Tribe). It also applies to Indian Mineral Development Act agreements. For proposed operations on a committed state or fee tract in a federally supervised unit or communitized tract, the operator must furnish a copy of the approved state permit to the authorized officer of the BLM which will be accepted for record purposes.
II. Definitions
As used in this Order, the following definitions apply:
Best Management Practices (BMP) are practices that provide for state-of-the-art mitigation of specific impacts that result from surface operations. Best Management Practices are voluntary unless they have been analyzed as a mitigation measure in the environmental review for a Master Development Plan, APD, Right-of-Way, or other related facility and included as a Condition of Approval.
Blooie Line means a discharge line used in conjunction with a rotating head in drilling operations when air or gas is used as the circulating medium.
Casual Use means activities involving practices that do not ordinarily lead to any appreciable disturbance or damage to lands, resources, or improvements. This term does not apply to private surface. Casual use includes surveying activities.
Complete APD means that the information in the APD package is accurate and addresses all of the requirements of this Order. The onsite inspection verifies important information that is part of the APD package and is a critical step in determining if the package is complete. Therefore, the onsite inspection must be conducted, and any deficiencies identified at the onsite corrected, before the APD package can be considered to be complete. While cultural, biological, or other inventories and environmental assessments (EA) or environmental impact statements (EIS) may be required to approve the APD, they are not required before an APD package is considered to be complete. The APD package must contain:
• A completed Form 3160-3 (Application for Permit to Drill or Reenter) (see 43 CFR 3162.3-1(d) );
• A well plat certified by a registered surveyor with a surveyor's original stamp (see Section III.D.2. of this Order);
• A Drilling Plan (see 43 CFR 3162.3-1(d) and Section III.D.3. of this Order);
• A Surface Use Plan of Operations (see 43 CFR 3162.3-1(d) and Section III.D.4. of this Order);
• Evidence of bond coverage (see 43 CFR 3162.3-1(d) and Section III.D.5. of this Order);
• Operator certification with original signature (see Section III.D.6. of this Order); and
• Other information that may be required by Order or Notice (see 43 CFR 3162.3-1(d)(4) ).
The BLM and the Surface Managing Agency, as appropriate, will review the APD package and determine that the drilling plan, the Surface Use Plan of Operations, and other information that the BLM may require (43 CFR 3162.3-1(d)(4) ), including the well location plat and geospatial databases, completely describe the proposed action.
Condition of Approval (COA) means a site-specific requirement included in an approved APD or Sundry Notice that may limit or amend the specific actions proposed by the operator. Conditions of Approval minimize, mitigate, or prevent impacts to public lands or other resources. Best Management Practices may be incorporated as a Condition of Approval.
Days means all calendar days including holidays.
Emergency Repairs means actions necessary to correct an unforeseen problem that could cause or threaten immediate substantial adverse impact on public health and safety or the environment.
Geospatial Database means a set of georeferenced computer data that contains both spatial and attribute data. The spatial data defines the geometry of the object and the attribute data defines all other characteristics.
Indian Lands means any lands or interest in lands of an Indian tribe or an Indian allottee held in trust by the United States or which is subject to a Federal restriction against alienation.
Indian Oil and Gas means any oil and gas interest of an Indian tribe or on allotted lands where the interest is held in trust by the United States or is subject to Federal restrictions against alienation. It does not include minerals subject to the provisions of Section 3 of the Act of June 28, 1906 (34 Stat. 539), but does include oil and gas on lands administered by the United States under Section 14(g) of Public Law 92-203, as amended.
Master Development Plan means information common to multiple planned wells, including drilling plans, Surface Use Plans of Operations, and plans for future production.
National Forest System Lands means those Federal lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service, such as the National Forests and the National Grasslands.
Onsite Inspection means an inspection of the proposed drill pad, access road, flowline route, and any associated Right-of-Way or Special Use
[Page 9-4]
Authorization needed for support facilities, conducted before the approval of the APD or Surface Use Plan of Operations and construction activities.
Private Surface Owner means a non-Federal or non-state owner of the surface estate and includes any Indian owner of surface estate not held in trust by the United States.
Reclamation means returning disturbed land as near to its predisturbed condition as is reasonably practical.
Split Estate means lands where the surface is owned by an entity or person other than the owner of the Federal or Indian oil and gas.
Surface Managing Agency means any Federal or state agency having jurisdiction over the surface overlying Federal or Indian oil and gas.
Variance means an approved alternative to a provision or standard of an Order or Notice to Lessee.
III. Application for Permit To Drill (APD)
An Application for Permit to Drill or Reenter, on Form 3160-3, is...
To continue reading
Request your trial