Holmes v. Corporation Commission

1970 OK 39, 466 P.2d 630
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 10, 1970
Docket42193
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 1970 OK 39 (Holmes v. Corporation Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Holmes v. Corporation Commission, 1970 OK 39, 466 P.2d 630 (Okla. 1970).

Opinion

WILLIAMS, Justice:

This is an appeal by C. W. Holmes and Earl B. Mitchell, Jr., Executor of the Estate of John R. Wilver, Deceased, protestants below, from an order of this State’s Corporation Commission pooling the separately owned mineral estates, adjudicating the rights of participation in production and other correlative rights, and authorizing the drilling of a gas well by Viersen and Cochran, applicant below, to the common source of supply in a drilling unit in Garfield County, Oklahoma. The parties will be referred to as protestant (s), applicant and the Commission.

In November, 1965, the Commission entered its order creating drilling and spacing units of one entire governmental section each for the production of gas and gas condensate from the Mississippi Lime common source of supply underlying certain described lands in Garfield County, Oklahoma. Among the lands described in that order was Section 8, Township 21 North, Range 6 West, Garfield County, the property involved herein.

Subsequent to the entry of the above order creating a drilling and spacing unit of Section 8, applicant Viersen and Cochran filed its application seeking an order pooling the individual mineral estates in the section or drilling unit involved and authorizing the drilling of a well thereon. In this application, applicant alleged that it and parties with whom it had reached an agreement for the development of the drilling and spacing unit owned the oil and gas leasehold estate in the west half of Section 8, but that it had been unable to reach an agreement with the owner or owners of the leasehold estate in the east half of the section. Applicant further alleged that the leasehold estate on the east half formerly had been owned by John R. Wilver but recently had been assigned by Wilver to C. W. Holmes, such assignment subject to the reservation of a production payment of $2,000 per acre payable out of ½ of % of the production.

At the hearing before the Commission, protestant Holmes moved to continue the hearing on the ground that the notice thereof was defective. This motion was overruled and the Commission proceeded to hear evidence. In summary, applicant introduced evidence attempting to establish that John Wilver had obtained, as lessee, oil and gas leases covering the east half of section 8 and subsequently had assigned these leases to his sister, C. W. Holmes, reserving a production payment of $2,000 per acre out of ½ of ⅞ of the production; that Wilver had obtained oil and gas leases on other lands in Garfield County and had assigned these leases to his sister under similar conditions as those involved herein; that in view of the production payment imposed by Wilver in the assignments to Holmes, the leasehold estate had no value and the permitted well in section 8 could not be drilled; that if the production payment had not been imposed, the value of the leasehold estate covering the Mississippi Lime common source of supply would be $40.00 per acre; that the cost of drilling and completing a well in section 8 would be approximately $100,000, which cost would be recovered in five years; and, that section 8 is presently being drained by production from the Mississippi Lime formation underlying section 7, which adjoins section 8.

Protestant Holmes introduced the testimony of an expert witness that the present value of the leasehold estate in the east half of section 8 was from $50.00 to $100.00 an acre. The witness stated that the permitted well in section 8 could be drilled and completed for $85,000 to *632 $90,000, but admitted that this amount could increase to $100,000 if difficulties were encountered. The witness also admitted that section 8 was located in an area where the gas market was presently poor and production low.

At the conclusion of the evidence, protestant Holmes stated that she was not actively engaged in the oil business and requested the Commission to include in the pooling order, in addition to provisions determining the value of her leasehold interest and her prorata share of the costs of development if she chose to participate in the working interest in the drilling unit, a third alternative, a so-called “bonus-penalty”, allowing her to participate in development but not receive any portion of the % working interest until such time as applicant had recovered the costs of drilling, completing and operating the permitted well plus a reasonable penalty. Subsequent to protestant’s request, applicant reopened to introduce evidence that- due to the length of time estimated for applicant to recover its costs it would be economically unfeasible to drill a well in section 8 if it (applicant) were allowed a bonus-penalty of only 150%, i. e., if it were allowed to recover only 150% of the cost of development prior to protestants’ participating in their portion of the ⅞ working interest.

At the conclusion of the proceedings, the Commission entered its order pooling the leasehold interests in section 8. This order also provided that protestants were to elect within 15 days whether they would participate in the working interest in the well by paying their pro rata share of the costs of development, or, would not participate and thus would not receive their portion of the working interest until applicant had recovered 250% “ * * * of the share of the cost of drilling, completing, equipping and operating said well allowable to such outstanding interests.”

From this order of the Commission, protestants appeal.

In their first proposition for reversal, protestants contend that the Commission was without jurisdiction to enter the order appealed from for the reason that notice of the proceeding below was not published for the time and in the manner prescribed by law. The basis of this contention is that in proceedings for pooling under 52 O.S.1961, § 87.1(d), the notice requirements of 52 O.S.1963 Supp. (now 1969 Supp) § 87.1(a) which provides for publication both in Oklahoma City and in the county or counties in which the lands are located, are applicable. From the record before us, it is clear applicant followed the notice provisions of 52 O.S.1961, § 97, which require publication of notice only in Oklahoma City. By its provisions, the notice requirements of § 97 are applicable to proceedings brought before the Commission under sections 84 through 96, 52 O.S. 1961.

We have recently answered this contention contrary to the position of protestants herein. Ranola Oil Co. v. Corporation Commission, Okl., 460 P.2d 415.

Subsection (a) of § 87.1, provides for proceedings in the Commission to establish drilling and spacing units. As noted above, this subsection specifically sets forth the type of notice by publication required in such proceedings. Subsection (b), 52 O.S. 1963 Supp. (now 1969 Supp.) § 87.1, provides inter alia, for hearings before the' Commission to obtain exceptions to the designated well locations. By its provisions, the notice requirements applicable to such proceedings under subsection (b) are those contained in § 97. Subsection (c), § 87.1, provides for proceedings in the Commission to decrease the size of well spacing units or to permit the drilling of additional wells within the established units. Subsection (c) specifically provides that in proceedings thereunder, the notice requirements of subsection (a) are applicable.

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Bluebook (online)
1970 OK 39, 466 P.2d 630, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/holmes-v-corporation-commission-okla-1970.