1. The commission has continuing jurisdiction and authority over all persons and
property, public and private, necessary to enforce effectively the provisions of this
chapter. The commission has authority, and it is its duty, to make such investigations
as it deems proper to determine whether waste exists or is imminent or whether other
facts exist which justify action by the commission. The commission has the authority:
a. To require:
(1) Identification of ownership of oil or gas wells, producing leases, tanks,
plants, structures, and facilities for the transportation or refining of oil and
gas.
(2) The making and filing with the industrial commission of all resistivity,
radioactivity, and mechanical well logs and the filing of directional surveys, if
taken, and the filing of reports on well location, drilling, and production.
(3) The drilling, casing, operation, and plugging of wells in such manner as to
prevent the escape of oil or gas out of one stratum into another, the intrusion
of water into oil or gas strata, the pollution of freshwater supplies by oil, gas,
or saltwater, and to prevent blowouts, cavings, seepages, and fires.
(4) The furnishing of a reasonable bond with good and sufficient surety,
conditioned upon the full compliance with this chapter, and the rules and
orders of the industrial commission, including without limitation a bond
covering the operation of any underground gathering pipeline transferring oil
or produced water from a production facility for disposal, storage, or sale
purposes, except that if the commission requires a bond to be furnished, the
person required to furnish the bond may elect to deposit under such terms
and conditions as the industrial commission may prescribe a collateral bond,
self-bond, cash, or any alternative form of security approved by the
commission, or combination thereof, by which an operator assures faithful
performance of all requirements of this chapter and the rules and orders of
the industrial commission.
(5) That the production from wells be separated into gaseous and liquid
hydrocarbons, and that each be accurately measured by such means and
upon such standards as may be prescribed by the commission.
(6) The operation of wells with efficient gas-oil and water-oil ratios, and to fix
these ratios.
(7) Certificates of clearance in connection with the transportation or delivery of
oil, gas, or any product.
(8) Metering or other measuring of oil, gas, or product related to production in
pipelines, gathering systems, storage tanks, barge terminals, loading racks,
refineries, or other places, by meters or other measuring devices approved
by the commission.
(9) Every person who produces, sells, purchases, acquires, stores, transports,
refines, disposes of, or processes oil, gas, saltwater, or other related oilfield
fluids in this state to keep and maintain within this state complete and
accurate records of the quantities thereof, which records must be available
for examination by the commission or its agents at all reasonable times, and
to file with the commission reports as the commission may prescribe with
respect to oil or gas or the products thereof. An oil and gas production report
need not be notarized but must be signed by the person submitting the
report.
(10) The payment of fees for services performed. The amount of the fee shall be
set by the commission based on the anticipated actual cost of the service
rendered. Unless otherwise provided by statute, all fees collected by the
commission must be deposited in the general fund of this state, according to
procedures established by the state treasurer.
(11) The filing free of charge of samples and core chips and of complete cores
when requested in the office of the state geologist within six months after
the completion or abandonment of the well.
(12) The placing of wells in abandoned-well status which have not produced oil
or natural gas in paying quantities for one year. A well in abandoned-well
status must be promptly returned to production in paying quantities,
approved by the commission for temporarily abandoned status, approved by
the commission for enhanced oil recovery potential status, or plugged and
reclaimed within six months. If none of the four preceding conditions are
met, the industrial commission may require the well to be placed
immediately on a single-well bond in an amount equal to the cost of
plugging the well and reclaiming the well site. In setting the bond amount,
the commission shall use information from recent plugging and reclamation
operations. After a well has been in abandoned-well status for one year, the
well's equipment, all well-related equipment at the well site, and salable oil
at the well site are subject to forfeiture by the commission. If the commission
exercises this authority, section 38-08-04.9 applies. After a well has been in
abandoned-well status for one year, the single-well bond referred to above,
or any other bond covering the well if the single-well bond has not been
obtained, is subject to forfeiture by the commission. A surface owner may
request a review of the enhanced oil recovery potential status of a well that
has been on enhanced oil recovery potential status for at least twelve years.
The commission shall require notice and hearing to review the enhanced oil
recovery potential status. After notice and hearing, the surface owner may
request a review of the enhanced oil recovery potential status every two
years. A surface owner may request a review of the temporarily abandoned
status of a well that has been on temporarily abandoned status for at least
seven years. The commission shall require notice and hearing to review the
temporarily abandoned status. After notice and hearing, the surface owner
may request a review of the temporarily abandoned status every two years.
b. To regulate:
(1) The drilling, producing, and plugging of wells, the restoration of drilling and
production sites, and all other operations for the production of oil or gas.
(2) The shooting and chemical treatment of wells.
(3) The spacing of wells.
(4) Operations to increase ultimate recovery such as cycling of gas, the
maintenance of pressure, and the introduction of gas, water, or other
substances into producing formations.
(5) Disposal of saltwater and oilfield wastes.
(a) The commission shall give all affected counties written notice of
hearings in such matters at least fifteen days before the hearing.
(b) The commission may consider, in addition to other authority granted
under this section, safety of the location and road access to saltwater
disposal wells, treating plants, and all associated facilities.
(6) The underground storage of oil or gas.
(7) The location and operation of wellhead and lease equipment, oil and gas
separators, emulsion treaters, boilers, electric generators, flares, newly
constructed underground gathering pipelines, flare mitigation systems, and
all other equipment located at or on an oil or gas well site or underground
gathering pipeline facility.
c. To limit and to allocate the production of oil and gas from any field, pool, or area
and to establish and define as separate marketing districts those contiguous
areas within the state which supply oil and gas to different markets, and to limit
and allocate the production of oil and gas for each separate marketing district.
d. To classify wells as oil or gas wells for purposes material to the interpretation or
enforcement of this chapter, to classify and determine the status and depth of
wells that are stripper well property as defined in section 57-51.1-01, to certify to
the tax commissioner which wells are stripper wells as defined in section
57-51.1-01 and the depth of those wells, and to certify to the tax commissioner
which wells involve secondary or tertiary recovery operations as defined in
section 57-51.1-01, and the date of qualification for the oil extraction tax
exemption for secondary and tertiary recovery operations.
e. To adopt and to enforce rules and orders to effectuate the purposes and the
intent of this chapter and the commission's responsibilities under chapter 57-51.1.
When adopting a rule, issuing an order, or creating a policy, the commission shall
give due consideration to the effect of including locations within this state which
may also be under the jurisdiction of the federal government or a tribal
government. When reporting information resulting from adopting a rule, issuing
an order, or creating a policy that affects locations within this state which may
also be under the jurisdiction of the federal government or a tribal government,
the commission shall provide sufficient information to indicate the effect of
including locations that may also be under the regulatory jurisdiction of the federal
government or a tribal government.
f. To provide for the confidentiality of well data reported to the commission if
requested in writing by those reporting the data for a period not to exceed six
months. However, the commission may release:
(1) Volumes injected into a saltwater injection well.
(2) Information from the spill report on a well on a site at which more than ten
barrels of fluid, not contained on the well site, was released for which an
oilfield environmental incident report is required by law.
2. A person controlling or operating a well, pipeline, receiving tank, storage tank, treating
plant, or other receptacle or production facility associated with oil and gas, or with
water production, injection, processing, or well servicing, shall report to the
commission any leak, spill, or release of fluid. A report to the commission is not
required if the leak, spill, or release is crude oil, produced water, or natural gas liquids
in a quantity of less than ten barrels cumulative over a fifteen-day time period, remains
on the site or facility, and is on a well site where the well was spud after September 1,
2000, or on a facility, other than a well site, constructed after September 1, 2000.
3. Any written violation notice issued by the commission regarding the notification of a
fire, leak, spill, blowout, or leak and spill cleanup must be placed in the well file or
facility file and the files must be available for review by the surface owner.
4. Nothing in this section may be interpreted to modify or supersede applicable
requirements related to oil and gas production under any of the following:
a. Chapter 23.1-06, the federal Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.], as amended,
or rules adopted pursuant to either chapter 23.1-06 or the federal Clean Air Act.
b. Chapter 61-28, the federal Clean Water Act [33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.], as
amended, or rules adopted pursuant to either chapter 61-28 or the federal Clean
Water Act.