CHAPTER 109

ACT to repeal Chapter 8 of Title 45 of the Code of 1950, con
taining §§ 45-94 through 45-105, both wmclusive, relating to oil
and gas; and to amend the Code of 1950 by adding a Chapter
8.1 and forty-one sections numbered 45-106 through 45-146 to
create a State Oil and Gas Board and provide for an Oil and
Gas Inspector and prescribe their powers and duties; to re-
quire persons drilling for oil and gas to register with the Oil
and Gas Board, secure certain permits, post certain bonds, pre-
pare and file certain maps, submit a copy of well log including
electrical log, and make certain reports, and prescribe condi-
tions for the issuance of such permits and the location of
wells; to provide for appeals from actions of the Board; to re-
quire certain protective measures and procedures for workable
coal beds or mines and where mining operations and oil or gas
wells are operated in the same area; to prescribe and require
methods for plugging wells on abandonment and the placement
of permanent markers therefor; to require certain copies of
_ leases and establish certain presumptions relative thereto; to
prevent unnecessary waste or escape of oil or gas; to prevent
intrusion of water from one oil and gas stratum into another
_ or tnto workable coal beds; to prevent pollution of fresh water
' supplies by oil or gas; to prohibit certain wasteful practices
and to provide remedies therefor; to permit certain wells to
be developed and used as water wells; to provide for the collec-
tton and expenditure of certain funds; and to provide penalties
for violations.
[S 171]

Approved March 7, 1950

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

.. That Chapter 8 of Title 45 of the Code of 1950, containing
§ 45-94 through 45-105, both inclusive, is repealed.

» That the Code of 1950 be amended by adding a chapter num-
ered 8.1 and forty-one sections numbered 45-106 through 45-146,
is follows:

§ 45-106. As used in this chapter unless the context clearly
ndicates otherwise:

(a) Board means the State Oil and Gas Board;

(b) Casing means a string or strings of pipe commonly placed
n wells drilled for petroleum and natural gas;

(c) Casing-head gas means any gas or vapor, or both gas and
‘apor, indigenous to an oil stratum and produced from auch stra-
um with oil;

(d) Cement means hydraulic cement properly mixed with
vater only;

(e) Coal operator means any person or persons, firm, partner-
hip, partnership association or corporation that proposes to or
loes operate a coal mine;

(f) Gas means the natural zus including casing-head gas, ob-
ained from gas or combination wells regardless of its chemical
inalysis ;

(g) Log or well log means the written record progressively
lescribing all strata, water, oil or gas encountered in drilling,
lepth and thickness of each bed or seam of coal drilled through,
juantity of oil, volumes of gas, pressures, rate of fill-up, fresh and
alt water-bearing horizons and depths, caving strata, casing
ecords, etc., as is usually recorded in the normal procedure of
lrilling; also includes the electrical survey records or logs;

(h) Mine means an underground or surface excavation or de-
elopment with or without any shafts, slopes, drifts or tunnels for
he extraction of coal, minerals or nonmetallic materials, com-
nonly designated as mineral resources (excluding petroleum and
natural gas), containing the same with hoisting or haulage equip-
ment and appliances for the extraction of the said mineral re-
sources; and embraces any and all of the land or property of the
mining plant, and the surface and underground, that is used or
contributes directly or indirectly to the mining property, concen-
tration or handling of said mineral resources;

(i) Mine operator means any person or persons, firm, partner-
ship, partnership association or corporation that proposes to or
does operate a mine;

(j) Mud-laden fluid means any approved mixture of water and
clay or other material as the term is commonly used in the in-
dustry which will effectively seal the formation to which it is ap-
plied ;

(k) Natural gas (see Gas) ;

(1) Oil means crude petroleum oil or petroleum ;.

(m) Operator means any person who, duly authorized, is in
charge of the development of a lease, drilling activities or the
operator of a producing well;

(n) Person means any natural person, firm, partnership, part-
nership association, association, company, corporation, receiver,
trustee, guardian, executor, administrator, fiduciary or representa-
tive of any kind;

(o) Petroleum means the natural untreated oil obtained from
an oil well;

(p) Pillar means a solid block of coal or ore or other material,
left unmined to support the overlying strata in a mine;

(q) Pipe line means any pipes above or below the ground used
or to be used for the transportation of oil or gas;

(r) Plat or map means a map, drawing or print showing the
location of a well or wells, mines, quarries ;

(s) Plug means the stopping of the flow of water, gas or oil in
connection with the abandoning of a producing or nonproductive
well ;

(t) Porosity means the state or quality of being porous, the
absorbent capacity of the material or the volume of liquid held
by the pores;

(u) Shot or shooting means exploding nitroglycerine or other
high explosive in a hole, to shatter the rock and increase the flow
of oil or gas;

(v) Tubing means the conduit through which oil or gas is re-
moved from a well;

(w) Waste, in addition to its ordinary meaning, means
“physical waste” as that term is generally understood in the oil
and gas industry;

(x) Well means a bore hole or excavation for the purpose of
producing any liquid or gaseous substance from beneath the sur-
face of the earth;
(y) Well operator means any person or persons, firm, partner-
ship, partnership association or corporation that proposes to or
does locate, drill, operate or abandon any well as herein defined ;

(z) Workable coal bed means a coal bed in fact being operated
commercially, or which, in the judgment of the Board, can, and
that it is reasonably to be expected will be so operated, and which,
when operated, will require protection if wells are drilled through it.

§ 45-107. The State Geologist, the Chief Mine Inspector, and
a member of the staff of the State Corporation Commission desig-
nated by it, are hereby constituted a board within the State
Geological Survey to be known as the State Oil and Gas Board,
hereinafter called the Board.

§ 45-108. The Board shall be charged with the enforcement of
the laws of Virginia relating to exploration for and the production
and transportation of oil and gas. It shall have power to require
that the drilling, redrilling, deepening, casing, completion, plugging
and abandonment of wells be done in such a manner as to prevent
the escape of oil or gas out of one stratum to another and the
unnecessary escape or waste of oil or gas; to prevent the intrusion
of water into an oil or gas stratum from a separate stratum; to
prevent the pollution or contamination of fresh water supplies
by oil, gas or salt water; to require reports, maps, well logs and
other pertinent information on oil and gas wells; and generally to
prevent waste as hereinafter set forth. It shall hold hearings and
make rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions
of this chapter, and shall have such further powers as are conferred
upon it by this chapter.

§ 45-109. The Board shall exercise supervision over the loca-
tion, drilling, deepening, casing, completion, production, abandon-
ment, plugging and filling of all wells and over all mining opera-
tions in close proximity to any well and any member or agent of
the Board shall have such access to the plans, maps, logs, and
such other recofds and to all such properties of the well operators
and mine operators as may be necessary or proper for this purpose.
The Board may require the submission of reports on production
of oil and gas at regular intervals and the placing of meters at
places designated by it to prevent waste or obtain accurate records
of production and transportation of oil or gas.

§ 45-110. The Board shall appoint an Oil and Gas Inspector
to assist it in carrying out the provisions of this chapter. Such
inspector shall be a qualified petroleum geologist or oil and gas
engineer with a practical knowledge of and experience in the
location, drilling, casing, operation, maintenance, plugging and
abandonment of oil and gas wells. His salary shall be fixed by the
Board, with the approval of the Governor, under the provisions of
§ 2-82 of the Code of Virginia. The State Geologist shall furnish
oftice space for the Oil and Gas Inspector. The Board may appoint
such other assistants and employees as shall be required.

$ 45-111. The Oil and Gas Inspector shall be the executive
officer of the Board and shall, under its direction, supervise the
operation and enforcement of the oi] and gas laws of this State;
observe drilling, casing, development and production methods, prac-
tices and procedures used in this State; collect, analyze and file
maps, charts, reports and other information relating to exploration
for or production of oil and gas and prepare such reports thereon
az are required by the Board; seek and maintain the collaboration
of operators and producing companies in the study of methods,
practices and procedures and appliances which might affect the
quantity of oil and gas recovered; cooperate with the Chief Mine
Inspector and other representatives of the Division of Mines,
especially in localities in which there are active coal or other mining
operations or workable beds of coal; and perform such other duties
as the Board may require.

§ 45-112. All persons, firms, partnerships, associations or cor-
yorations drilling, owning or operating any wells for oil or gas,
or other wells penetrating any workable beds of coal, or any of the
oil or gas-producing strata in the Commonwealth of Virginia, shall
register with the State Oil and Gas Board, giving the name and
address of such person, firm, partnership, association or corpora-
tion and the name and address and official title of the person in
charge of the operations in Virginia.

§ 45-113. Each well operator shall, within thirty days after
the completion or abandonment of any well, furnish to the Board a
copy of the log required to be furnished the State Geological Survey
under the provisions of § 10-98 of the Code of Virginia. A copy of
the electrical log of the well, if such is made, shall also be fur-
nished. The operator shall also make such reports as to drilling,
casing, and production records of each well as the Board may
require. Such log or logs and reports shall, on the request of the
well operator, be held confidential by the Board for a period of
ninety days after the completion of the well.

§ 45-114. Before drilling for oil or gas on any tract of land,
the well operator shall have prepared by a competent engineer or
surveyor and file with the Board, together with the application
required by the next section, an accurate plat or map on a scale,
to be stated thereon, not smaller than four hundred feet to the
inch, showing the proposed location and surface elevation of the
well determined by survey, the courses and distances of such location
from two permanent points or landmarks on said tract, the name
and number proposed to be given to the well, the name of the owner
and the boundaries and acreage of the tract on which the well is to
be drilled, the names of the owners of all adjoining tracts and of
any other tract within five hundred feet of the proposed location
and any building, highway, railroad, stream, oil or gas well, mine,
mine openings or workings, or quarry within five hundred feet
of the proposed location. Copies of such plat or map shall be
mailed to each such adjacent landowner, and to each owner, or
lessee, or operator of any mineral rights on, in or under, such land
or mine, well, or quarry within five hundred feet of the proposed
location, by registered mail, together with notice (on forms pro-
vided by the Board) of his intention to drill, redrill or deepen the
well. Each such owner, lessee, or operator shall within ten days
from receipt of such notice, file with the Board any objection which
he may have to the proposed location.

§ 45-115. Before any such well is drilled, the operator shall
secure from the Board a permit to drill. The application for such
permit shall be accompanied by a fee of twenty-five dollars and such
operator shall, in addition, give bond in the sum of one thousand
dollars, payable to the Commonwealth of Virginia, with surety ac-
ceptable to the Board when in the opinion of the Board such is con-
sidered necessary, to insure compliance with all laws and regula-
tions relating to the drilling, redrilling, deepening, casing, plugging
and abandonment of wells and for furnishing such reports and in-
formation as may be required by the Board. Such bond shall re-
main in force until released by the Board. The Board may, in its
discretion, release the bond at any time and shall release the same
when it is satisfied that the well has been abandoned and plugged
and reports and information furnished as required by this chapter.
When such operator makes or has made application for permits to
drill a number of wells, the Board, on request of such operator,
may, in lieu of requiring a separate bond for each well, require a
blanket bond in such sum as it deems adequate, and the Board may
increase or reduce the amount of such bond from time to time
as it may deem proper in view of the number of wells drilled by
the particular well operator and the number of wells abandoned
and plugged in the manner prescribed herein by such operator.

§ 45-116. Upon the filing of an application for a permit to
drill, the Board shall, if no objection has been made within the
specified time to such drilling by any person to whom notice is
required to be sent, issue the requested permit, provided, the Board
may, in any case in which a well is proposed to be drilled within
five hundred feet of any boundary of a tract of land, if in its
opinion such drilling would cause drainage of adjacent land, re-
quire as a condition of the granting of such permit the making of
an agreement, satisfactory to the owner or lessee of any such ad-
jacent land, relating to the drilling of an offset well on such land
if the proposed well produces oil or gas in commercially paying
quantities. |

Any permit so issued shall recite the filing of an application
for a permit to drill and a plat or map showing the proposed loca-
tion of the well and other required information, that no objection
has been made to the proposed location by any interested person,
or found by the Board, that the same is approved and the well
operator is authorized to proceed to drill, redrill or deepen a well
at such location.

§ 45-117. If any objection or objections are filed by any per-
son having an interest in such land or adjacent lands, the Board
shall notify the well operator of the character of the objections
and by whom made and fix a time and place for a hearing, not less
than twenty nor more than forty days after the original filing of
the application for a permit to drill, at which hearing such objec-
tions will be considered, of which every person to whom notice was
required to be sent under the provisions of § 45-114 shall be given
at least five days written notice. At such hearing the well opera-
tor, Or any person filing objections, and all other interested persons
shall proceed to consider the location and objections thereto, and
to agree upon the location either as made or so moved as to satisfy
all objections and satisfy the Board, and any change in the origi-
nal location so agreed upon shall be indicated on the plat or map
on file with the Board. Whereupon the Board shall issue to the
well operator a drilling permit reciting the filing of an application
for a permit to drill and a plat or map showing the proposed
location of the well and other required information, that at a
hearing duly held the location shown was agreed upon and ap-
proved, and that the well operator is authorized to drill at such
location.

§ 45-118. If the well operator, the other interested persons
present, and the Board are unable to agree upon a location, then
the Board shall fix a location on such tract as near to the original
location as it shall deem proper, indicating the same on the plat
or map on file with it, and tender to the well operator a permit
to drill at such new location, which he may accept or reject. If
he accepts, any interested person who has been present and made
known to the Board his objections may object to such new location
and to the issuance of such permit; and the operator accepting the
permit may require the record of the hearing to show that he ac-
cepts such drilling permit to drill at the location made by the
Board as a new or additional location and not in lieu of the origi-
nal location, and that he reserves the right to appeal to the circuit
court of the county in which the original location lies for relief,
and that he objects to the refusal of the Board to approve the ori-
ginal location substantially as made.

§ 45-119. If the requested location is such that the well would
penetrate a workable coal bed, then the Board shall fix the loca-
tion on such tract of land as near to the requested location as
possible in a pillar of suitable size, through which the well can be
drilled safely, taking into consideration the dangers from creeps,
squeezes or other disturbances due to the extraction of coal.
Should no such pillar exist, the well may be located and drilled
through open workings where, in the judgment of the Board, it is
practicable and safe to do so, taking into consideration the dangers
from creeps, squeezes and other disturbances. The precedure in
such cases shall conform to that prescribed in § 45-117 and § 45-118.

§ 45-120. The Board shall number, index, and keep as a perma-
nent record each application, plat or map and notice filed with it,
and shall record the name of the well operator, names of the per-
sons notified and their addresses, the date of receipt of any such
application, plat or map and of all objections filed, dates of hear-
ings and all actions taken by the Board and permits issued or
refused, which records shall be open to inspection by the public.

§ 45-121. Any person aggrieved by any action of the Board
in fixing or approving any location for the drilling of a well for
oil or gas or by the issuance of or refusal to issue any drilling
permit, shall have the right to apply to the circuit court of the
county wherein the location lies for review of the Board’s decision.
Such application shall be by petition, which shall be filed in the
clerk’s office of such court within ten days following such action
of the Board. The filing of the petition shall be deemed to com-
mence the proceeding in such court and shall, in any case where
the court is requested to review the decision of the Board issuing
a permit to drill, suspend such permit until the case shall have
been adjudicated by the court. The Board shall be named a party
defendant to such petition. The case shall be heard by the court
in term time or in vacation and shall take precedence over any
other civil cause, action or proceeding on the docket. On the peti-
tion, the judge shall hear the proceeding de novo, shall thereupon
determine all matters of law and fact without a jury and render
his decision, approving, setting aside or modifying the action of the
Board. In any such case, the Attorney General shall represent the
Board; provided, that on request of the Attorney General, the
attorney for the Commonwealth of the county in the circuit court
of which the petition is filed shall represent the Board in any such
proceeding.

The Board or anv party aggrieved by any such final decision
of the judge shall have the right to apply for an appeal to the
Supreme Court of Appeals. The procedure shall be the same as
that provided by law concerning appeals and supersedeas.

45-122. A well penetrating one or more workable coal beds
shall be drilled to such depth, and of such size, as will permit the
placing of casing and packers in the hole at such points and in
such manner as will exclude all fresh or salt water, oil, gas or gas
pressure from the coal bed, except such as may be found in the
coal bed itself. Each string of casing run in the hole shall be
provided with a steel casing shoe or collar firmly fixed on the
bottom of the string of casing. Each string of casing run through
a workable bed of coal shall be seated in cement or similar ma.-
terial approved by the Board, placed between the casing and the
hole, making an effective seal, from a point at least thirty feet
below such coal bed to a point at least twenty feet above the same.
And after any such string of casing has been so seated, drilling may
proceed forthwith to any required depth. The portion of the outer
(i. e. coal-protecting) casing so cemented through a coal bed shall
be left in place as a permanent opening, and shall not be pulled or
removed when the other casing is pulled or removed.

§ 45-123. In the event that gas is found beneath a workable
coal bed before the hole has been reduced from the size it had at
the coal bed, a packer shall be placed below the coal bed, and above
the gas horizon, and the gas by this means diverted to the inside
of the adjacent string of casing through perforations made in such
casing, and through it passed to the surface without contact with
the coal bed. Should gas be found between two workable beds of
coal, in a hole of the same diameter from bed to bed, two packers
shall be placed, with perforations in the casing between them, per-
mitting the gas to pass to the surface inside the adjacent casing.
In either of the cases here specified, the strings of casing shall ex-
tend from their seats to the top of the well.

§ 45-124. In the event that a well becomes productive of oil
or gas all coal-protecting strings of casing shall remain in place
during the life of the well. During the life of the well the annular
spaces between the various strings of casing adjacent to workable
beds of coal shall be kept open, and the top ends of all such strings
shall be provided with casing heads, or such other suitable devices
approved by the Board as will permit the free passage of oil and
gas and prevent filling of such annular spaces with dirt or debris.

§ 45-125. Where or when a well is drilled through the horizon
of a coal bed from which the coal has been removed, the hole shall
be drilled at least thirty feet below the coal bed, of a size sufficient
to permit the placing of a liner which shall start not less than
twenty feet beneath the horizon of the coal bed and extend not less
than twenty feet above it. Within this liner, which may be welded
to the casing to be used, shall be centrally placed the largest sized
casing to be used in the well, and the space between the liner and
casing shall be filled with cement as they are lowered into the hole.
Cement shall be placed in the bottom of the hole to a depth of
twenty feet to form a sealed seat for both liner and casing. Fol-
lowing the setting of the liner, drilling shall proceed in the manner
provided above. Should it be found necessary to drill through the
horizon of two or more workable coal beds from which the coal has
been removed, such liner shall be started not less than twenty feet
below the lowest such horizon penetrated and shall extend to a
point not less than twenty feet above the highest such horizon.
§ 45-126. In the event that a permit is requested to drill a
well for oil or gas in such a location that it would penetrate any
active or abandoned mine other than a coal mine, the Board may
by regulation establish the safety precautions to be followed by
the well operator, which shall conform to standard safety measures
generally followed in the industry in such cases, and may require,
as a specific condition of the bond required of the operator, com-
pliance with the regulations so promulgated.

§ 45-127. Before removing any coal or other mineral, or ex-
tending any mine workings or mining operations within five hun-
dred feet of any well, or under any tract of land in visible possession
of a well operator for the purpose of drilling for oil or gas, the
mine operator shall give notice by registered mail to the well
operator and to the Board, and forward therewith an accurate map
or maps on a scale, to be stated thereon, of one hundred to four
hundred feet to the inch showing its mine workings and projected
mine workings beneath such tract of land or within five hundred
feet of such well. Following the giving of such notice and the fur-
nishing of such map or maps, the mine operator may proceed with
mining operations as projected on such map or maps, but shall
not remove any coal or other mineral or conduct any mining opera-
tions nearer than two hundred feet to any completed well or well
that is being drilled, or for the purpose of drilling which a derrick
is being constructed, without the consent of the Board.

Application may be made at any time to the Board by the mine
operator for leave to conduct mining operations within two hun-
dred feet of any such well or projected well, on forms furnished by
the Board and containing such information as the Board may
require. Such application shall be accompanied by a map or maps
as above specified showing all mining operations or workings pro-
jected within two hundred feet of the well or projected well. Notice
of such application shall be sent by registered mail to the well
operator. The Board may, prior to considering the application,
make or cause to be made any inspections or surveys which it deems
necessary, and may call upon the Division of Mines for assistance
in making such inspections or surveys, and may, if no objection
is filed by the well operator, grant the request of the mine operator
to conduct the mining operations as projected, or with such modifi-
cations as the Board may deem necessary.

The operator of the well or projected well affected may, within
ten days of the filing of such application by the mine operator, file
with the Board his objections to such projected mining operations,
in which event the Board shall, not less than twenty days nor more
than forty days after the filing of the application, set a time and
place for a hearing at which it will consider such application, and
the objections thereto, of which at least five days notice shall he
viven to the mine operator and the well operator. The Board shall,
after a full hearing, at which the well operator and mine operator
shall be permitted to offer any competent and relevant evidence,
grant the request of the mine operator or refuse to grant the same,
or make such other decision with respect to such proposed further
operations in the vicinity of any such well or projected well as in
its Judgment is just and reasonable under all the circumstances.
The Board shall keep a record of all such proceedings.

From any such final decision or order of the Board, either the
well operator or mine operator, or both, may, within ten days,
appeal to the circuit court of the county in which the well about
which approval of such further operations is involved is located.
The procedure in the circuit court shall be substantially as pro-
vided in § 45-121. From any final order or decree of the circuit
court, an appeal may be taken to the Supreme Court of Appeals
as heretofore provided.

§ 45-128. Prior to the abandonment of any well, the well
operator shall notify, by registered mail, the persons to whom
notices are required to be given by § 45-114, and the Board, of its
intention to plug and abandon any such well (using such form of
notice as the Board may provide), giving the name and number
of the well and its location and fixing the time at which the work
of plugging and filling will be commenced, which time shall not be
less than seven days after the day on which such notice is mailed,
together with a complete log of the well and a work order showing
in detail the proposed manner of plugging said well, in order that
a representative of the Board and any interested persons may be
present at the plugging and filling of the well. Whether such
representative or persons appear or do not appear, the well operator
may proceed at the time fixed to plug and fill the well in the manner
hereinafter prescribed. When such plugging and filling have been
completed, an affidavit, in triplicate, shall be made (on a form to
be furnished by the Board) by two experienced men who partici-
pated in the work, in which affidavit shall be set forth the time
and manner in which the well was plugged and filled and the place-
ment of a permanent marker as required in § 45-130. One copy of
this affidavit shall be retained by the well operator, one sent to the
mine owner or operator, and the third shall be mailed to the Board.
When a producing oil or gas well is to be capped by the well
operator, such well operator shall give notice to all persons to whom
notices are required to be given by § 45-114, and to the Board, of
his intention to cap such well, giving the name and number of the
well and its location, which notices shall be given not less than
seven days before the date of capping of the said well.

§ 45-129. Upon the abandonment or cessation of the operation
of any well drilled for oil or gas, the well operator, at the time o{
such abandonment, or cessation, shall immediately fill and plug the
well in the following manner:
(a) Where or when the well does not penetrate workable coal
beds, it shall either be filled with mud, clay or other nonporous
material approved by the Board from the bottom of the well to a
point twenty feet above the top of its lowest oil, gas or water-
bearing stratum; or a permanent bridge shall be anchored thirty
feet below its lowest oil, gas or water-bearing stratum, and from
such bridge it shall be filled with mud, clay or other nonporous
material approved by the Board to a point twenty feet above such
stratum; at this point there shall be placed a plug of cement or
other suitable material which will completely seal the hole. Be-
tween this sealing plug and a point twenty feet above the next
higher oil, gas or water-bearing stratum, the hole shall either be
filled, or bridged and filled, in the manner just described; and at
such point there shall be placed another plug of cement or other
suitable material which will completely seal the hole. In like
manner the hole shall be filled and plugged, or bridged, filled and
plugged with reference to each of its oil, gas or water-bearing strata.
However, whenever such strata are not widely separated and are
free from salt or fresh water, they may be grouped and treated as
a single sand, oil or gas horizon, and the aforesaid filling and plug-
ging be performed as though there were but one horizon. After the
plugging of all oil, gas or salt or fresh water-bearing strata, as
aforesaid, a final plug shall be anchored approximately ten feet
below the bottom of the largest casing in the well; from this point
to within two feet of the surface the well shall be filled with mud,
clay or other nonporous material approved by the Board. In case
any of the oil or gas-bearing strata in a well shall have been shot,
thereby creating cavities which cannot readily be filled in the
manner above described, the well operator shall follow either of the
following methods:

(1) Should the stratum which has been shot be the lowest one
in the well, there shall be placed at the nearest suitable point, but
not less than twenty feet above the stratum, a plug of cement or
other suitable material which will completely seal the hole. In the
event, however, that the shooting has been done above one or more
oil or gas-bearing strata in the well, plugging in the manner speci-
fied shall be done at the nearest suitable points, but not less than
twenty feet below and above each stratum shot. Or (2). when such
cavity shall be in the lowest oil or gas-bearing stratum in the
well, a liner shall be placed which shall extend from below the
stratum to a suitable point, but not less than twenty feet above
the stratum in which shooting has been done. In the event, how-
ever, that the shooting has been done above one or more oil or
gas-bearing strata in the well, the liner shall be so placed that it
will extend not less than twenty feet above. nor less than twenty
feet below, each stratum in which shooting has been done. Follow-
ing the placing of the liner in the manner here specified, it shall
be completely filled with cement, mud, clay or other nonporous
sealing material approved by the Board.

(b) Where the well has penetrated one or more workable coal
beds, it shall be filled and securely plugged in the manner afore-
said, to a point forty feet below the lowest workable coal bed, un-
less, in the judgment of either the well operator, or the coal oper-
ator or the Board, a permanent outlet to the surface is required.
In the event such an outlet is required, it shall be provided in the
following manner: A plug of cement, or other suitable material,
shall be placed in the well at a suitable point, not less than thirty
feet below the lowest workable coal bed. In this plug and passing
through the center of it shall be securely fastened an open pipe
not less than two inches in diameter, which shall extend to the
surface. At or above the surface the pipe shall be provided with
a device which will permit the free passage of gas, and prevent
obstruction of the same. Following the setting of the cement plug
and outlet pipe as aforesaid, the hole shall be filled with cement
to a point twenty feet above the lowest workable coal bed. From
this point the hole shall be filled with mud, clay or other non-
porous material approved by the Board to a point thirty feet be-
neath the next overlying workable coal bed, if such there be, and
the next succeeding fifty feet of the hole filled with cement, and
similarly, in case there are more overlying workable coal beds. If,
in the judgment of the well operator, the coal operator and the
Board, no outlet to the surface is considered necessary, the plug-
ging, filling and cementing shall be as last above described.

§ 45-130. Upon the completion of the plugging and filling of
an abandoned well, a permanent monument or marker of concrete
or iron and concrete shall be erected over the location; the marker
shall extend not less than thirty inches above the surface and
2nough below the surface to make the marker permanent. The
name of the person, firm, company or corporation by whom the well
was drilled and the number of the well shall be stamped or cast or
otherwise permanently affixed to said marker. The erection of the
narker shall in no way interfere with the bleeder pipe from the
well where such pipe is required as in § 45-129 (b). This marker
shall be accurately described on the affidavit as to the time and
nanner of plugging and filling the well and will be accepted by
he Board as a satisfactory landmark and should be used as such
n the location of adjacent wells.

§ 45-131. If in any well drilled for oil and gas no commercial
Wr paying quantity of either is obtained, but a stratum or source
yf potable fresh water is encountered, which could be developed
isa source of water for municipal, industrial, or domestic use,
pon request of the owner of the property on which the well is
ocated, on application to and approval by the Board the well may,
n lien of being plugged and abandoned, be developed and com-
pleted as a water well. In such case the driller or well operator
shall be paid a reasonable sum, by the property owner or other
party desiring the well to be completed and used as a water well,
for all casing and tubing set and left in the well by the driller or
well operator.

§ 45-132. Any person concluding, either as principal or agent,
a lease of lands or rights therein for drilling for or development
or production of oil or gas, shall prepare and execute such lease in
duplicate; and one copy of such lease, duly executed by the lessee,
shall be furnished to the lessor of such lands or rights.

§ 45-133. Any lease of lands or any rights therein for drilling
for or development or production of oil or gas which does not run
for a definite term of years or contain a provision for the annual
payment of rental by the lessee, shall be prima facie presumed to
be intended to terminate five years from its date.

§ 45-134. If a lease or contract of lands for the purpose of
drilling for, development or production of, oil or gas provides in
substance that actual drilling or development may be postponed
by the payment or tender of the rental on or before a certain day
and the rental is not so paid or tendered, on such date or within
thirty days thereafter, the lessor or land owner may avoid the
lease or contract unless before executing a new lease or contract
he has accepted payment of the rental.

§ 45-135. The drilling of one nonproductive well constitutes
compliance, for a period of twelve months after its completion, with
any lease or contract requirements that a well be drilled within a
certain period. At the expiration of such twelve months’ period
another well shall be commenced or else rental payments shall be
renewed according to the terms of the lease or contract, and if the
lessee fails to promptly commence a well or pay the rentals the
lessor may avoid the lease or contract.

§ 45-136. No person shall store oil or allow the same to
accumulate in any pit, pocket, hole, or other natural or artificial
depression on the surface of the earth from which the oil may seep
or migrate into fractures or other openings in the underlying bed-
rock or into springs or water wells, or into any waters used as a
source of public water supply.

§ 45-137. It shall be unlawful for any person to permit crude
oil or natural gas to waste or escape from any well, pipe line or
storage tank when it is reasonably possible to prevent such waste,
after the owner or operator of such oil or gas well, pipe line or
storage tank has had a reasonable length of time to shut in such
oil or gas in the well, or make the necessary repairs to such well,
pipe line or storage tank to prevent such waste.

§ 45-138. If, in the process of drilling a well for oil or gas,
er both, gas is found in such well, and the owner or operator
thereof desires to continue to search for oil or gas, or both, by
drilling deeper in search of lower oil or gas-bearing strata, or if
it becomes necessary to make repairs to any well producing oil or
gas, commonly known as “cleaning out’, and if in either event it
ig necessary for the oil or gas in such well to escape therefrom
during the process of drilling or making repairs, as the case may
be, then the owner or operator of such well shall prosecute such
drilling or repairs with reasonable diligence, so that the waste of
oil or gas from the well shall not continue longer than reasonably
necessary, and if, during the progress of such deeper drilling or
repairs, any temporary suspension thereof becomes necessary, the
owner or operator of such well shall use all reasonable means to
shut in the oil or gas and prevent its waste during such temporary
suspension.

In all cases where both oil and gas are found and produced
from the same oil and gas-bearing stratum, and where it is neces-
sary for the gas therefrom to waste in the process of producing the
vil, the well owner or operator shall use all reasonable diligence
to conserve and save from waste so much of such gas as it is rea-
sonably possible to save.

§ 45-139. If the owner or operator of any such well shall neg-
lect or refuse to drill, case and equip, or plug and abandon the
well in a proper manner or shut in and conserve from waste the
il or gas produced therefrom as required to be done and per-
ormed by this chapter, for a period of twenty days after a written
\otice so to do, which notice may be served personally upon the
wher or operator, Or may be posted in a conspicuous place at or
ear the well, the owner or operator of any adjacent or neighbor.
ng Jands, or the Board:

(1) May enter upon the premises where such well is situated
nd properly case and equip such well; or, 7

(2) In case the well is to be abandoned, may properly plug
nd abandon it; or, a

(3) In case the well is wasting oil-or gas may properly shut.
in and make the needed repairs to the well to prevent such
aste.

The reasonable cost and expenses incurred by the owner or
perator of any adjacent or neighboring lands in so doing shal] be
2id by the owner or operator of such well and may be recovered
; debts of like amount are by law recoverable; and such expense,

incurred by the Board, shall be a charge against the bond given
ry the well operator. |

§ 45-140. Unless written permission is granted by the Board,
> owner or operator of any oil well or wells shall permit said well
‘ wells to stand without diligently pumping or flowing same for
period of more than ninety days. Upon notice of the Board, to
iy owner or operator of any well or wells that the casing or tub-
g in such well or wells is leaking fresh or salt water into the
oil or gas-bearing sand or stratum, such well owner or operator
shall immediately repair such casing or tubing or abandon and
plug such well according to the provisions of this act.

§ 45-141. In addition to the penalties elsewhere provided, the
Board may, if any person is violating or threatening to violate
any provision of this chapter, maintain suit in the circuit court
of the county or corporation court of the city of the county
wherein such violation has occurred or is threatened, or wherein
such person may be found, to restrain such violation.

§ 45-142. In addition to the imposition of any penalties under
this chapter, it shall be the duty of any circuit court in the exer-
cise of its equitable jurisdiction to hear and determine any bill
or bills in equity which may be filed to restrain the waste of oil
or gas in violation of this chapter, and to grant relief by injunction
or by other decrees or orders, in accordance with the principles
and practice in equity. The plaintiff in such bill shall have suf-
ficient standing to maintain the same if he shall aver and prove
that he ig interested in the lands situated within the distance of
one mile from such well, either as an owner of such land, or of the
oil or gas, or both, thereunder, in fee simple, or as an owner of
leases thereof or as owner or lessee of any mineral rights therein.

§ 45-143. Any person or persons, firm, partnership, associa-
tion or corporation wilfully violating any of the provisions of this
chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction
thereof, shall be punished accordingly.

§ 45-144. All funds collected by the Board under the pro-
visions of this chapter shall be paid into the State treasury to the
credit of the State Oil and Gas Board and may be expended by
it, together with any funds appropriated by the General Assembly,
in carrying out the provisions of this chapter. Al] such payments
shall be made on warrants of the Comptroller issued upon vouchers
signed by the chairman of the Board or such person ag shall be
designated by the Board for that purpose.

§ 45-145. It is hereby declared to be the legislative intent to
enact each separate provision of this Act independently of all
other provisions, and the fact that any section, word, clause, sen-
tence, or part of this Act shall be declared unconstitutional] shall
in no event affect any other section, word, clause, sentence, or part
thereof.

§ 45-146. This Act shall take effect and be in force from and
after July 1, 1950.