Enhanced oil recovery commission amendments.

ORIGINAL
Senate
File No
.
SF0023

ENROLLED ACT NO.
16
,

SENATE

SIXTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WYOMING
2015 General Session

AN ACT relating to enhanced oil and gas recovery; amending the formal name of the enhanced oil recovery commission; specifying the school at the University of Wyoming that will conduct commission related tasks; clarifying and amending the scope of the commission's authority and obligations; amending definitions; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 30
‑
8
‑
101
(
a), (b)(intro), (
i
),

(ii), (d)(
i
), (iii),
(iv)
,
(f)(
i
) and (ii)
is amended to read:

30
‑
8
‑
101
.

Enhanced oil recovery commission created; duties.

(a)

The Wyoming enhanced
and improved
oil recovery commission is created. The commission shall consist of eight (8) members. The governor and the state geologist shall serve as ex officio members of the commission. One (1) legislative member shall be appointed by the management council of the legislature who shall serve as an ex officio member of the commission. The governor shall appoint the remaining members of whom one (1) shall be from the public at large with experience in the oil and gas industry, one (1) shall be a member of the oil and gas conservation commission, two (2) shall represent the oil and gas industry and one (1) shall be a representative of the University of Wyoming. The gubernatorial appointments shall be confirmed by the senate. Appointed members shall serve three (3) year terms. Members of the commission shall not receive any
fees,
salary or other compensation for services rendered but are entitled to receive per diem and mileage on the same basis and at the same rate as state employees and reimbursement for any other actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of commission duties.
The governor may remove any appoint
ed member as provided in W.S. 9
‑
1
‑
202. Except for the legislative member, initial appointments or any vacancy occurring between sessions of the legislature may be filled by the gove
rnor in accordance with W.S. 28
‑
12
‑
101(
b). The commission shall be staffed by executive branch agencies as designated by the governor.

(b)

The commission, in conjunction with the University of Wyoming
school
of energy r
esources
and oil and gas industry research entities, shall develop:

(
i
)

A research program
at the institute
for energy research and enhanced oil
and gas
recovery at the University of Wyoming
school
of energy r
esources
.
The program shall focus
on
oil and gas recovery technological issues, including carbon dioxide separation, reservoir sweep performance and reservoir displacement efficiency
and facilitate a meaningful and measurable increase in recoverable reserves and production of oil and natural gas in Wyoming through the effective and efficient transfer of relevant technology, information and knowledge to
entities, regardless of size, producing Wyoming reserves
;

(ii)

An expande
d
A
program
at the institute
focusing on technology transfer, to help industry with access to and application of
existing
enhanced oil

and gas
recovery and improved oil

and gas
recovery technology. The program shall be designed to promote research and technology transfer efforts
, including polymer and surfactant flooding, horizontal drilling, zone specific fracturing and three dimensional seismic infill drillin
g;

in
both conventional and unconventional oil and gas reservoir
s.

(d)

The commission:

(
i
)

Shall
oversee and direct development o
f
provide guidance and oversight and coordinate
with the University of Wyoming school of energy r
esources to efficiently carry out
the programs developed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section;

(iii)

Shall facilitate the development of formal agreements between the
institut
e
University of Wyoming school of energy r
esources
and the oil and gas industry through which the industry is provided access to the
institute
'
s
geologic and engineering reservoir modeling and reservoir characterization wor
k
s
chool
'
s expertise and work product
in exchange for providing

access to
data
acces
s
and
testing
required

facilities;

(iv)

Shall
promote and facilitate the transfer of new technologies
developed at the institute
throughout the oil and gas industry in this state;

(f)

As used in this section:

(
i
)

"
Commission
"
means the Wyoming enhanced
and improved
oil recovery commission;

(ii)

"
Enhanced oil

and gas
recovery
"

and improved oil recovery
"

means all existing and potential technology to recover oil

and gas
beyond traditional primary and secondary methods
,
;

including technology to optimize development and recovery of oil and gas resources in new fields.

Section
2
.

W.S. 30
‑
8
‑
101(
b
)
(iii),
(iv) and (f)(iii)
is repealed.

Section
3
.

This
act is effective July 1,
2015
.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the
Senate
.

Chief Clerk

1