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HB0102 • 2022

Pooling orders-good faith negotiation requirement.

AN ACT relating to oil and gas; requiring applicants for pooling orders to offer leasing terms to unleased mineral interest owners within the proposed pooling area; specifying applicability; requiring rulemaking; and providing for effective dates.

Energy Land
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Representative Clausen
Last action
2022-02-18
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2022

Plain English Breakdown

The bill did not pass and thus its provisions are not currently in effect.

Pooling Orders-Good Faith Negotiation Requirement

This act requires oil and gas companies seeking pooling orders to offer lease terms to unleased mineral interest owners within the proposed area in good faith.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires applicants for pooling orders to offer leasing terms to unleased mineral interest owners within the proposed area in good faith.
  • Specifies that evidence of these offers must be provided to the commission before a pooling order is issued.
  • Establishes rules for when a pooling order can expire if drilling does not start within 12 months.
  • Requires the oil and gas conservation commission to create rules to implement this act.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Oil and gas companies applying for pooling orders
  • Mineral interest owners who do not own leases in the proposed area

Terms To Know

Pooling order
A legal document that allows oil and gas companies to combine multiple tracts of land into a single drilling unit.
Leasing terms
The conditions under which mineral rights are leased, including payment amounts and duration.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This act did not pass in the session it was introduced.
  • It is unclear how many mineral interest owners will be affected by this requirement.
  • The specific rules for implementing this act have yet to be created.

Bill History

  1. 2022-02-18 House

    H Did not Consider for Introduction

  2. 2022-02-14 House

    H Received for Introduction

  3. 2022-02-11 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
22LSO-0397
2022
STATE OF WYOMING
22LSO-0397
Numbered
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0102

Pooling orders-good faith negotiation requirement.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Clausen and Barlow and Senator(s) Boner

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to oil and gas; requiring applicants for pooling orders to offer leasing terms to unleased mineral interest owners within the proposed pooling area; specifying applicability; requiring rulemaking; and providing for effective dates.

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

Section 1
.

W.S. 30
‑
5
‑
109(f) is amended to read:

30
‑
5
‑
109.

Rules and regulations governing drilling units.

(f)

When two (2) or more separately owned tracts are embraced within a drilling unit, or when there are separately owned interests in all or a part of the drilling unit, then persons owning such interests may pool their interests for the development and operation of the drilling unit. In the absence of voluntary pooling, the commission, upon the application of any interested person, may enter an order pooling all interests in the drilling unit for the development and operation thereof.
Each interested person applying for a pooling order under this subsection shall in good faith offer lease terms to each unleased nonconsenting mineral interest owner within the area of the proposed pooling order and shall provide evidence of the lease offers to the commission before the commission enters a pooling order.
Each such pooling order shall be made after notice and hearing and shall be upon terms and conditions that are just and reasonable.

Operations incident to the drilling of a well upon any portion of a unit covered by a pooling order shall be deemed for all purposes to be the conduct of such operations upon each separately owned tract in the unit by the several owners thereof. That portion of the production allocated or applicable to each tract
included in a unit covered by a pooling order shall, when produced, be deemed for all purposes to have been produced from such tract by a well drilled thereon. A pooling order issued under this subsection shall expire twelve (12) months after issuance if the person authorized to drill and operate a well fails to commence operations within twelve (12) months of issuance of the pooling order.

Section 2.

This act shall apply to all applications for pooling orders under W.S. 30
‑
5
‑
109(f) filed on and after the effective date of this act.

Section 3.

The oil and gas conservation commission shall promulgate all rules necessary to implement this act.

Section 4
.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this act is effective July 1, 2022
.

(b) Sections 3 and 4 of this act are
effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(END)

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HB0102