N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law § 23-0501: Well permits

§ 23-0501. Well permits.

1. a. This section shall not apply to (1) wells drilled, deepened,

plugged back or converted in oil fields or pools which were discovered,

developed and operated prior to January first, nineteen hundred

eighty-one, and (2) wells drilled, deepened, plugged back or converted

in natural gas fields or pools which were discovered, developed and

operated prior to January first, nineteen hundred ninety-five and which

are not being extended.

b. As used in titles five, seven and nine of this article, unless the

context otherwise requires:

(1) "Statewide spacing" means spacing units for gas or oil wells that

are within ten percent of the following sizes, as applicable, unless

another percentage is specifically stated:

(i) For Medina gas pools at any depth, 40 acres with the wellbore

within the target formation no less than 460 feet from any unit

boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres necessary

and sufficient to ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target

formation is not less than 460 feet from any unit boundary;

(ii) For Onondaga reef or Oriskany gas pools at any depth, 160 acres

with the wellbore within the target formation no less than 660 feet from

any unit boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres

necessary and sufficient to ensure that any horizontal wellbore within

the target formation is not less than 660 feet from any unit boundary;

(iii) For fault-bounded Trenton and/or Black River hydrothermal

dolomite gas pools where the majority of the pool is between 4,000 and

8,000 feet deep, 320 acres with the proposed productive section of the

wellbore within the target formation no less than one-half mile from any

other well in another unit in the same pool and no less than 1,000 feet

from any unit boundary that is not defined by a field-bounding fault but

in no event less than 660 feet from any unit boundary;

(iv) For fault-bounded Trenton and/or Black River hydrothermal

dolomite gas pools where the majority of the pool is below 8,000 feet,

within five percent of 640 acres with the proposed productive section of

the wellbore within the target formation no less than one mile from any

other well in another unit in the same pool and no less than 1,500 feet

from any unit boundary that is not defined by a field-bounding fault but

in no event less than 660 feet from any unit boundary;

(v) For shale gas pools at any depth, for a vertical well outside any

existing spacing unit for the same formation, 40 acres with the wellbore

within the target formation no less than 460 feet from any unit

boundary;

(vi) For shale gas pools at any depth, for a horizontal well outside

any existing spacing unit for the same formation and with a written

commitment from the well operator to drill infill wells pursuant to

subdivision 4 of section 23-0503 of this title, with all horizontal

infill wells in the unit to be drilled from a common well pad within

three years of the date the first well in the unit commences drilling,

notwithstanding the ten percent tolerance specified in this

subparagraph, up to 640 acres with the initial horizontal wellbore or

wellbores within the target formation approximately centered in the

spacing unit and no wellbore in the target formation less than 330 feet

from any unit boundary;

(vii) For shale gas pools at any depth, for a horizontal well outside

any existing spacing unit for the same formation and in the absence of a

written commitment from the well operator to drill infill wells pursuant

to subdivision 4 of section 23-0503 of this title, 40 acres with the

wellbore within the target formation no less than 330 feet from any unit

boundary plus the number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to

ensure that the wellbore within the target formation is not less than

330 feet from any unit boundary;

(viii) For all other gas pools where the majority of the pool is above

the depth of 4,000 feet, 80 acres with the wellbore within the target

formation no less than 460 feet from any unit boundary, plus, if

applicable, the number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to

ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target formation is not

less than 460 feet from any unit boundary;

(ix) For all other gas pools where the majority of the pool is 4,000

to 6,000 feet deep, 160 acres with the wellbore within the target

formation no less than 660 feet from any unit boundary, plus, if

applicable, the number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to

ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target formation is not

less than 660 feet from any unit boundary;

(x) For all other gas pools where the majority of the pool is 6,000 to

8,000 feet deep, 320 acres with the wellbore within the target formation

no less than 1,000 feet from any unit boundary, plus, if applicable, the

number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to ensure that any

horizontal wellbore within the target formation is not less than 1,000

feet from any unit boundary;

(xi) For all other gas pools where the majority of the pool is below

8,000 feet, within five percent of 640 acres with the wellbore within

the target formation no less than 1,500 feet from any unit boundary,

plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres necessary and

sufficient to ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target

formation is not less than 1,500 feet from any unit boundary;

(xii) For oil pools in the Bass Island, Trenton, Black River, Onondaga

reef or other oil-bearing reefs at any depth, 40 acres with the wellbore

within the target formation no less than 460 feet from any unit

boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres necessary

and sufficient to ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target

formation is not less than 460 feet from any unit boundary; and

(xiii) For all other oil pools at any depth, the wellbore within the

target formation shall be no less than 165 feet from any lease boundary.

Wells completed under a well permit issued pursuant to clause (xii) or

(xiii) of this subparagraph that do not produce oil may not commence

production of natural gas prior to modification of the spacing unit

pursuant to applicable provisions of this title.

(2) "Well operator" means the applicant for a permit to drill, deepen,

plug back or convert a well subject to this title and titles 7 and 9 of

this article, or the actual operator of the well if the well is not

operated by the original applicant.

(3) "Permit" or "well permit" means a permit to drill, deepen, plug

back or convert a well for production of oil or gas.

2. Every person who applies for a permit to drill an oil or gas well

or deepen or plug back a well to a different pool after the effective

date of this section, notwithstanding prior orders, shall control

through fee ownership, voluntary agreement, or integration pursuant to

section 23-0701 or 23-0901 of this article no less than sixty percent of

the acreage within the proposed spacing unit for such well and shall

provide the department with:

a. A map in a format specified by the department depicting the

proposed spacing unit for the well, the surface and bottom hole

locations of the well, the location of the wellbore in the target

formation, the location of any field-bounding faults within the proposed

spacing unit, the acreage of the proposed spacing unit, and the

boundaries of each tract wholly or partially within the proposed spacing

unit as may be evidenced by tax identification numbers; and

b. A demonstration that the applicant controls the oil or gas rights,

as applicable, in the target formation to be penetrated by the wellbore,

provided that, if the applicant does not control such oil or gas rights,

the department shall issue a permit that is conditional upon the

applicant completing the integration process required by section 23-0901

of this article before the applicant can exercise the right to drill,

deepen, plug back or convert under the permit.

3. (a) No permits shall be issued authorizing an applicant to drill,

deepen, plug back, or convert wells that use high-volume hydraulic

fracturing or carbon dioxide to complete or recomplete natural gas or

oil resources. For purposes of this section, high-volume hydraulic

fracturing shall be defined as the stimulation of a well using three

hundred thousand or more gallons of water as the base fluid for

hydraulic fracturing for all stages in a well completion, regardless of

whether the well is vertical or directional, including horizontal.

(b) There shall be a moratorium on the department taking actions on

applications filed after the effective date of the chapter of the laws

of 2020 which added this subdivision to drill, deepen, plug back, or

convert wells that use gelled propane hydraulic fracturing to complete

or recomplete natural gas or oil resources until the department

completes an analysis of the potential impacts of gelled propane

fracturing and makes the analysis publicly available. The scope of the

department's analysis shall reflect the potential for development of oil

and gas wells using gelled propane hydraulic fracturing and shall

disclose the potential adverse impacts to the environment. For purposes

of this section, gelled propane hydraulic fracturing shall be defined as

the stimulation of a well using gelled propane or liquefied petroleum

gas as the base fluid for hydraulic fracturing for all stages in a well

completion, regardless of whether the well is vertical or directional,

including horizontal.

4. In furtherance of the policy objectives of this article, the

department shall take all actions required by it under this title and

titles 7 and 9 of this article as expeditiously as possible.