43 CFR 3137.82: What are productivity criteria?

(a) Productivity criteria are characteristics of a unit well that warrant including a defined area surrounding the well in a participating area. The unit agreement must define these criteria for each separate producible interval. You must be able to determine whether you meet the criteria when the well is drilled and you complete well testing, after a reasonable period of time to analyze new data.

(b) To meet the productivity criteria, the well must indicate future production potential sufficient to pay for the costs of drilling, completing, and operating the well on a unit basis.

(c) BLM will consider wells that contribute to unit production (e.g., pressure maintenance, gas cycling) when setting the participating area boundaries as provided in § 3137.81(b) and (c) of this subpart.