It shall be unlawful for any person to drill or commence to drill a well for oil or gas within the limits of the city, or to directionally drill so as to complete the well at a bottom hole location within the limits of the city, or to complete in a drilling block, any portion of which may lie within the city limits, or to work upon or assist in any way in the prosecution of the drilling of any such well, without a permit for the drilling, completion and operation of such well having been first issued by authority of the city council, in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 2.08; Ordinance adopted 6/14/76, sec. 6; 2010 Code, sec. 16-173)
Every application for a permit to drill, complete and operate a well for oil or gas shall be in writing and signed by the applicant or by some person duly authorized to sign the same on his behalf. It shall be filed with the city secretary and shall state the proposed depth, the drilling block and the particular lot and location in the block where the proposed well is to be located and shall have attached to it a plat showing the well location with a list of owners of leased interests. Such list shall be certified as correct to the best knowledge of the party signing the application, but need not be based upon title examination or title policy; however, upon request from the city council, the applicant shall furnish, at no cost to the city, certified or photostatic copies of the deeds, oil and gas leases or drilling contracts with the owners of the land covering the lots, blocks or tracts in the drilling block over which the applicant has control for oil and gas purposes, to the end that the application will show what proportion and what parts of the drilling block the applicant owns in fee or holds under lease or drilling contract from the owners.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 2.09; Ordinance adopted 6/14/76, sec. 9; 2010 Code, sec. 16-174)
(a) 
An application for a permit under this article shall be accompanied by a duly executed bond, which must meet the approval of the city manager, given by the applicant as principal and a surety company authorized to do business in the state as surety. The bond shall inure to the city for the benefit of the city and all persons concerned, conditioned that, if the permit is granted and if drilling operations are commenced thereunder, the applicant and his assigns will comply with the terms and conditions of this article in the drilling and operation of a well and that the applicant will restore the streets and sidewalks and other public places of the city, which may be disturbed in the operations, to their former condition, and will clear the block and lots of all litter, machinery, derricks and buildings erected or used in the drilling or operation of the well, whenever the well shall be abandoned or the operation thereof discontinued. Such bond shall be in the sum as currently established or as hereafter adopted by resolution of the city council from time to time.
(b) 
If, within two years after the drilling and completion of such well, no claims have been presented against the applicant or his assigns under the terms and conditions of such bond, the same shall be terminated by the city council.
(c) 
If any permit shall terminate and become inoperative as provided in section 4.08.041 or if the permittee or his assigns shall file with the city council written notice of his or their election to surrender his or their permit and abandon the premises covered thereby, then, if no claims under the bond are filed within two years, the city secretary shall return the bond theretofore furnished under this article. If claims are filed within such time, upon the satisfaction or defeat of such claims, such bond shall thereupon be returned to the permittee or his assigns.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 2.10; Ordinance adopted 6/14/76, sec. 11; 2010 Code, sec. 16-175)
(a) 
No oil or gas well shall be drilled and no permit shall be issued for any well to be drilled at any location nearer than 200 feet (or Federal Housing Administration requirements, if greater) to any residence, building, recorded subdivision or site upon which construction has been started on a residence or building, without the applicant having first secured the written permission of the owners thereof, signed and acknowledged before a notary public in the manner required for the recording of deeds, or, in the alternative, witnessed by two disinterested persons.
(b) 
No oil or gas well shall be drilled and no permit shall be issued for any well to be drilled at any location within 300 feet of any exterior boundary line of land utilized for a public or parochial school, college, hospital, church or public building, without permission of the owners as set forth in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) 
No oil or gas well shall be drilled and no permit shall be issued for any well to be drilled at any location which is a part of a city block as to which there are public record restrictions or covenants prohibiting the drilling of any oil or gas well in such city block, without written permission of the owners of the property affected by such covenant or restriction; provided, however, this provision shall not apply to the drilling a substitute well or deepening any existing or abandoned well.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 2.11; Ordinance adopted 6/14/76, sec. 9; 2010 Code, sec. 16-176)
(a) 
No permit shall be issued under this article for the drilling of a well except upon ground owned by the applicant or held by him under an oil and gas lease or drilling contract from the owner, giving the owner’s permission or authority to drill the well.
(b) 
In the event an application for a permit for the drilling, completion and operation of a well for oil or gas shall be made by any person owning or controlling 75 percent but not owning or not holding oil and gas leases or drilling contracts from the owners of 100 percent of the lots, blocks or parcels of land included in or embraced within a drilling block as shown upon the maps prepared and maintained by the city secretary hereinafter provided for, a permit shall be issued to such applicant, his heirs, successors and assigns, only upon the following conditions, in addition to such other conditions as may be provided in other sections of this article, to wit: The applicant shall be free to enter into such contract and agreements with the owners of such other lots, blocks or tracts as he may be able to make. If agreements are not reached with all owners of lots, tracts and blocks within the drilling block, then the owner of any given lot, block or tract with whom the permittee has failed to reach agreement shall have the right or option by notice to the permittee given in writing within 30 days after the issuance of a permit for a well on the drilling block involved, either:
(1) 
To treat his interest as a working interest and contribute toward the actual costs and expense of drilling, completing and operating said well with all necessary appurtenances currently each month in the proportion that the number of square feet in area owned by him in the drilling block bears to the number of square feet embraced in said block and thereupon receive the same proportion of the oil or gas produced and saved from such well or its value at the well at the option of the permittee, and a like proportion of natural gas produced, saved and utilized or sold, or the value of the same at the well at the option of the permittee; or
(2) 
To treat his interest as being leased to the permittee, and receive a sum in cash equal, on an acreage basis, to the highest cash bonus per acre paid by the permittee for any lease covering lands within said drilling block, and to receive as a royalty a share of all oil and gas produced and saved from such well equal to 3/16 of the proportion of the whole quantity of oil so produced and saved that the number of square feet in the area owned by him bears to the number of square feet in such drilling block, or at the election of the permittee to receive such proportion of the value at the well of the oil so produced, and to receive a like proportion of the gas and casinghead gas produced, saved and utilized or sold, or at the election of the permittee the value at the well of such proportion of gas or casinghead gas produced, saved and utilized or sold. If any owner does not exercise the right and option above provided and give notice to the permittee within the period above provided, the obligation shall then be upon the permittee, his heirs, successors and assigns, to make settlement with such owner on the terms provided in the option in this subsection, providing for the payment of a 3/16 royalty.
If the owner of a lot, block or tract shall exercise the option in subsection (b)(1) of this section and treat his interest as a working interest, as therein provided, the permittee shall be entitled to a lien on such owner’s proportionate part of the oil, gas and casinghead gas or the value thereof to secure payment of such owner’s proportionate part of the cost and expense. If the option in subsection (b)(1) of this section is exercised by the owner of any lot or lots, block or blocks, tract or tracts, such owner shall, within the time provided for notice of his election above set forth, file with the city secretary a bond or other obligation executed by such owner as principal and by an authorized surety company as surety, in which such principal and surety agree, bind and obligate themselves to pay to the permittee, his heirs, successors and assigns, currently each month, that proportion of the actual and necessary costs and expenses involved in the drilling, completion and operation of such well that the number of square feet embraced within the lot shall bear to the total number of square feet in such drilling block, such bond to be approved by the mayor and held by the city secretary for the benefit of the beneficiaries therein. Permits shall be issued in all such cases upon the condition that the permittee, his heirs, successors and assigns, shall make settlement in accordance with the provisions hereof.
(c) 
In case there should be filed with the city secretary and pending at the same time applications for permits to drill on any single drilling block within the limits of the city made by more than one applicant, that application shall be granted, if otherwise sufficient, which shall be made by the person holding the greater area of ground within the drilling block by ownership in fee or by lease or other contract authorizing the drilling and operation on land for oil and gas.
(d) 
A drilling block for the drilling, exploring for, and production of natural gas shall embrace 640 surface acres plus a tolerance of ten percent thereof. A drilling block for the drilling, exploring for, and production of oil shall embrace 80 surface acres plus a tolerance of ten percent thereof. The outline, configuration and area of a drilling block shall be determined by the outline, configuration and area contained in an applicant’s application for permit. When the first gas drilling permit is applied for and issued pursuant hereto, the city secretary shall mark the boundaries thereof upon a map of the city and designate the area thereof as gas drilling block number one. Successive gas drilling blocks shall be designated with consecutive gas drilling block numbers in their order of permit issuance, beginning with gas drilling block number two. When the first oil drilling permit is applied for and issued, the city secretary shall make the boundaries thereof upon a map of the city and designate the area thereof as oil drilling block number one. Successive oil drilling blocks shall be designated with consecutive oil drilling block numbers in their order of permit issuance, beginning with oil drilling block number two. Either a gas drilling block or an oil drilling block may be comprised of lands partly within and partly without the boundaries of the city and lands included in such blocks which are within the boundaries of the city shall be designated as drilling blocks so long as the entire block contains the requisite area for an oil or gas block, as herein provided.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 2.12; Ordinance adopted 6/14/76, sec. 14; Ordinance 1986-06, sec. 2, adopted 3/11/86; 2010 Code, sec. 16-177)
Every application for a permit to drill, complete and operate a well for oil or gas shall be in writing, signed by the applicant or by some person duly authorized to sign on his behalf. It shall be filed with the city secretary and accompanied with a fee to the city as provided for in appendix A of this code. The application shall state whether the well shall be drilled as an oil or gas well, the proposed depth, and the particular lot and location in the proposed block where the proposed well is to be located, together with a surface map or plat of said drilling block, showing the designation of the lots, blocks, or tracts, and showing the exact location of the proposed well. The map shall show what portion of the proposed drilling unit the applicant owns in fee, or holds under lease or drilling contracts from the owners, and the applicant must own in fee, or hold under lease or drilling contract from the owner, 75 percent of the acreage within the drilling unit prior to the issuance of the permit.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 2.13; Ordinance 1986-06, sec. 1, adopted 3/11/86; 2010 Code, sec. 16-178)
(a) 
When an application for a permit is filed under this article, the city manager shall fix a time for a hearing on such application by the city council. Such time shall be so fixed that the hearing will be held not more than 45 days after the filing of the application. The applicant shall be advised of the time of such hearing.
(b) 
Notice of the filing of each application for a permit under this article shall be given by the applicant as follows:
(1) 
At least ten days prior to the date set for the hearing on the application, a copy of the notice, in the form hereinafter prescribed, shall be published, at the cost of the applicant, in one issue of the official newspaper of the city.
(2) 
Such notice shall state the lot and block number on which the applicant is asking for a permit to drill and the date and place of hearing, and shall be in words and figures as follows:
Notice is hereby given that _____, acting under the pursuant to the terms and provisions of the Revised Code of Ordinances of the City of El Campo, Texas, did, on the _____ day of _____, 2 _____, file with the city secretary of the City of El Campo, an application for a permit to drill a well for _____ (state whether oil or gas) to a depth of _____ feet, upon (use legal description). A hearing upon such application will be held in the city council chambers of the City of El Campo, Texas, at _____ on the _____ day of _____, 2_____ at _____ __m.
(c) 
Proof of the publication of the notice required by this section shall be made by the applicant by filing, with the city secretary, an affidavit of the printer or publisher of the newspaper in which the notice was published, containing a copy of the notice and stating the issue in which and period of time during which the notice was published.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 2.14; Ordinance adopted 6/14/76, secs. 7, 10; 2010 Code, sec. 16-179)
(a) 
At the time fixed pursuant to section 4.08.037, the city council shall hold a hearing, review the application and accompanying data submitted in compliance with this article and either approve or disapprove the application.
(b) 
If an application for a permit under this article is found by the city council to comply in all respects with the terms of this article, the council may approve the application.
(c) 
The city council shall have the power and hereby reserves the authority to disapprove any application for a permit under this article, when the council shall deem such disapproval to be in the public interest, by reason of the location of the proposed well and the character and value of the permanent improvements already erected on the drilling block in question or adjacent thereto, and the use to which the land and surroundings are adapted for civic purposes. The council may also disapprove a permit application for sanitary reasons, or when the council shall find that the granting of such permit will be a serious disadvantage to either the health, comfort, convenience, order, good government, safety, morals or welfare of the city and its inhabitants. When an application is disapproved and the permit refused, one-half the fee paid as provided in section 4.08.036 shall be returned to the applicant.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 2.15; Ordinance adopted 6/14/76, secs. 7, 8, 13; 2010 Code, sec. 16-180)
If the city council approves an application filed under this article, the city secretary shall issue the applied-for permit for the drilling, completion and operation of the well.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 2.16; Ordinance adopted 6/14/76, sec. 13; 2010 Code, sec. 16-181)
In case there should be filed with the city secretary, and pending at the same time, applications for permits to drill an oil or gas well on any single drilling block within the limits of the city, made by more than one applicant, that application shall be granted, if otherwise sufficient, which shall be made by the person holding the greater area of ground within the drilling block, by ownership in fee or by lease or other contract authorizing the drilling and operation on such land for oil or gas. The issuance of such permit shall automatically operate as a rejection and denial of all other pending applications for wells upon the drilling block involved, or any portion or portions thereof.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 2.17; Ordinance adopted 6/14/76, secs. 13, 16; 2010 Code, sec. 16-182)
A permit issued under this article shall terminate and become inoperative, without any action on the part of the city council, unless, within 12 months from the date of the issue, actual drilling of the well is commenced. After the drilling of the well is commenced, the cessation of drilling operations prior to the completion of the well, for a period of six months, shall operate to terminate and cancel the permit and the well shall be considered as abandoned for all purposes of this article, and it shall be unlawful thereafter to continue the operation or drilling of such well without the issuance of another permit.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 2.18; Ordinance adopted 6/14/76, sec. 17; 2010 Code, sec. 16-183)
If an oil or gas well is completed as a producer and thereafter ceases to produce, the permittee shall obtain a drilling permit, as provided in this article, to conduct deepening or sidetracking operations on the well.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 2.19; Ordinance adopted 6/14/76, sec. 17; 2010 Code, sec. 16-184)
In the event that any person holding a permit under this article, or his agent, representative or employee, shall violate any provision of this article, the city council, at any regular or special session or meeting thereof, may, provided ten days’ notice has been given to the permittee that revocation is to be considered at such meeting, revoke or suspend such permit. In the event the permit is revoked, the permittee may, upon satisfaction or correction of the violation, make application to the city council for a reissuance of such permit, upon consideration of which the action of the city council thereon shall be final.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 2.20; Ordinance adopted 6/14/76, sec. 35; 2010 Code, sec. 16-185)