No oil well, as classified by the state railroad commission,
shall be drilled on a unit of less than eighty (80) contiguous acres,
plus or minus ten percent (10%), and no gas well shall be drilled
on a unit of less than six hundred forty (640) contiguous acres, plus
or minus ten percent (10%). No well shall be drilled within two hundred
feet (200') of any residence or building without written permission
from the owner or owners thereof. No well shall be drilled within
fifty feet (50') of the boundary line of any city street, alley, or
public way, nor shall such public thoroughfares be blocked or encumbered
by any drilling or production operation without written permission
by the city council.
(Ordinance 45 adopted 8/23/82; 1982 Code, ch. 4, sec. 7(C)(1))
(a) Generally.
Standard operating procedures under the applicable
rules and regulations of the state railroad commission, as well as
those ordinary practices adhered to by prudent operators in this area,
shall be followed in the setting and cementing of surface casing and
oil strings and the testing of surface pipe and oil strings.
(b) Blowout preventers.
Two (2) fluid-operated blowout preventers
shall be used for all drilling or completion operations involving
the use of drill pipe casing or tubing after surface casing has been
set. The mechanical operation of blowout preventers shall be tested
at reasonable intervals, and in addition they shall be tested with
pump pressure frequently enough to insure good working order at all
times.
(c) Wellhead assemblies and Christmas trees.
All wells shall
be equipped with wellhead assemblies and Christmas trees of working
and test pressures as provided in applicable rules and regulations
of the state railroad commission, and in addition shall conform with
standard practice and procedures used by prudent operators in this
area.
(d) Disposal of rubbish and debris.
Any rubbish or debris
that might constitute a fire hazard shall be removed to a distance
of at least one hundred feet (100') from the vicinity of wells. All
wastes shall be disposed of in such a manner as to avoid creating
a fire hazard or polluting streams and fresh water strata.
(e) Fencing.
All producing wells shall be protected with
a six-foot (6') woven fence having a barbed wire guard at the top
and a gate with lock.
(f) Slush tanks and earthen pits.
Only portable slush tanks
for mud and water shall be used in drilling and reworking operations,
unless an exception is granted by the city council permitting the
use of earthen pits. Portable tanks and their contents shall be removed
from the drilling site within ten (10) days after completion or abandonment
of the well. Earthen pits, if permitted, shall be backfilled and leveled
within one hundred twenty (120) days after such completion or abandonment.
(g) Motive power.
Motive power for all operations after
completion of drilling operations shall be electric or properly muffled
gas, diesel, or gasoline engines. All pumping wells shall be equipped
with electric motors, gas lift facilities, or properly muffled gas
or gasoline engines.
(h) Disposal of salt water and other impurities.
The permittee
shall make adequate provisions for the disposal of all salt water
or other impurities which he may bring to the surface, such disposal
to be made in such a manner as not to contaminate the fresh water
supply, present or prospective, or to injure surface vegetation.
(i) Casing.
(1) In order to protect the fresh water sands which are the source of
water supply for this city, the casing program of all wells drilled
hereafter in this city not otherwise excepted from the terms of this
article shall include surface casing of new or reconditioned pipe.
Fresh water sands to be protected are herein defined as those above
a minimum depth of eight hundred fifty feet (850'), or greater depth
as stipulated by the state water commission or railroad commission
in the event special field rules are adopted. To protect fresh water,
a permittee shall set surface casing to the depth stipulated by the
state water commission or the state railroad commission, if the special
field rules are adopted, but in no instance to a depth less than one
thousand one hundred fifty feet (1,150'), and cement with sufficient
cement to fill the annulus from the casing set depth to the surface
and provide return of uncontaminated cement at the surface.
(2) Cement shall be by the pump and plug method. Cement shall be allowed
to stand a minimum of twelve (12) hours under pressure and twenty-four
(24) hours before drilling the plug or initiating the test. After
cementing, the surface casing shall be tested by pump pressure of
at least seven hundred fifty (750) pounds per square inch. If, at
the end of thirty (30) minutes, the pressure shows a drop of one hundred
fifty (150) pounds per square inch or more, the casing shall be condemned.
After the corrective operations, the casing shall again be tested
in the same manner.
(3) It is controllingly provided, however, that in the event a permittee
can establish to the satisfaction of the city council that said fresh
water sands can be adequately protected by use of other means or measures,
any or all of the foregoing requirements may be waived by the city
council.
(j) Drilling fluids.
Drilling fluids of sufficient weight
to exceed the formation pressures of known reservoirs in the area
shall be used.
(k) Drill stem tests.
No drill stem tests shall be taken
except during daylight hours, and then only if the test effluent is
produced through an adequate oil and gas separator into storage tanks.
(l) Storage tanks.
No storage tank shall be located within
the city limits unless an exception is granted by the city council
permitting the installation of a “tank battery” for retaining
the production from a lease until its delivery to a purchaser. Such
tanks shall be surrounded by an earthen firewall of such dimensions
that it can contain a liquid volume equal to one and one-half (1-1/2)
times the capacity of the tanks.
(m) Pipelines.
To remove oil, gas, water, or other products
from a well to storage outside the city limits, the permittee is hereby
granted rights-of-way and easements on, under, along, or across the
city streets, alleys, and sidewalks for the purpose of laying, maintaining,
repairing, replacing, and removing pipelines so long as production
or operations may be continued under this permit. The permittee, however,
shall not interfere with or damage existing water, sewer, or gas lines
or other facilities or public utilities located within such rights-of-way
or easements. Pipeline crossings of paved or blacktopped streets shall
be bored or jacked unless written authorization for open ditching
is given by the city council. All pipeline construction and operations
shall conform with applicable API specifications, city ordinances,
and regulations of the state railroad commission.
(n) Venting of gas.
No venting of gas from a well shall
be permitted within the city limits.
(o) Abandonment and plugging of well.
Whenever a well is
abandoned, it shall be the obligation of the permittee to set a cast
bridge plug in the top of all the remaining completion and protection
casing sections and a one hundred foot (100') cement plug pumped below
and above each such bridge plug, and to set a cast iron bridge plug
as low as possible in the surface casing and a one hundred foot (100')
cement plug pumped below and above such bridge plug. No surface string
or conductor string of casing may be pulled and removed from a well.
The production string of casing may be removed from a point one hundred
feet (100') or more above the shoe of the protection string. Whenever
any such well is abandoned and plugged, it shall be the further obligation
of the permittee and the operator of the well to cut the surface casing
off at least six feet (6') below the surface of the ground, to place
at least a twenty-five foot (25') cement plug in the top of the casing,
and to weld the top of the casing completely shut, with the resulting
hole being completely filled to the surface of the ground and duly
tamped. Any additional provisions or precautionary measures prescribed
by the state railroad commission in connection with abandonment and
plugging of a well shall be complied with by the permittee.
(Ordinance 45 adopted 8/23/82; 1982 Code, ch. 4, sec. 7(C)(2))