LAC 43:XIX.4307. Haynesville Shale

A. From and after the effective date hereof, the following special rules shall apply to development of the Haynesville Shale Formation in the State of Louisiana employing the use of horizontal wells. The setback provisions contained herein shall supersede those contained in any Field Orders adopted prior to the effective date hereof, other than provisions which authorized exceptional well locations. Nothing herein shall prevent operators from obtaining exceptions to these rules for due cause after notice and hearing. 1. Setbacks a. The distance from any point in the completed interval to any outer boundary of the unit, measured along a line perpendicular to the completed interval or to the tangent thereof, shall be a minimum of 330 feet. b. The first and last take point of a horizontal well shall be no closer than 100 feet to any unit boundary unless the well is an authorized Cross-Unit Well. 2. Cross-Unit Wells a. The party who owns or controls the majority working interest in the drilling units proposed for cross-unit development may obtain approval to drill cross-unit wells only after a 30-day notice public hearing. Such ownership or control shall be based on sworn testimony at the public hearing which authorizes the cross-unit wells. b. Setback provisions of LAC 43:XIX.4307.1 do not apply to the common unit boundaries that are crossed by a cross-unit well. c. A proposed cross-unit well that has less than 500 feet of perforated lateral in a unit may only be authorized if: i. The pre-application notice and hearing application expressly set forth the right to object to the application; and ii. There is no timely objection filed by an interested owner, interested party, or represented party as defined in LAC 43:XIX.3903, other than a mineral lessee, which owns an interest in the unit(s) with less than 500 feet of perforated lateral and, on the date of the application hearing, the short unit either is not producing or is producing only from one or more horizontal laterals with a combined length of perforated lateral less than five hundred feet. d. Production from a cross-unit well shall be allocated to each unit in the same proportion as length of the completed interval located in each unit determined by an as-drilled survey. e. Surface commingling of gas produced from cross-unit wells is authorized without further notice or application in exception to the requirements of LAC 43:XIX Chapter 15, provided that operators adhere to the following requirements: i. All individual well production shall be metered for allocation purposes in accordance with the American Petroleum Institute (API) Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards, Chapter 20, Allocation Measurement; and ii. Allocation meters shall be calibrated on at least a quarterly basis; iii. Within 90 days of initiating commingled production, a diagrammatic sketch of the mechanical installation along with a detailed explanation of gas flow, the procedures and frequency for calibration/proving of metering devices and the complete allocation formula to be utilized must be filed. f. Supplemental production reports for each cross-unit well must be filed on a monthly basis. 3. Unit Line Wells a. The party who owns or controls the majority working interest in the drilling units proposed for unit line well development may obtain approval to drill unit line wells only after a 30-day notice public hearing. Such ownership or control shall be based on sworn testimony at the public hearing which authorizes the unit line wells. b. Setback provisions of LAC 43:XIX.4307.1 do not apply to the nearest unit boundary that is parallel to the completed interval of the unit line well. c. Production from a unit line well should be allocated equally to each unit line unit in the same proportion as the length of the completed interval located within 330 feet of the common unit boundary determined by an as-drilled survey. d. Surface commingling of gas produced from unit line wells is authorized without further notice or application in exception to the requirements of LAC 43:XIX Chapter 15, provided that operators adhere to the requirements of LAC 43:XIX.4307.2.e.i-iii. e. Supplemental production reports for each unit line well must be filed on a monthly basis.