NDAC 43-02-02-22
Well log, completion, and work-over report and basic data
Cite as N.D. Admin. Code ยง 43-02-02-22
After the plugging of a well, a plugging records (form 7-sm) shall be filed with the state geologist.
After the completion of a well, recompletion of a well in a different pool, or drilling horizontally in an
existing pool, a completion report (form 6-sm) shall be filed with the state geologist. In no case shall
subsurface minerals be transported from the lease prior to the filing of a completion report unless
approved by the director. The operator shall cause to be run an open hole electrical, radioactivity, or
other similar log, or combination of open hole logs, of the operator's choice, from which formation tops
and porosity zones can be determined. The operator shall run a gamma ray log from total depth to
ground level elevation of the well bore. Prior to completing the well, the operator shall run a log form
which the presence and quality of bonding of cement can be determined in every well in which
production or intermediate casing has been set. The obligation to log may be waived or postponed by
the director if the necessity therefore can be demonstrated to the director's satisfaction. Waiver will be
contingent upon such terms and conditions as the director deems appropriate. All logs run shall be
available to the director at the well site prior to proceeding with plugging or completion operations. All
logs run shall be submitted to the state geologist free of charge. Logs shall be submitted as one digital
tagged image file format (TIFF) copy and one digital LAS (log ASCII) formatted copy, or a format
approved by the director. In addition, operators shall file two copies of drill stem test reports and charts,
formation water analyses, core analyses, geologic reports, and noninterpretive lithologic logs or sample
descriptions if compiled by the operator.
All information, except the operator name, well name, location, spacing or drilling unit description,
spud date, rig contractor, and any production runs, furnished to the state geologist on recompletions or
reentries, shall be kept confidential for a period of one year if requested by the operator and such
period may be further extended upon approval by the commission. The one-year period shall
commence on the expiration date of the permit. The confidentiality period will become void if the
operator engages in a wholesale release of the confidential information in a wide public form. Any
information furnished to the state geologist prior to approval of the recompletion or reentry shall remain
public.
Approval must be obtained on a sundry notice (form 4-sm) from the director prior to perforating or
recompleting a well in a pool other than the pool in which the well is currently permitted.
After the completion of any remedial work, or attempted remedial work, such as plugging back or
drilling deeper, acidizing, shooting, formation fracturing, squeezing operations, setting liner, perforating,
reperforating, or other similar operations not specifically covered herein, a report on the operation shall
be filed on a sundry notice (form 4-sm) with the state geologist. The report shall present a detailed
account of all work done and the date of such work; the daily production of subsurface minerals and
water both prior to and after the operation; the shots per foot, size, and depth of perforations; the
quantity of sand, crude, chemical, or other materials employed in the operation; and any other pertinent
information or operations which affect the original status of the well and are not specifically covered
herein.
Upon the installation of pumping equipment on a flowing well, or change in type of pumping
equipment designed to increase productivity in a well, the operator shall submit a sundry notice (form
4-sm) of such installation. The notice shall include all pertinent information on the pump and its
operation, including the date of such installation, and the daily production of the well prior to and after
the pump has been installed.
All forms, reports, logs, and other information required by this section shall be submitted within
thirty days after the completion of such work, although a completion report shall be filed immediately
after the completion or recompletion of a well in a pool or reservoir not then covered by an order of the
commission.
The following basic data collected by the operator shall be delivered, free of charge, to the state
geologist within six months of the expiration date of the permit:
1.
Washed and packaged sample cuts, core chips, or whole cores except those portions of cores
used for necessary testing or analysis in which case the results of testing, the analysis and the
description of missing portions shall be submitted to the state geologist upon request.
2.
Sample logs, radioactivity logs, resistivity logs, or other types of electrical or mechanical logs.
3.
Elevation and location information on the data collection points.
4.
Other pertinent information as may be requested by the director.
When requested by the operator, the data submitted shall be confidential for a period of one year
commencing on the expiration date of the permit. Such period may be further extended upon approval
of the commission.
Data restricted to a particular stratigraphic interval containing the actual ore being explored,
developed, or mined, shall be confidential as long as the operator is exploring, developing, or producing
from that particular stratum. The general area, as used herein, shall be defined jointly by the state
geologist and the operator. Definition of the stratigraphic interval will be made by the state geologist.
Data from the stratigraphic interval will, at the discretion of the state geologist, be retained in the North
Dakota office of the operator during the period of confidentiality. The industrial commission and the
state geologist shall have access to all confidential data.
The director may release such confidential completion and production data to health care
professionals, emergency responders, and state, federal, or tribal environmental and public health
regulators if the state geologist deems it necessary to protect the public's health, safety, and welfare.