Preservation of cores and samples

Unless waived by the director, operators shall have a well site geologist or mudlogger on location for at least the first well drilled on a multiwell pad to collect sample cuttings and to create a mudlog and geologic report. Sample cuttings of formations, taken at intervals prescribed by the state geologist, in all wells drilled for the production of oil or gas, injection, disposal, storage operations, or geological information in North Dakota, shall be washed and packaged in standard sample envelopes which in turn shall be placed in proper order in a standard sample box; carefully identified as to operator, well name, well file number, American petroleum institute number, location, depth of sample; and shall be sent free of cost to the state core and sample library within thirty days after completion of drilling operations. The operator of any well drilled for the production of oil or gas, injection, disposal, storage operations, or geological information in North Dakota, during the drilling of or immediately following the completion of any well, shall inform the director of all intervals that are to be cored, or have been cored. Unless specifically exempted by the director, all cores taken shall be preserved, placed in a standard core box and the entire core forwarded to the state core and sample library, free of cost, within one hundred eighty days after completion of drilling operations. The director may grant an extension of the one hundred eighty-day time period for good reason. If an exemption is granted, the operator shall advise the state geologist of the final disposition of the core. This section does not prohibit the operator from taking such samples of the core as the operator may desire for identification and testing. The operator shall furnish the state geologist with the results of all identification and testing procedures within thirty days of the completion of such work. The state geologist may grant an extension of the thirty-day time period for good reason. The size of the standard envelopes, sample boxes, and core boxes shall be determined by the director and indicated in the cores and samples letter.