Title 15, Natural Resources and Economic Development

(1) As used in this act:(1) “Commission” means the Oil and Gas Commission;(2) (A) “Field” means the general area which is underlaid or appears to be underlaid by at least one (1) pool. “Field” includes the underground reservoir or reservoirs containing crude petroleum oil or natu…

(a) (1) (A) A person who violates this subchapter or a rule or order of the Oil and Gas Commission made under this subchapter, in the event a penalty for the violation is not otherwise provided for in this subchapter, is subject to a penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundre…

(a) Any person shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject, upon conviction in any court of competent jurisdiction, to a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six (6) months, or to both fine and impri…

Waste of oil or gas as defined in this act is prohibited.

(a) Any interested person adversely affected by any statute of this state with respect to conservation of oil or gas, or both; by any provisions of this act; by any rule or order made by the Oil and Gas Commission hereunder; or by any act done or threatened hereunder, and who has…

(a) No temporary restraining order or injunction of any kind shall be granted against the Oil and Gas Commission or members thereof, or against the Attorney General, or against any agent, employee, or representative of the commission, restraining the commission or any of its memb…

(a) Whenever it shall appear that any person is violating, or threatening to violate, any statute of this state with respect to the conservation of oil or gas, or both, or any provision of this act, or any rule or order made thereunder by any act done in the operation of any well…

Each application for the drilling of a well in search of oil or gas in this state shall include the address of the residence of the applicant or of each applicant, which address shall be the address of each person involved in accordance with the records of the Director of the Oil…

In all proceedings brought under authority of this act, of any oil or gas conservation statute of this state, or of any rule or order issued thereunder and in all proceedings instituted for the purpose of contesting the validity of any provision of the act, of any oil or gas cons…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Oil and Gas Owners' Lien Act of 2021”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Affiliate” means a person that directly or indirectly:(A) Is controlled by a first purchaser; or(B) Controls a first purchaser;(2) “Agreement to sell” means an enforceable agreement that is express or implied or oral or written, by which an int…

(a) To secure the obligations of a first purchaser to pay the sales price, each interest owner is granted an oil and gas lien to the extent of the interest owner's interest in an oil and gas right that exists as part of and incident to the ownership of an oil and gas right. (b) A…

(a) An oil and gas lien is granted and exists as part of and incident to the ownership of an oil and gas right and is perfected automatically without the need to file a financing statement or other type of documentation. (b) An oil and gas lien exists and is perfected as of July …

(a) If oil or gas in which there exists more than one (1) oil and gas lien is commingled with other oil or gas in such a manner that the identity of the specific oil or gas is lost, then the oil and gas lien continues without interruption into and attaches to the resulting commin…

(a) A purchaser takes free of an oil and gas lien otherwise applicable to the oil or gas purchased and is relieved of an obligation to hold revenue or proceeds from the sale of production for the benefit of the owners legally entitled to the revenue or proceeds from the sale of p…

Except for a permitted lien, an oil and gas lien is a lien that takes priority over any other lien, whether arising by contract, law, equity or otherwise, or security interest.

(1) This subchapter does not affect:(1) The time at which legal title to oil and gas may pass by agreement or operation of law subject to an oil and gas lien;(2) The right of a first purchaser to take or receive oil and gas under the terms of a lease, provided that the lease shal…

(a) An interest owner is not required, as a condition or term of an agreement to sell or otherwise, to:(1) Waive, relinquish, or release an oil and gas lien or a right under this subchapter other than upon payment in full of the sales price; or(2) Agree to a provision that would …

(a) (1) An oil and gas lien shall expire, as to an interest owner, five (5) years after the last day of the month following the date that proceeds from the sale of oil or gas subject to the oil and gas lien are required by law or contract to be paid to the interest owner, but onl…

(a) This subchapter does not impair an operator's right to be paid, to set-off funds, or to withhold funds from an interest owner as security for or in satisfaction of a debt or security interest. (b) In the case of a dispute between an operator and an interest owner, a good-fait…

(a) This subchapter and the rights granted under this subchapter are cumulative with all other rights an interest owner may otherwise have at law or in equity. (b) To the extent that there is a conflict between this subchapter and other rights an interest owner has at law or in e…

(1) As used in this act, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Operator” means the person who has the right to enter upon the lands of another for the purpose of exploring, drilling, and developing for the production of brine, oil, gas, and all other petroleum hydrocarbons;(…

(a) Any person, firm, or corporation violating § 15-72-206, § 15-72-208(a), § 15-72-217, § 15-72-208(b), § 15-72-210, or § 15-72-211 is subject to a civil penalty for each violation not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), to be assessed by the Oil and Gas Commis…

(a) Before entering upon a site for the purpose of exploration or for oil or gas drilling, except in instances where there are nonresident surface owners, nonresident surface tenants, unknown heirs, imperfect titles, or surface owners or surface tenants whose whereabouts cannot b…

(a) Before the Oil and Gas Commission issues a permit to drill, an operator who is doing business in this state and is not subject to the provisions of § 15-71-116 shall file proof of financial responsibility with the commission. (b) Before the commission transfers a well and iss…

(a) Before any well shall be drilled in search of oil or gas, the person desiring to drill the well shall notify the Oil and Gas Commission upon a form the commission may prescribe and shall pay a fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) or any sum the commission may prescribe for…

(a) The owner or operator of any well put down for the purpose of exploring for, or producing, oil or gas, shall, during the course of drilling, case off all fresh or salt water from each oil-producing or gas-producing sand encountered while drilling, the casing to be set in the …

(a) It shall be the duty of the owner of any well drilled for gas or oil to keep a careful and accurate log of the drilling of the well. (b) The log shall show:(1) The character and depth of the formation passed through or encountered in the drilling of the well; and(2) The locat…

(a) Any person, copartnership, corporation, owner, lessee, or manager in possession of any well producing natural gas, in order to prevent the gas from wasting by escape shall, within four (4) days after penetrating the gas-bearing sand in any well drilled, shut in and confine th…

In addition to the penalties described in § 15-72-202 for failure to confine natural gas, any person or corporation lawfully in possession of lands upon which the gas well is situated or adjoining or adjacent thereto or in the vicinity of the well may enter upon the lands on whic…

(a) It is the duty of any person discovering any leak in any pipeline for the transportation of natural gas, or in any machinery, apparatus, or device used in the regulation, distribution, or transportation thereof immediately to notify the owner of the pipeline or other applianc…

(a) (1) The use of natural gas for illuminating purposes in what are known as “flambeau” lights is a wasteful and extravagant use thereof and is dangerous to the public good, and it shall therefore be unlawful for any company, corporation, or person to use natural gas for illumin…

(a) In order to protect the natural gas fields and oil fields in this state, it is declared to be unlawful for any person to negligently permit any gas or oil well to go wild or to get out of control. (b) The owner of any wild well shall, after twenty-four (24) hours' written not…

Any surface owner who is damaged or threatened with damage by the neglect of the operator will have a lien upon the fixtures or equipment owned by the operator, with all oil, gas, and other hydrocarbons produced therefrom which may be run to the credit of the operator to secure p…

(a) Each operator shall remain liable under the proof of financial responsibility as filed with the Oil and Gas Commission until released by the Director of Production and Conservation. (b) Any surface owner seeking to recover thereunder for damages caused by the neglect of the o…

(a) Each abandoned well and each dry hole promptly shall be plugged in the manner and within the time required by rules to be prescribed by the Oil and Gas Commission. The owner of the well shall give notice upon a form the commission may prescribe of the drilling of each dry hol…

(a) All lessees or operators drilling or operating for crude oil or natural gas within the State of Arkansas shall immediately, in a practical and workmanlike manner under the supervision of the oil or gas inspector, as provided in this section, plug all dry holes or abandoned oi…

(1) Whenever any person is injured or threatened with injury by neglect to comply with the provisions of § 15-72-217, it shall be lawful for that person, after notice to the owner, lessee, or caretaker of the premises upon which the well is located, to:(1) Enter upon the premises…

(a) A surface owner or surface tenant is entitled to reasonable compensation where a spill of crude oil or produced water has occurred and has caused damages to real property, growing crops, trees, shrubs, fences, roads, structures, improvements, livestock, personal property or m…

The provisions of §§ 15-72-307 — 15-72-314 shall be applicable to each pool or any portion thereof in the State of Arkansas.

(a) Whether or not the total production from a pool is limited or prorated, no rule or order of the Oil and Gas Commission shall be such in terms or effect:(1) That it shall be necessary at any time for the producer from or the owner of a tract of land in the pool, in order that …

(a) When two (2) or more separately owned tracts are embraced within an established drilling unit, when there are separately owned interests in all or part of the drilling unit, or when there are separately owned tracts and separately owned interests in all or part of such a dril…

(a) All orders requiring integration shall be made after notice and an opportunity for a hearing and shall be upon terms and conditions that are just and reasonable and that will afford the owner of each tract or interest in the drilling unit the opportunity to recover or receive…

(a) (1) The order of the Oil and Gas Commission creating a drilling unit shall provide that effective as of the commencement of the drilling of a well upon the drilling unit or, if a well capable of producing oil and gas in commercial quantities has already been completed upon so…

Should the owners of separate tracts embraced within a drilling unit fail to agree upon the integration of the tracts and the drilling of a well on the unit and should it be established that the Oil and Gas Commission is without authority to require integration as provided by §§ …

The formation of any drilling unit or salt water disposal unit as provided in this subchapter and the operation of that unit under order of the Oil and Gas Commission shall not be a violation of any statute of this state relating to trusts, monopolies, contracts, or combinations …