North Dakota Administrative Code

1. In the construction of a well site, saltwater handling facility, treating plant, access road, and all associated facilities, the topsoil must be removed, stockpiled, and stabilized or otherwise reserved for use when the area is reclaimed. "Topsoil" means the suitable plant gro…

All open pits and ponds which contain saltwater must be fenced. All pits and ponds which contain oil must be fenced, screened, and netted. This is not to be construed as requiring the fencing, screening, or netting of a drilling pit or reserve pit used solely for drilling, comple…

All waste material associated with exploration or production of oil and gas must be properly disposed of in an authorized facility in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations. All waste material recovered from spills, leaks, and other such eve…

Except as otherwise provided in this section and sections 43-02-03-19.4, 43-02-03-19.5, and 43-02-03-51.3, no saltwater, drilling mud, crude oil, waste oil, or other waste may be stored in earthen pits or open receptacles except in an emergency and upon approval by the director. …

A pit may be utilized to bury drill cuttings and solids generated during well drilling and completion operations, providing the pit can be constructed, used, and reclaimed in a manner that will prevent pollution of the land surface and freshwaters. In special circumstances, the d…

For wells drilled to a strata or formation, including lignite or coal strata or seam, located above the depth of five thousand feet [1524 meters] below the surface, or located more than five thousand feet [1524 meters] below the surface but above the top of the Rierdon formation,…

During the drilling of any well, all oil, gas, and water strata must be sealed or separated where necessary in order to prevent their contents from passing into other strata. All freshwaters and waters of present or probable value for domestic, commercial, or stock purposes must …

1. All wells drilled must be constructed with strings of casing which must be properly cemented at sufficient depths to adequately protect and isolate all formations containing water, oil, or gas or any combination of these; protect the pipe through salt sections encountered; and…

1. In any well that appears to have defective casing or cementing, the operator shall report the defect to the director verbally and file a well sundry notice if required by the director. To properly evaluate the condition of the well, the operator shall diligently conduct tests …

In all drilling operations, proper and necessary precautions shall be taken for keeping the well under control, including the use of a blowout preventer and high pressure fittings attached to properly cemented casing strings adequate to withstand anticipated pressures. During the…

In pulling strings of casing from any well, the space above the casing stub must be kept and left full of fluid with adequate gel strength and specific gravity, cement, or combination thereof, to seal off all freshwater and saltwater strata and any strata bearing oil or gas not p…

When any well is drilled or deepened, tests to determine the deviation from the vertical shall be taken at least every one thousand feet [304.8 meters]. The director is authorized to waive the deviation test for a shallow gas well if the necessity therefor can be demonstrated to …

Multiple zone completions in any pool may be permitted by the director. An application for a multiple zone completion shall be accompanied by an exhibit showing the location of all wells on the applicant's lease and all offset wells on offset leases and shall set forth all materi…

The director may prescribe pretreatment casing pressure testing as well as other operational requirements designed to protect wellhead and casing strings during treatment operations. If damage results to the casing or the casing seat from perforating, fracturing, or chemically tr…

1. Prior to performing any hydraulic fracture stimulation, including refracs, through a frac string run inside the casing string: a. Remedial work must be performed on all casing strings deemed defective pursuant to section 43-02-03-22 prior to performance at the discretion of th…

1. During drilling operations all oil wells must be cleaned into a pit or tank, not less than forty feet [12.19 meters] from the derrick floor and one hundred fifty feet [45.72 meters] from any fire hazard. 36 2. All flowing oil wells must be produced through an approved oil and …

1. Wellhead and lease equipment with a working pressure at least equivalent to the calculated or known pressure to which the equipment may be subjected must be installed and maintained. Equipment on producing wells must be installed to facilitate gas-oil ratio tests, and static b…

1. Application of section. This section is applicable to all underground gathering pipelines designed for or capable of transporting crude oil or produced water from an oil and gas production facility for the purpose of disposal, storage, or for sale purposes. If these rules diff…

All persons controlling or operating any well, pipeline and associated aboveground equipment, receiving tank, storage tank, facility, treating plant, or any other receptacle or production facility associated with oil, gas, or water production, injection, processing, or well servi…

At no time shall any spill or leak be allowed to flow over, pool, or rest on the surface of the land or infiltrate the soil. Discharged fluids must be properly removed and may not be allowed to remain standing within or outside of diked areas, although the remediation of such flu…

1. After the plugging of a well, a well plugging report must be filed with the director. After the completion of a well, recompletion of a well in a different pool, or drilling horizontally in an existing pool, a well completion report must be filed with the director. The operato…

Stratigraphic test and core holes shall be permitted the same as oil and gas wells, although no setback from a drilling unit shall be required. History: Amended effective April 30, 1981; January 1, 1983; July 1, 2002. General Authority: NDCC 38-08-04 Law Implemented: NDCC 38-08-0…

The operator or the operator's agent shall file a notice of intention (form 4) to plug with the director, and obtain the approval of the director, prior to the commencement of plugging or plug-back operations. The notice shall state the name and location of the well, the name of …

All wells shall be plugged in a manner which will confine permanently all oil, gas, and water in the separate strata originally containing them. This operation shall be accomplished by the use of mud-laden fluid, cement, and plugs, used singly or in combination as may be approved…

1. Within a reasonable time, but not more than one year, after a well is plugged, or if a permit expires, has been canceled or revoked, or a treating plant or saltwater handling facility is decommissioned, the site, access road, and other associated facilities constructed must be…

Any person desiring to convert a mineral well to a freshwater well, as provided by North Dakota Century Code section 61-01-27, shall file an application for approval with the commission. The application must include, but is not limited to, the following: 1. If the well is to be u…

The owner and operator of any well, core hole, or stratigraphic test hole, whether cased or uncased, shall be liable and responsible for the plugging and site reclamation thereof in accordance with the rules and regulations of the commission. History: Amended effective January 1,…

Repealed effective January 1, 1983.

Repealed effective January 1, 1983. 52

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 presc…

In the event the commission has not set a limiting gas-oil ratio for a particular pool, the operator of any well in such pool whose gas-oil ratio exceeds two thousand shall demonstrate to the director that production from such well should not be restricted pending a hearing befor…

In the event the commission has not established spacing and special field rules for a particular oil pool, oil production from any well completed therein shall be a maximum of two thousand barrels per day until the commission issues a decision after hearing. The director shall ha…

Each operator shall take a gas-oil ratio test within thirty days following the completion or recompletion of an oil well. Each test shall be conducted using standard industry practices unless otherwise specified by the director. The initial gas-oil ratio must be reported on the w…

The operator shall make a subsurface pressure test on the discovery well of any new pool hereafter discovered and shall report the results thereof to the director within thirty days after the completion of such discovery well. Drill stem test pressures are acceptable. After the d…

Except as directed by the commission after hearing, each pool shall be produced as a single common reservoir without commingling in the well bore of fluids from different pools. After fluids from different pools have been brought to surface, such fluids may be commingled provided…

Repealed effective January 1, 1983. 54

1. Pending arrangements for disposition for some useful purpose, all vented casinghead gas must be burned. Each flare must be equipped with an automatic ignitor or a continuous burning pilot, unless waived by the director for good reason. 2. All casinghead gas produced must be re…

Repealed effective April 1, 2026.

Repealed effective January 1, 1983.

Monthly water production from each well must be determined through the use of properly calibrated meter measurements, tank measurements, or an alternate measurement method approved by the director. This includes allocating water production back to individual wells on a monthly ba…

Oil production may not be transported from a well premises, central production facility, treating plant, or saltwater handling facility until its volume has been determined through the use of properly calibrated meter measurements or tank measurements. All meter and tank measurem…

1. The director may approve requests to consolidate production equipment at a central location. The applicant shall provide all information requested by the director. The director may impose such terms and conditions as the director deems necessary. 2. Commingling of oil and gas …

1. Storage of oil in underground or partially buried tanks or containers is prohibited. Surface oil tanks and production equipment must be devoid of leaks and constructed of materials resistant to the effects of produced fluids or chemicals that may be contained therein. Unused t…

No tank bottom waste shall be removed from any tank used for the storage or sale of crude oil without prior approval by the director. Verbal approval may be given. Prior approval to remove tank bottom waste from tanks not used for the storage or sale of crude oil is not required.…

No treating plant may be constructed or site or access road construction commenced without obtaining a permit from the commission after notice and hearing. A written application for a treating plant permit shall state in detail the location, type, capacity of the plant contemplat…

1. The treating plant permit application must be submitted on form 1tp and shall include at least the following information: a. The name and address of the operator. b. An accurate plat certified by a registered surveyor showing the location of the proposed treating plant and the…

All treating plants shall be sited in such a fashion that they are not located in a geologically or hydrologically sensitive area. 60 History: Effective April 1, 2014. General Authority: NDCC 38-08-04 Law Implemented: NDCC 38-08-04…

1. Before construction of a treating plant, treating plant site, or access road begins, the operator shall file with the director a surety bond or cash bond conditioned upon compliance with all laws, rules and regulations, and orders of the commission. The bond amount must be spe…

Notice of intention to abandon. The operator or the operator's agent shall file a notice of intention (form 4) to abandon and obtain the approval of the director, prior to the commencement of reclamation operations pursuant to section 43-02-03-34.1. History: Effective April 1, 20…

The operator of each well completed in any pool shall, by five p.m. on the first day of the second month succeeding the month in which production occurs or could occur, file with the director the amount of production made by each such well on an oil report. Wells for which report…