Title 43, Mineral Resources

(1) When two or more separately owned tracts are embraced within a spacing unit or when there are separately owned interests in all or a part of such spacing unit, then the interested persons may integrate their tracts or interests for the development and operation of the spacing…

(1) An agreement for the unit or cooperative development and operation of a field or pool in connection with the conduct of repressuring or pressure maintenance operations, cycling or recycling operations, including the extraction and separation of liquid hydrocarbons from natura…

(1) For the purpose of properly conserving the natural resources of any single oil or gas pool or field, lessees under ORS 274.705 to 274.860 and their representatives may unite with each other jointly or separately, or jointly or separately with others owning or operating lands …

(1) The governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries upon its own motion may, and upon the application of any interested person shall, hold a hearing to consider the need for the operation as a unit of one or more pools or parts thereof in a field. (2…

An order issued pursuant to ORS 520.260 shall be upon terms and conditions that are just and reasonable, and shall prescribe a plan for unit operations that includes the following: (1) A description of the pool or pools or parts thereof to be so operated. (2) A statement of the n…

(1) The allocation described in ORS 520.270 (3) shall be in accord with the agreement, if any, of the interested parties. If there is no such agreement, the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall determine the relative value, from evidence…

(1) No order of the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries providing for unit operations is effective until: (a) The plan for unit operations prescribed by the board under ORS 520.270 has been approved in writing by (A) those owners who, under t…

An order providing for unit operations may be amended by an order made by the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as an original order providing for unit operations. However: (1) If the am…

(1) The governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries by order may provide for the unit operation of a pool or pools or parts thereof that embrace a unit area established by a previous order of the board. The order, in providing for the allocation of u…

(1) No division order or other contract relating to the sale or purchase of production from a separately owned tract may be terminated by the order providing for unit operations, but remains in force and applies to oil and gas allocated to that tract until terminated in accordanc…

All operations, including but not limited to the commencement, drilling or operation of a well, upon any portion of the unit area, are considered for all purposes the conduct of such operations upon each separately owned tract in the unit area by the several owners thereof. The p…

The underground storage of natural gas in Oregon is found by the Legislative Assembly to be in the public interest in that the establishment of underground reservoirs of natural gas will help insure the continued, uninterrupted availability of natural gas supplies to residential,…

(1) All natural gas in an underground reservoir utilized for underground storage, whether acquired by eminent domain or otherwise, shall at all times be the property of the natural gas company utilizing said underground storage, its heirs, successors, or assigns. In no event shal…

Subject to ORS 153.022, violation of any provision of this chapter, any rule adopted by the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries under this chapter or any order issued by the board or the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries unde…

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) “Board” means the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. (2) “By-product” means any mineral or minerals, exclusive of helium or of oil, hydrocarbon gas or other hydrocarbon sub…

(1) The Legislative Assembly hereby finds and declares that: (a) The people of the State of Oregon have a direct and primary interest in the development of geothermal resources situated in this state. (b) The State of Oregon, through the State Department of Geology and Mineral In…

(1)(a) In order to accomplish the policy of ORS 522.015 all geothermal fluids derived from geothermal resources shall be reinjected into the same reservoir from which withdrawn unless it is determined by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries that these policies a…

(1) The provisions of this chapter relating to the location and drilling of any well for the production of geothermal resources do not apply to any wells producing geothermal resources on July 1, 1975, or wells, other than prospect wells, where: (a) The geothermal fluids produced…

Ownership rights to geothermal resources shall be in the owner of the surface property underlain by the geothermal resources unless such rights have been otherwise reserved or conveyed. However, nothing in this section shall divest the people or the state of any rights, title or …

Any well drilled under authority of this chapter from which usable geothermal resources cannot be derived, or the owner or operator has no intention of deriving usable geothermal resources, and that is not expected to provide information useful to the development of geothermal re…

(1) A person may not engage in drilling a prospect well except in compliance with a permit issued by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries under this section. (2) An application for a permit to drill prospect wells must include: (a) A plugging and decommissioning…

(1) Upon receipt of a complete application to drill prospect wells, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall circulate copies of the application to the Water Resources Department, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Land Conservation and…

(1)(a) The State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may not issue a permit for a prospect well until the applicant has provided a bond or alternative form of financial security as specified in rules adopted by the governing board of the State Department of Geology and M…

In addition to any other liability imposed by law, the operator of a prospect well shall be liable to any person or public agency that sustains damages from failure of the operator to comply with: (1) A condition in a permit requiring the operator to provide for the protection of…

Upon completion of all drilling and testing undertaken pursuant to an application to drill prospect wells, the applicant shall file with the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries a report certifying the completion of the plugging and decommissioning plan required by …

(1) A person may not engage in the drilling or operating of any geothermal well except in compliance with a permit issued by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries under this section. (2) An application for a permit to drill or operate a geothermal well must inclu…

(1) Upon receipt of a complete application for a permit to drill or operate a geothermal well, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall circulate copies of the application to the Water Resources Department, the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Depart…

(1) Within 60 days after receipt of a complete application for a permit to drill or operate a geothermal well, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall by order issue or deny the permit unless the department determines that a longer period is necessary to resp…

(1)(a) The State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may not issue a permit for a geothermal well until the applicant has provided a bond or alternative form of financial security as specified in rules adopted by the governing board of the State Department of Geology and…

In addition to any other liability imposed by law, the operator of a geothermal well shall be liable to any person or public agency that sustains damages from failure of the operator to comply with: (1) A condition in a permit requiring the operator to provide for the protection …

(1) A permittee must make a request to modify a permit before changing the location, number or designation specified for any geothermal well or before undertaking to alter in any manner the casing of a geothermal well. (2) A request to modify a permit under this section, except f…

(1) No person shall abandon a geothermal well without first plugging and decommissioning the well in conformance with a plugging and decommissioning plan approved by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries and complying with the provisions of ORS 522.245. (2) The g…

Except as excluded by rule adopted by the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, the operator of any completed geothermal well shall file with the department a monthly statement of the geothermal resources production from such well during the p…

(1) Except as excluded from the provisions of this section by rule of the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, any prospective operator of a geothermal well shall notify the department in such form as the department may direct of the purchase…

(1) No operator shall suspend drilling or operation of a geothermal well without obtaining permission from the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. (2) The department may authorize an operator to suspend for a specific period operations or remove equipment from an …

(1) Before commencing any operation to discontinue the use of a geothermal well, the operator shall give notice to the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries of the intention to plug and decommission the well and the date upon which the work will begin. (2) Such notic…

(1) A representative of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may be present during any operation to plug and decommission a geothermal well. If the representative determines that the plugging and decommissioning is satisfactory, the representative shall approve …

If interference between an existing geothermal well permitted under this chapter and an existing water appropriation permitted under ORS chapter 537 is found by either the State Geologist or the Water Resources Director, the State Geologist and the Water Resources Director shall …

Subject to policy direction by the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, the State Geologist shall administer this chapter, the rules and orders made pursuant thereto, and supervise the department in carrying out the provisions of this chapter…

(1) In accordance with the applicable provisions of ORS chapter 183, the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may adopt rules necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter. This authority includes, but is not limited to, rules relating…

Whenever the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries gives any written direction concerning any geothermal well and the operator requests in writing that a final order for purposes of ORS chapter 183 be made, the department shall, within 15 days after receipt of the no…

(1) The operator of any geothermal well shall within 15 days from the date of the service of any order, either comply with the order or file with the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries a written statement that the order is not acceptable, and the reasons therefor,…

(1) The operator of any geothermal well shall keep, or cause to be kept, a careful and accurate log, core record and history of the drilling of the well. (2) The log referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall show the character and depth of each formation encountered in …

(1) Each operator of any geothermal well or the designated agent of the operator shall file with the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries a copy of the log, history and core record, or any portion thereof, promptly upon completion, or upon the written request of the…

(1) When two or more separately owned tracts of land are within an area under which a reservoir is located or reasonably believed to be located, or when there are separately owned interests in all or part of such an area, the governing board of the State Department of Geology and…

A voluntary or board-sponsored unit agreement developed in response to a rule adopted or an order issued under ORS 522.405 shall provide a unit operation plan that includes: (1) A description of the geothermal reservoir and the overlaying land to be operated as a unit. (2) A stat…

Any rule or order of the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries providing for the unit operation of a geothermal resource area may include provisions for: (1) Division of a reservoir into zones; (2) Establishment of spacing units, including a de…

Any rule adopted or order entered under ORS 522.405 shall supersede any right or privilege previously granted by the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries to the same person or state or local governing body, special district or agency with resp…

(1) No rule or order of the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries which creates a unit and prescribes a unitization plan and no applicable unit agreement shall be effective unless the plan of unit operation required by the board under ORS 522.4…

(1) Any person or state or local governing body, special district or agency with an interest in geothermal resources within an area to be designated as a unit that is adversely affected by any rule or order of the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Ind…