1. The council shall set spacing units as follows:

(1) When necessary to prevent waste, to avoid the drilling of unnecessary wells, or to protect correlative rights, the council shall establish spacing units for a pool. Spacing units when established shall be of uniform size and shape for the entire pool, except that when found to be necessary for any of the purposes above mentioned, the council is authorized to divide any pool into zones and establish spacing units for each zone, which units may differ in size and shape from those established in any other zone;

Terms Used In Missouri Laws 259.100

  • Council: the state oil and gas council established by section 259. See Missouri Laws 259.050
  • Department: the department of natural resources. See Missouri Laws 259.050
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
  • Gas: all natural gas and all other fluid hydrocarbons which are produced at the wellhead and not hereinbelow defined as oil. See Missouri Laws 259.050
  • Noncommercial gas well: a gas well drilled for the sole purpose of furnishing gas for private domestic consumption by the owner and not for resale or trade. See Missouri Laws 259.050
  • Oil: crude petroleum oil and other hydrocarbons regardless of gravity which are produced at the wellhead in liquid form and the liquid hydrocarbons known as distillate or condensate recovered or extracted from gas, other than gas produced in association with oil and commonly known as casinghead gas. See Missouri Laws 259.050
  • Owner: the person who has the right to drill into and produce from a pool and to appropriate the oil or gas he produced therefrom either for himself or others or for himself and others. See Missouri Laws 259.050
  • Pool: an underground reservoir containing a common accumulation of oil or gas or both. See Missouri Laws 259.050
  • State: when applied to any of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020
  • Waste: means and includes:

    (a) Physical waste, as that term is generally understood in the oil and gas industry, but not including unavoidable or accidental waste. See Missouri Laws 259.050

  • Well: any hole drilled in the earth for or in connection with the exploration, discovery, or recovery of oil or gas, or for or in connection with the underground storage of gas in natural formation, or for or in connection with the disposal of salt water, nonusable gas or other waste accompanying the production of oil or gas. See Missouri Laws 259.050

(2) The size and shape of spacing units are to be such as will result in the efficient and economical development of the pool as a whole;

(3) An order establishing spacing units for a pool shall specify the size and shape of each unit and the location of the permitted well thereon in accordance with a reasonably uniform spacing plan. Upon application, if the state geologist finds that a well drilled at the prescribed location would not produce in paying quantities, or that surface conditions would substantially add to the burden or hazard of drilling such well, the department is authorized to enter an order permitting the well to be drilled at a location other than that prescribed by such spacing order; however, the state geologist shall include in the order suitable provisions to prevent the production from the spacing unit of more than its just and equitable share of the oil and gas in the pool;

(4) An order establishing spacing units for a pool shall cover all lands determined or believed to be underlaid by such pool, and may be modified by the department from time to time to include additional areas determined to be underlaid by such pool. When found necessary for the prevention of waste, or to avoid the drilling of unnecessary wells or to protect correlative rights, an order establishing spacing units in a pool may be modified by the state geologist to increase the size of spacing units in the pool or any zone thereof, or to permit the drilling of additional wells on a reasonable uniform plan in the pool, or any zone thereof. Orders of the department may be appealed to the council within thirty days.

2. Applicants seeking a permit for a noncommercial gas well shall file a bond under paragraph (d) of subdivision (1) of subsection 5 of section 259.070 and meet the following conditions and procedures: an owner of a noncommercial gas well with drilling rights may apply for the establishment of a drilling unit with a well set back of one hundred sixty-five feet on which a well no deeper than eight hundred feet in depth may be drilled. An owner of a noncommercial gas well may apply to the department for a variance to establish a spacing unit, to set back distances, or both.

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