Terms Used In Kansas Statutes 55-173

  • Commission: means the state corporation commission. See Kansas Statutes 55-150
  • Operator: means a person who is responsible for the physical operation and control of a well, gas gathering system or underground porosity storage of natural gas. See Kansas Statutes 55-150
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
  • Well: means a hole or penetration of the surface of the earth, drilled or recompleted for the purpose of:

    (1) Producing oil or gas;

    (2) injecting fluid, air or gas in the ground in connection with the exploration for or production of oil or gas;

    (3) obtaining geological information in connection with the exploration for or production of oil or gas by taking cores or through seismic operations;

    (4) disposing of fluids produced in connection with the exploration for or production of oil or gas;

    (5) providing cathodic protection to prevent corrosion to lines, tanks or structures; or

    (6) injecting or withdrawing natural gas. See Kansas Statutes 55-150

Before any work or procedure is commenced to abandon and plug any producing oil or gas well in this state, an oil and gas operator shall file a notice of intention to plug and abandon a well with the commission, in accordance with the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to Kan. Stat. Ann. § 55-152, and amendments thereto. The commission shall, upon receipt of such notice, send a copy of such notice to the surface owner, as well as the contact information, including name, address, phone number, fax or email address, for a designated representative of the operator. The commission need not send such information if the operator verifies that the notice filed with the commission has been delivered to the surface owner. The surface owner upon whose land such well is located may file with the commission a desire to be notified when any such well is abandoned.