Virginia Code 45.2-1641: Developing a gas or oil well as a water well
If any well drilled for gas or oil does not produce commercial or paying quantities of either resource, the well may be developed as a water well upon the request of the surface owner of the property on which the well is located. Any such development of a water well shall occur only after notice is given to the Director and his approval has been received. Such development of a water well shall be performed in accordance with applicable state and local requirements. Unless the gas or oil operator and surface owner otherwise agree, the surface owner shall pay the gas or oil operator a reasonable sum for all casing and tubing set and left in the well that would have otherwise been removed upon plugging of the well.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 45.2-1641
- Gas or oil operator: means any person who operates or has been designated to operate any gas or oil well or gathering pipeline. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
- Oil: means natural crude oil or petroleum and other hydrocarbons, regardless of gravity, that are produced at the well in liquid form by ordinary production methods and are not the result of condensation of gas after it leaves the underground reservoir. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
- Surface owner: means any person who is the owner of record of the surface of the land. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
- Water well: means any well drilled, bored, or dug into the earth for the sole purpose of extracting from it potable, fresh, or usable water for household, domestic, industrial, agricultural, or public use. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
- Well: means any shaft or hole sunk, drilled, bored, or dug into the earth or into underground strata for the extraction, injection, or placement of any gaseous or liquid substance or any shaft or hole sunk or used in conjunction with such extraction, injection, or placement. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
1982, c. 347, § 45.1-350; 1990, c. 92, § 45.1-361.39; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.