Washington Code 78.52.155 – Investigations — Powers and duties
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(1) The department shall make investigations as necessary to carry out this chapter.
Terms Used In Washington Code 78.52.155
- Department: means the department of natural resources. See Washington Code 78.52.010
- Field: means the general area which is underlaid by at least one pool and includes the underground reservoir or reservoirs containing oil or gas, or both. See Washington Code 78.52.010
- Gas: means all natural gas, all gaseous substances, and all other fluid or gaseous hydrocarbons not defined as oil in subsection (12) of this section, including but not limited to wet gas, dry gas, residue gas, condensate, and distillate, as those terms are generally understood in the petroleum industry. See Washington Code 78.52.010
- Oil: means crude petroleum, oil, and all hydrocarbons, regardless of gravity, that are in the liquid phase in the original reservoir conditions and are produced and recovered at the wellhead in liquid form. See Washington Code 78.52.010
- Person: means any natural person, corporation, association, partnership, receiver, trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, fiduciary, or representative of any kind and includes any governmental or political subdivision or any agency thereof. See Washington Code 78.52.010
- Pool: means an underground reservoir containing a common accumulation of oil or gas, or both. See Washington Code 78.52.010
(2) The department shall require:
(a) Identification of ownership of oil or gas wells, producing leases, tanks, plants, structures, and facilities for the transportation or refining of oil or gas;
(b) The making and filing of well logs, core samples, directional surveys, and reports on well locations, drilling, and production;
(c) The testing of oil and gas wells;
(d) The drilling, casing, operating, and plugging of wells in such a manner as to prevent the escape of oil or gas out of the casings, or out of one pool into another, the intrusion of water into an oil or gas pool, and the pollution of freshwater supplies by oil, gas, or salt water and to prevent blowouts, cavings, see pages, and fires;
(e) The furnishing of adequate security acceptable to the department, conditioned on the performance of the duty to plug each dry or abandoned well, the duty to reclaim and clean-up well drilling sites, the duty to repair wells causing waste, the duty to comply with all applicable laws and rules adopted by the department, orders of the department, all permit conditions, and this chapter;
(f) The operation of wells with efficient gas-oil and water-oil ratios and may fix these ratios and limit production from wells with inefficient gas-oil or water-oil ratios;
(g) The production of oil and gas from wells be accurately measured by means and upon standards prescribed by the department, and that every person who produces, sells, purchases, acquires, stores, transports, treats, or processes oil or gas in this state keeps and maintains for a period of five years within this state complete and accurate records thereof, which records shall be available for examination by the department or its agents at all reasonable times, and that every person file with the department such reports as it may prescribe with respect to the oil or gas; and
(h) Compliance with all applicable laws and rules of this state.
(3) The department shall regulate:
(a) The drilling, producing, locating, spacing, and plugging of wells and all other operations for the production of oil or gas;
(b) The physical, mechanical, and chemical treatment of wells, and the perforation of wells;
(c) Operations to increase ultimate recovery such as cycling of gas, the maintenance of pressure, and the introduction of gas, water, or other substances into producing formations;
(d) Disposal of saltwater and oil field brines;
(e) The storage, processing, and treatment of natural gas and oil produced within this state; and
(f) Reclamation and clean-up of all well sites and any areas directly affected by the drilling, production, operation, and plugging of oil and gas wells.
(4) The department may limit and prorate oil and gas produced in this state and may restrict future production of oil and gas from any pool in such amounts as will offset and compensate for any production determined by the department to be in excess of or in violation of “oil allowable” or “gas allowable.”
(5) The department shall classify wells as oil or gas wells for purposes material to the interpretation or enforcement of this chapter.
(6) The department shall regulate oil and gas exploration and drilling activities so as to prevent or remedy unreasonable or excessive waste or surface destruction.