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Volume 52, No. 16

B.C. Reg. 192/2009

The British Columbia Gazette,

Part II

August 24, 2009

B.C. Reg. 192/2009 , deposited August 20, 2009, pursuant to the PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS ACT [Section 133]. Order in Council 408/2009, approved and ordered August 20, 2009.

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Administrator, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, orders that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Drilling Licence Regulation, B.C. Reg. 10/82, is amended as set out in the attached schedule.

— B. LEKSTROM, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources ; C. HANSEN, Presiding Member of the Executive Council .

Schedule

Section 1 of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Drilling Licence Regulation, B.C. Reg. 10/82, is amended

(

a) by repealing the definition of "earning well" and substituting the following:

"earning well" means a well

(

a) drilled in a spacing area all or part of which is in a location described in a drilling licence, and includes a well redrilled in a spacing area formerly described in a

(

i) permit,

(ii) drilling licence, or

(iii) lease

no longer in effect, and

(

b) that, in the opinion of the director, is

(

i) for the evaluation of a zone that has not yet been evaluated by any other earning well drilled on the location, or

(ii) drilled at least 150 metres into a gas spacing area that has not been drilled into by another earning well on the location; , and

(

b) by adding the following definition:

"small drilling licence" means

(

a) a drilling licence that confers a right to explore for petroleum and natural gas in no more than 4 spacing areas, or

(

b) a drilling licence that, in the opinion of the director, is equivalent to a drilling licence referred to in paragraph (a).

Section 3 is amended

(

a) by repealing subsection (5.4) (

a) and substituting the following:

(

a) apply to a zone that does not include the coal-bearing stratum or strata subject to the scheme referred to in subsection (5.3) (d), ,

(

b) in subsection (7) by striking out " and " at the end of paragraph (b), by striking out " conducted. " at the end of paragraph (

c) and substituting " conducted, and " and by adding the following paragraph:

(

d) the drilling licence has previously been extended under subsection (5). ,

(

c) in subsection (8) by striking out " no additional well may be commenced within the area covered by the drilling licence " and substituting " no other well may be commenced in the location of the drilling licence after the expiry date that applied immediately before the extension under subsection (7) ", and

(

d) by adding the following subsection:

(10) The expiry date of a drilling licence that has been grouped, under

section 4.1, with another drilling licence extended under subsection (7) is extended to the expiry date of that other drilling licence if the first licence

(

a) would otherwise expire before the drilling of the well is completed, and

(

b) has previously been extended under subsection (5).

Section 4 (2) (

d) is repealed and the following substituted:

(

d) may be deferred, in whole or in part, to a later application.

Section 4.1 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) by repealing paragraphs (

a) and (

b) and substituting the following:

(

a) one of the licensees has drilled an earning well on one of the drilling licences being grouped,

(

b) the application is submitted to the director on or before the earliest expiry date of the drilling licences being grouped, , and

(

b) by adding the following subsections:

(1.1) The director, on the written application of the licensees, must approve the grouping of 2 or more small drilling licences as one drilling licence if

(

a) one of the licensees has drilled an earning well on one of the drilling licences being grouped,

(

b) the application is submitted to the director on or before the earliest expiry date of the drilling licences being grouped,

(

c) the distance between the locations of the drilling licences being grouped does not exceed 4 kilometres at their closest point, and

(

d) the grouping well has not been used previously to group a drilling licence.

(3) Despite

section 4 (2) (d), deferred lease entitlements of an earning well must not be applied to drilling licences grouped under this section.

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