West Virginia Code 22C-9-3 – Application of article; exclusions
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the provisions of this article shall apply to all lands located in this state, however owned, including any lands owned or administered by any government or any agency or subdivision thereof, over which the state has jurisdiction under its police power. The provisions of this article are in addition to and not in derogation of or substitution for the provisions of § 22-6-1 et seq. of this code.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 22C-9-3
- Commission: means the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and "commissioner" means the Oil and Gas Conservation Commissioner as provided for in §. See West Virginia Code 22C-9-2
- Gas: means all natural gas and all other fluid hydrocarbons not defined as oil as that term is defined in this section. See West Virginia Code 22C-9-2
- Horizontal well: means an oil and gas well, other than a coalbed methane well, where the wellbore is initially drilled using a horizontal drilling method. See West Virginia Code 22C-9-2
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Oil: means natural crude oil or petroleum and other hydrocarbons, regardless of gravity, which are produced at the well in liquid form by ordinary production methods and which are not the result of condensation of gas after it leaves the underground reservoir. See West Virginia Code 22C-9-2
- Person: means any natural person, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, receiver, trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, fiduciary or other representative of any kind, and includes any government or any political subdivision or any agency thereof. See West Virginia Code 22C-9-2
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Well: means any shaft or hole sunk, drilled, bored, or dug into the earth or underground strata for the extraction of oil or gas. See West Virginia Code 22C-9-2
(b) This article shall not apply to or affect:
(1) Shallow wells other than shallow horizontal wells and those utilized in secondary recovery programs as set forth in in § 22C-9-8 of this code and those provided for in § 22C-9-4 of this code;
(2) Any well commenced or completed prior to March 9, 1972, unless the well is, after completion (whether the completion is prior or subsequent to that date):
(A) Deepened or drilled laterally subsequent to that date to a formation at or below the top of the uppermost member of the Onondaga Group;
(B) Involved in secondary recovery operations for oil under an order of the commission entered pursuant to § 22C-9-8 of this code; or
(C) Drilled laterally as a horizontal well at any depth;
(3) Gas storage operations or any well employed to inject gas into or withdraw gas from a gas storage reservoir or any well employed for storage observation;
(4) Free gas rights; or
(5) Coalbed methane wells.
(c) The provisions of this article shall not be construed to grant to the commissioner or the commission authority or power to:
(1) Limit production or output, or prorate production of any oil or gas well, except as provided in §22C-9-7(a)(6) of this code; or
(2) Fix prices of oil or gas.
(d) Nothing contained in either this chapter or § 22-1-1 et seq. of this code may be construed so as to require, prior to commencement of plugging operations, a lessee under a lease covering a well to give or sell the well to any person owning an interest in the well, including, but not limited to, a respective lessor, or agent of the lessor, nor shall the lessee be required to grant to a person owning an interest in the well, including, but not limited to, a respective lessor, or agent of a lessor, an opportunity to qualify under § 22-6-26 of this code to continue operation of the well.