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House Bill 2161 |
House Author: West, George "Buddy" |
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Effective: See below |
Senate Sponsor: Seliger |
House Bill 2161 amends provisions of the Natural Resources, Tax, and Utilities Codes relating to pipeline safety standards, tax credits for certain oil leases and gas wells, and orphaned wells in Texas.
The bill requires the Railroad Commission to adopt rules governing safety standards for certain earth-moving activity in the vicinity of a carbon dioxide or gas pipeline facility to prevent damage to the pipeline and sets out timelines for rulemaking and parameters for the standards.
House Bill 2161 establishes tax credits for low‑producing gas wells or oil leases and for the installation and use of enhanced efficiency equipment on marginal oil wells. The bill provides for the application for and the calculation of the tax credits, and for limits on the amount and number of credits. The tax credit for a low‑producing gas well or oil lease expires September 1, 2007. House Bill 2161 also creates a tax exemption for oil and gas from reactivated orphaned wells and sets out parameters of the exemption. The bill also provides a penalty for fraudulent application for such a tax exemption.
The bill establishes a Railroad Commission program to reduce the number of orphaned wells in Texas, defining an orphaned well as a well with a Railroad Commission permit that has not reported oil or gas production for 12 months and whose operator's commission-approved organization report has lapsed and sets out parameters of the program.
The bill takes effect September 1, 2005, except for provisions relating to orphaned wells, which take effect January 1, 2006.