By:  Haywood                                          S.B. No. 1357
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                        AN ACT
    1-1  relating to the administrative approval of surface commingling of
    1-2  oil or gas or oil and gas production.
    1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-4        SECTION 1.  Section 85.046, Natural Resources Code, is
    1-5  amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
    1-6        (c)  In order to prevent waste and the premature abandonment
    1-7  of oil and gas resources the Commission may permit surface
    1-8  commingling of oil or gas or oil and gas production from two or
    1-9  more tracts of land producing from the same horizon or from
   1-10  different horizons from one or more tracts when the following
   1-11  conditions are met:
   1-12              1.  When the tracts or horizons have the same working
   1-13  interest and royalty interest parties or when production from each
   1-14  tract or horizon is separately measured, approval may be granted
   1-15  administratively by the Commission upon application or
   1-16              2.  When the tracts or horizons have different working
   1-17  interest or royalty interest parties, the Commission may
   1-18  administratively approve an application for surface commingling
   1-19  when:
   1-20                    i.  applicant provides evidence that
   1-21                          a.  all parties of record have been
   1-22  notified by certified letter or have provided applicant with
   1-23  waivers of notice requirements, or
    2-1                          b.  in the event the applicant is unable to
    2-2  provide actual notice to all parties of record, then the applicant
    2-3  shall provide evidence that notice has been published for four
    2-4  consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the
    2-5  county in which the tracts are located; and
    2-6                    ii.  applicant provides an acceptable method of
    2-7  allocation of production to ensure the protection of correlative
    2-8  rights, such as by well test or by other acceptable means; and
    2-9                    iii.  the Commission has received no protests
   2-10  totaling more than 10% interest, either working or royalty or
   2-11  combined interest, against approval of the application within 21
   2-12  days of the notice being mailed or if publication is required,
   2-13  within 21 days of the date of last publication.
   2-14        SECTION 2.  This Act becomes effective on September 1, 1995.
   2-15        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-16  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-17  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-18  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-19  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.