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.