By: Brown S.B. No. 946
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the authority of the Railroad Commission to sell
1-3 salvageable equipment and hydrocarbons to prevent theft.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subsection (c) of Section 89.043, Natural
1-6 Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
1-7 (c) On or before the 30th day before the date the Commission
1-8 enters into a contract to plug a delinquent inactive well, the
1-9 Commission shall send a notice by certified mail to the operator of
1-10 the well at the address last reported to the Commission as required
1-11 by Section 91.142 and Commission rules. The notice shall direct
1-12 the operator to plug the well and shall state that:
1-13 (1) the Commission may plug the well and foreclose its
1-14 statutory lien under Section 89.083 unless the operator requests a
1-15 hearing not later than the 10th day after the date the operator
1-16 receives the notice;
1-17 (2) if the Commission plugs the well, all well-site
1-18 equipment will be presumed to have been abandoned and the
1-19 Commission may dispose of the equipment and hydrocarbons from the
1-20 well as provided by Section 89.085;
1-21 (3) if the Commission plugs the well, the Commission:
1-22 (A) by order may require the operator to
1-23 reimburse the Commission for the plugging costs; or
2-1 (B) may request the attorney general to file
2-2 suit against the operator to recover those costs; and
2-3 (4) the Commission has a statutory lien on all
2-4 well-site equipment under Section 89.083 which may be foreclosed on
2-5 the 15th day after the date the notice is mailed if a valid hearing
2-6 request has not been received by that date.
2-7 SECTION 2. Subsection (c) of Section 89.083, Natural
2-8 Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:
2-9 (c) The lien may be foreclosed by judicial action,
2-10 commission order, or by operation of law on the 15th day after the
2-11 date of the notice given pursuant to Section 89.043, unless the
2-12 Commission has received a valid and timely request for hearing
2-13 prior to that date. [The Commission may foreclose on the lien by
2-14 entering into a plugging contract.] The Commission is not required
2-15 to give notice or an opportunity for a hearing to subordinate
2-16 lienholders or nonoperators before foreclosing the lien [entering
2-17 into a plugging contract].
2-18 SECTION 3. Subsections (a), (g) and (h) of Section 89.085,
2-19 Natural Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:
2-20 (a) When the Commission forecloses its lien under Section
2-21 89.083 on [enters into a contract to plug] a delinquent inactive
2-22 well, well-site equipment and any amount of hydrocarbons from the
2-23 well that is stored on the lease are presumed to have been
2-24 abandoned and may be disposed of by the Commission in a
2-25 commercially reasonable manner by either or both of the following
2-26 methods:
3-1 (1) a plugging contract may provide that the person
3-2 plugging or cleaning up pollution, or both, will take title to
3-3 well-site equipment, hydrocarbons from the well that are stored on
3-4 the lease, or hydrocarbons recovered during the plugging operation
3-5 in exchange for a sum of money deducted as a credit from the
3-6 contract price; or
3-7 (2) the well-site equipment, hydrocarbons from the
3-8 well that are stored on the lease, or hydrocarbons recovered during
3-9 the plugging operation may be sold at a public auction or a public
3-10 or private sale.
3-11 (g) The notice required by Subsection (f) of this section
3-12 shall state:
3-13 (1) the lease name;
3-14 (2) the well number;
3-15 (3) the county in which the well is located;
3-16 (4) the abstract number of the property on which the
3-17 lease is situated;
3-18 (5) the Commission lease or gas well identification
3-19 number or drilling permit number;
3-20 (6) a list of the property disposed of under this
3-21 section; and
3-22 (7) a statement that any person who has a legal or
3-23 equitable ownership or security interest in the equipment or
3-24 hydrocarbons that was in existence on the date the Commission
3-25 foreclosed its statutory lien [entered into a contract to plug or
3-26 clean up the well] may file a claim with the Commission.
4-1 (h) Not later than the 180th day after the date the
4-2 well-site equipment or hydrocarbons are disposed of under this
4-3 section, the commission shall publish a notice that states:
4-4 (1) the lease name;
4-5 (2) the well number;
4-6 (3) the county in which the well is located;
4-7 (4) the Commission lease or gas well identification
4-8 number or drilling permit number; and
4-9 (5) that equipment or hydrocarbons if applicable from
4-10 the well and lease were disposed of under this section and that any
4-11 person who has a legal or equitable ownership or security interest
4-12 in the equipment or hydrocarbons that was in existence on the date
4-13 the Commission foreclosed its statutory lien [entered into a
4-14 contract to plug or clean up the well] may file a claim with the
4-15 Commission.
4-16 SECTION 4. Subsections (a) and (c) of Section 89.086,
4-17 Natural Resources Code, are amended to read as follows:
4-18 (a) A person with a legal or equitable ownership or security
4-19 interest in well-site equipment or hydrocarbons disposed of under
4-20 Section 89.085 of this code may make a claim against the oil-field
4-21 cleanup fund unless an element of the transaction giving rise to
4-22 the interest occurs after the Commission forecloses its statutory
4-23 lien under Section 89.083 [enters into a plugging contract].
4-24 (c) A claimant must identify the well-site equipment or
4-25 hydrocarbons in which the claimant has an interest and state the
4-26 amount of the property interest as of the date the Commission
5-1 foreclosed its statutory lien under Section 89.083 [entered into
5-2 the plugging contract].
5-3 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
5-4 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
5-5 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
5-6 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
5-7 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.