Alabama. State Oil and Gas Board

Authorities:

Alabama. State Oil and Gas Board. General Order Prescribing Rules and Regulations Governing the Conservation of Oil and Gas in Alabama. University: The Board, 1967.

Code 1975, 19:17:1.

Previous legislation for the regulation of oil and gas established the State Oil and Gas Supervisor (1911-1915) and the State Oil and Gas Board (1940-1945).

Alabama became an oil producing state in 1944 with the discovery of the first well in Gilbertown. In 1945 Governor Sparks requested that the Interim Study Committee, created in 1943 to study agriculture and industries, research the state's oil and gas laws to determine if they were adequate with respect to the Gilbertown discoveries. After hearings, conferences, and a review of the laws of other states, the Committee concluded that the laws of the state were ineffective. It recommended that the Board make and enforce rules concerning the drilling and spacing of oil and gas wells, the prevention of waste, the limitation and proration of production, the plugging of dry holes, and the protection of correlative rights. The proposed act was modelled after the laws of Arkansas and New Mexico.

In 1945 legislation created a State Oil and Gas Board composed of three members appointed by the Governor for staggered terms of six years. The Board would prevent the physical and economic waste of oil and gas and protect correlative rights. The State Oil and Gas Supervisor, also the State Geologist, would serve as ex-officio secretary to the Board and record its proceedings, enforce laws and regulations, and appoint personnel subject to the Merit System. The Declaration of Legislative Policy stated: "In recognition of past, present, and imminent evils occurring in the production and use of oil and gas, as a result of waste..., this law is enacted for protection . . . ." (Acts 1945, No. 1, pp. 1-20).

The duties of the Board include: (1) To have authority over persons and property necessary to administer and enforce laws relating to oil and gas conservation; (2) to make inquiries to determine if waste exists or is imminent; (3) to make rules and regulations; including (a) requiring casing, plugging, or treatment of wells to prevent escape of oil or gas, pollution of fresh water, and waste; (b) to regulate the drilling for production of crude oil or natural gas to prevent damage to neighboring property; (c) to limit or prorate production when necessary, require drillers and operators to submit reports, and authorize only those wells with sufficient oil and gas ratios; (d) to regulate the spacing of wells, establish drilling units and unit operations of a pool in order to increase recovery through secondary methods, and take control of wells when necessary to conserve oil and gas resources; and (e) to bring suits, through the Attorney General, when its rules and regulations are violated.

The State Oil and Gas Board is operated through its Legal Division and Technical Staff.

Alabama. State Oil and Gas Board. Legal Division.

Authority: Alabama Government Manual, 1982.

Providing legal assistance to the Board and the Supervisor, the Legal Division is headed by an Assistant Attorney General assigned to the Board. The attorney prepares briefs, orders, field and general rules and regulations issued by the Board and represents it in judicial proceedings. He also serves as attorney for the Geological Survey.

Alabama. State Oil and Gas Board. Oil and Gas Technical Staff.

Authority: Alabama Government Manual, 1982.

The Technical Staff is under the general direction of the Supervisor and the specified direction of the Assistant Oil and Gas Supervisor. It is responsible for administrative and field enforcement of laws and rules set up by the Board. The laws and rules are formulated to protect the rights of owners of crude oil or natural gas and to prevent waste. By 1970 and until about 1977, the Division was called the Oil and Gas Conservation Division, under the direction of a petroleum engineer.

From the description of Agency history record. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145407792

Authorities:

Alabama. State Oil and Gas Board. General Order Prescribing Rules and Regulations Governing the Conservation of Oil and Gas in Alabama. University: The Board, 1967.

Code 1975, 19:17:1.

Prior efforts toward the regulation of oil and gas occurred with the appointment of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor (1911-1915).

A comprehensive conservation measure was introduced in the 1935 session of the Legislature, but it did not pass.

Discoveries of oil and gas in Miss. in 1939 caused the Legislature to reconsider the oil and gas laws of the state. The Legislature created the State Oil and Gas Board, composed of the Governor, Attorney General, and the Director of Conservation. The State Geologist was appointed ex-officio State Oil and Gas Supervisor, who would enforce the act and the rules and regulations of the Board.

The act required that before starting to drill, persons must obtain a permit for $25 and file drilling logs with the Supervisor. Waste was specifically prohibited. However, the Board was authorized to regulate production only after the total average daily production exceeded 50,000 barrels a day for 90 consecutive days. A charge of two percent of the gross casinghead value produced and sold was to be paid the State Treasurer. (Acts 1939-1940, No. 645, pp. 1009-1019).

When Ala. became an oil producing state in 1944, a legislative study committee recommended strenghthening existing laws and reconstituted the State Oil and Gas Board in 1945.

From the description of Agency history reocrd. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145408533