and gas operations on the land. The notice must be given no more than 180 days nor less than 30 days before commencement of any oil and gas operations on the land. See WY Stat § 30-5-402(d), (e).
location of facilities and access routes, or oil and gas operations substantially and materially different from those previously disclosed to the surface owner, without first providing additional written notice disclosing the proposed changes and offering to schedule a meeting to comply with the requirement of good faith negotiation of a surface use agreement. See WY Stat § 30-5-402(g).
Contents of Prior Notice
The notice must sufficiently disclose the plan of work and operations to enable each surface owner to evaluate the effect of oil and gas operations on the surface owner’s use of the land. The notice must include at a minimum: (i) the proposed dates on which planned operations shall commence; (ii) to the extent reasonably known at the time, the proposed facility locations and access routes related to the proposed oil and gas operations, including locations of roads, wells, well pads, seismic locations, pits, reservoirs, power lines, pipelines, compressor pads, tank batteries and other facilities; (iii) the name, address, telephone number and, if available, facsimile number and electronic mail address of the operator and its designee, if any; (iv) an offer to discuss and negotiate in good faith any proposed changes to the proposed plan of work and oil and gas operations prior to commencement of oil and gas operations; and (v) a copy of the Act. See WY Stat § 30-5-402(e).
Related Oil and Gas Commission Filing
Before an application for permit to drill is approved by the Commission, the operator who filed the application must also file a statement with the Commission that includes the applicable surface owner’s identity and contact information, and includes a certification that (i) proper notice of proposed oil and gas operations was provided to the surface owner, (ii) the parties attempted good faith negotiations to reach a surface use agreement, as required by the Act, and (iii) the other requirements for entry upon the land for oil and gas operations have been met. See WY Stat § 30-5-403(a).
Surety Bond or Other Guaranty
Any surety bond or other guaranty required by the Act must be executed either by the operator or a bonding company acceptable to the Commission. Additionally, any forms of guaranty other than a surety bond must be acceptable to the Commission. Any surety or guaranty required by the Act shall be in addition to the surety bonds or other guaranties required by other Wyoming law for reclamation and compliance with the administrative rules and promulgated orders of the Commission. See WY Stat § 30-5-404 for the above and below information on surety bonding and other guaranty requirements.
Good Faith Negotiations
After providing the notice of proposed oil and gas operations to the surface owner, the operator and the surface owner shall attempt good faith negotiations to reach a surface use agreement. The surface use agreement should provide for protection of the surface resources, reclamation activities, timely completion of reclamation of the disturbed areas and payment for any damages caused by the oil and gas operations. At any time in the negotiation, at the request of either party and upon mutual agreement, dispute resolution processes (including mediation or arbitration) may be employed or the informal procedures for resolving disputes established pursuant to Wyoming Statutes Title 11 Chapter 41 may be requested through the Wyoming Agriculture and Natural Resource Mediation Program. See WY Stat § 30-5-402(f).
Amount; Other Requirements
The surety bond or other guaranty shall be in an amount of not less than $10,000 per well site on the surface owner’s land unless the operations involve seismic activities. If the operations involve seismic activities, the surety bond shall be as provided in WY Stat § 30-5-104(d)(v)(A), which states that the surety bond or other guaranty shall be in an amount of not less than $5,000 for the 1,000
The operator shall not engage in work,
G rowth T hrough E ducat i on - O c tober / N ov ember / D e c ember 2024 11
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