Mick Thomas

Division Administrator – Minerals, Public Trust, and Oil & Gas

Secretary to the Oil & Gas Conservation Commission

This update was sent to the Commission on Saturday, September 11.

September 2021 Secretary Update

Current Items:
Proposed Legislation Idaho Code 47-3
Quarterly Report
Field Status
Injection Well Update
November OGCC meeting rescheduled
News Article(s) of Interest
Current Prices

Proposed Legislation Idaho Code 47-3
A webpage was created for the proposed legislation process and went live a couple of weeks ago. The page can be found on the OGCC website here: https://ogcc.idaho.gov/rules-and-statutes/47-3-changes/
Updates to the page will be made as the process evolves.

Quarterly Report
Attached is the 2nd quarter report for the Commission. James Thum has been vital in developing this information and keeping abreast of field activity this year. Please feel free to reach out to James with specific questions you may have.

Field Status
The field meeting with Nate Caldwell, SROG went well. SROG now has a store front in New Plymouth where they monitor the SCADA system data from Little Willow and Highway 30. The trailer at Hwy 30 is no longer on site. The full-time employee who monitors the system was the construction supervisor for the contractor who built the plant and lives less than a mile from the plant. He knows the system inside and out. Nate says the people in New Plymouth have treated them well and are thankful for their presence in the town since they source as much as they can locally and are willing to talk to local folks whenever they have questions about operations.

SROG has now installed proving loops at all the condensate meters on each well separator at Little Willow. This means that all the Coriolis meters can now be tested in place, under field conditions per BLM requirements. The next quarterly proving will occur in October and will be witnessed by BLM. Little Willow is no longer manned, and the gate is locked at all times when no one is on the premises.

The operator will have equipment in the area in September. This will enable Tracy Trust #3-2 plugging operations will be moved up the priority list of items to get completed.

Injection Well Update
The Department received an update from the operator. In response to an inquiry from the EPA, the Idaho State Historical Society found that no historic properties would be affected by proposed activities associated with a Class II Injection Well in the Willow Field area. The Department is not a party in the matter but continues to track information as it is received.

November OGCC meeting rescheduled
The next regular meeting of the OGCC was rescheduled from November 3, to Tuesday, November 16, 2021, at 2:30pm (MT). Information on OGCC meetings can be found on the Commission Meetings page: https://ogcc.idaho.gov/commission-meetings/

News Article(s) of Interest
Small Hydropower Proves to be an Ally for Rural Communities
https://www.idahofallsmagazine.com/2021/08/small-hydropower-proves-to-be

A record $100 million will be distributed to Idaho Schools in Fiscal Year 2023

Utah: Chevron Agrees on Framework to Join Hydrogen Joint Venture with Magnum Development and Mitsubishi Power (see attached).

Western US: Maintenance Cuts Production / Supply Availability to SW US (see attached).

Current Prices

Utah Sweet Crude	$58.84 bbl.	09/09/21
WTI	$69.58 bbl.	09/10/21
Natural Gas	$4.78 mmbtu.	09/08/21
NGL	$10.33 mmbtu.	09/08/21

(green indicates prices increase since last update, red indicates decline)