Mick Thomas

Division Administrator – Minerals, Navigable Waters, and Oil & Gas

Secretary to the Oil & Gas Conservation Commission

This update was sent to the Commission on Saturday, October 8, 2022.

October 2022 Secretary Update

Current Items:

Severance Tax Update
Monthly Production and Sales for July 2022
Docket No. CC-2022-OGR-01-002, Application for Integration
Approved Amended Application for Permit to Drill (Irvin #1-19)
Approved Application for Permit to Drill (Barlow #3-14)
Injection Well Update
Field Status
Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission Annual Conference
News Article(s) of Interest
Current Prices

Severance Tax Update
July, August, and September 2023 revenue into the Oil & Gas Conservation (OGC) fund was nearly $110K. Of this amount, $103K was received as a distribution from the Idaho Tax Commission for the OGC funds portion of Idaho’s oil & gas severance tax.

Monthly Production and Sales for July 2022
The July 2022 monthly report is now available. Please see the Monthly and Annual Reports page for more information. August reports are required to be filed with the state no later than Friday, October 14, 2022.
As a reminder, Natural Gas Liquids produced in Idaho are shipped via rail to facilities in Kansas, our Condensate is transported via truck to plants in Wyoming, and Idaho’s Natural Gas production is added to the Williams gas pipeline at a terminal in Payette County.

Docket No. CC-2022-OGR-01-002, Application for Integration
The Department will be holding the hearing to determine “just and reasonable” factors on October 13, 2022. More information for this application and hearing can be found on the Docket No. CC-2022-OGR-01-002 hearing webpage.

Approved Amended Application for Permit to Drill (Irvin #1-19)
The Department has approved the Irvin #1-19 application for permit to drill September 10, 2022. More information can be found on the Well Permit Applications page or the Irvin #1-19 well file page.

Approved Application for Permit to Drill (Barlow #3-14)
The Department has approved the Barlow #3-14 application for permit to drill September 27, 2022. More information can be found on the Well Permit Applications page or the Barlow #3-14 well file page.

Injection Well Update
The Department continues to monitor the injection well application being processed by the EPA. Public comment review was completed by EPA region 10 staff in July 2022 with a recommendation to approve the permit.
When that review was completed by region 10 the application package was shared with EPA headquarters in Washington DC where it is currently under additional review.

Field Status
Pad preparation and well cellar construction has been completed for both the Irvin #1-19 and Barlow #3-14 wells. The Irvin #1-19 is expected to spud the week of October 2, 2022 and will take approximately 10 days to drill. The Barlow #3-14 will follow once drilling operations have been completed on the Irvin well. Snake River is in the process of installing storage tanks on the Fallon #1-10 and Dutch Lane #1-13 well pads to hold produced water from the wells.
As required under Idaho Code § 47-315(9) the Department has completed annual inspections for the wells in the Willow Field area. Facilities inspections and wells in the Harmon Field area will be completed during the month of October.

Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission Annual Conference
I will be attending the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission Annual Conference in Baltimore Maryland from October 15 to October 18. The bulk of this year’s agenda will entail funding for addressing orphaned wells (Idaho has no orphaned wells) and the continued transition to additional energy sources to compliment oil & gas production.

News Article(s) of Interest
Idaho Oil & Gas Leader speaks at Payette Luncheon
https://www.argusobserver.com/business/oil-and-gas-leader-speaks-at-payette-chamber-luncheon/article_bc119786-33a1-11ed-9662-0b40c508831f.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share

OPEC to restrict oil production
https://www.deseret.com/utah/2022/10/6/23391074/opec-cuts-oil-production-new-gas-price-hikes-will-congress-take-action-nopec-joe-biden

Flush with cash, EPA could toughen methane rules | E&E News
https://www.eenews.net/articles/flush-with-cash-epa-could-toughen-methane-rules/

How does permitting for clean energy infrastructure work
https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-does-permitting-for-clean-energy-infrastructure-work/

Current Prices

Natural Gas (EIA)	$6.06 MMBtu.	10/05/22	(25.5% / $2.07 decrease since last month)
NGL (EIA)	$8.90 MMBtu.	10/05/22	(17.0% / $1.82 decrease since last month)
Utah Sweet Crude	$78.65 bbl.	10/07/22	(2.0% / $1.58 increase since last month)
WTI	$98.13 bbl.	10/07/22	(12.2% / $11.94 increase since last month)