ENROLLED
ACT No. 634
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 632
BY REPRESENTATIVES JIM MORRIS, ARMES, BILLIOT, BISHOP, TERRY BROWN,
CHANEY, COUSSAN, DEVILLIER, FOIL, GISCLAIR, GUINN, LYONS,
MIGUEZ, MONTOUCET, WHITE, AND ZERINGUE
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 30:4.3, relative to financial security required by the commissioner of
3 conservation; to provide for financial security required to conduct certain oil and gas
4 activity; to authorize the commissioner of conservation to promulgate rules and
5 regulations; to provide for required amounts; to provide for exemptions; to provide
6 for an effective date; and to provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 30:4.3 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
9 ยง4.3. Financial Security
10 A. As required by R.S. 30:4, an applicant for a permit to drill or to amend
11 a permit to drill for change of operator shall provide financial security as provided
12 in this Section in a form acceptable to the commissioner. For an application for a
13 permit to drill, the security shall be provided within thirty days of the completion
14 date or from the date the operator is notified that financial security is required. For
15 an application to amend a permit to drill for a change of operator, the security shall
16 be provided as required by this Section or by establishing a site-specific trust account
17 in accordance with R.S. 30:88 prior to the operator change.
18 B.(1) Except as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, the amount of
19 the financial security shall be provided for in rules and regulations promulgated by
20 the commissioner in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. The
21 amounts may be on an individual-well or multiple-well basis and may be categorized
22 based on the well's location.
Page 1 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HB NO. 632 ENROLLED
1 (2) For an individual well located on land of a depth equal to or less than
2 three thousand feet, the financial security required shall be two dollars per foot.
3 However, the commissioner may increase the financial security by rules and
4 regulations promulgated after September 1, 2017, in accordance with the
5 Administrative Procedure Act.
6 C. Financial security shall not be required for the following wells:
7 (1) Any well declared to be orphaned by the commissioner and subsequently
8 transferred to another operator.
9 (2) Any well to be drilled by an operator who has an agreement with the
10 office of conservation to plug a well that has been declared to be orphaned by the
11 commissioner and that orphaned well is similar to the proposed well in terms of
12 depth and location.
13 Section 2. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
14 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
15 by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
16 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
17 effective on the day following such approval.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
Page 2 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.