RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
HCR 72 2016 Regular Session Jim Morris
Urges and requests the Dept. of Natural Resources, office of conservation, through the
Administrative Procedure Act, to develop an alternate method of contracting for services to
plug orphaned oil and gas well sites and to implement the alternative method as a pilot
program for three years beginning FY 2016-2017. Also urges and requests the office of
conservation to report annually on the status of the pilot program to the House Committee
on Natural Resources and Environment and the Senate Committee on Natural Resources
beginning no later than March 1, 2017.
Provides that the alternative method of contracting shall include, but not be limited to the
following:
(1)Require that the operators in the program have a good record of compliance, in lieu
of holding a contractor's license, with the office of conservation with no outstanding
violations.
(2)Develop criteria for qualified bidders that are not a current operator.
(3)Require a performance bond or letter of credit to an amount below 50% of the
contract.
(4)Provide for a completion date in the contract in lieu of providing for penalties for
lapse in work resulting from equipment failure or inclement weather.
(5)Provide for weekly, or less frequently, reporting of work performed by the contractor
in lieu of daily reporting.
(6)Require that the type of equipment used by the contractor be based on the physical
characteristics of the well to be plugged.
(7)Require any pit used during the restoration process be properly lined and properly
disposed of after work is completed and limit reporting requirements for such pit.
(8)Consider payment for the contract to be on a cost plus a prenegotiated percentage.
(9)Prioritize the focus of the pilot program on a large number of land based orphaned
wells that would otherwise not be a priority under the current method of contracting.
Directs the Dept. of Natural Resources, office of conservation when the pilot program is
implemented, from the monies appropriated to the office, to fund the pilot program in an
amount not less than $1,000,000 or 20% of the amount appropriated to the fund, whichever
is less, will be allocated to plug orphaned wells drilled to a depth less than 3,000 feet in the
office of conservation's Shreveport and Monroe districts beginning FY 2016-2017 and
through the end of FY 2018-2019.