84R6628 JXC-D
By: Romero, Jr. H.B. No. 2236
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the requirements for the casing and cementing of an oil
or gas well.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 91.011, Natural Resources Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) Before drilling into the oil or gas bearing rock, the
owner or operator of a well being drilled for oil or gas shall
encase the well with good and sufficient wrought iron or steel
casing, or with any other material that meets standards adopted by
the commission, and cement the casing, particularly where wells
could be subjected to corrosive elements or high pressures and
temperatures, in a manner and to a depth that will exclude surface
or fresh water from the lower part of the well from penetrating the
oil or gas bearing rock, and if the well is drilled through the
first into the lower oil or gas bearing rock, the well shall be
encased and cemented [cased] in a manner and to a depth that will
exclude fresh water above the last oil or gas bearing rock
penetrated.
(a-1) A well drilled for oil or gas shall be encased with a
casing that is cemented to a depth of at least 50 feet below the base
of the deepest formation transected by the well that contains water
that is suitable as a source of drinking water supply.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.