Before a permit for the drilling of any well for the production of oil and gas on any drilling block is issued, a written application therefor shall be filed with the City Clerk. Such application shall:
(a) State the name of the applicant;
(b) Describe the drilling block upon which the proposed well is to be located; and
(c) State the proposed depth or formation to which such well is to be drilled. In addition, such application shall have attached thereto:
(d) Either certified or photostatic copies of all leases, contracts or other instruments under which the applicant claims the right to drill a well for oil and gas on lands in such drilling block;
(e) A certificate of a qualified engineer showing the exact acreage within the drilling block and the total acreage owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the applicant; and
(f) A map or plat of the drilling block showing, either by stated dimensions or according to scale, the location of the proposed well and of all tanks, pits, embankments, fences and other details of the proposed use of the property necessary or incident to the drilling of the well.
The application shall be verified by the applicant or his duly authorized agent. The application may be filed by any person who, in the absence of this section, would, by reason of ownership, lease, contractor otherwise, own or control the right to drill upon or develop for oil and gas all or any part of the subject drilling block.
Upon the filing of any application for the drilling of a well hereunder, the same shall forthwith be referred by the City Clerk to Council, whereupon Council shall, without delay, set the same for hearing at an early date, cause notice of such hearing to be given and proceed to hear and consider the same. If, upon such hearing, it is found that the applicant owns, holds leases upon or otherwise controls the whole of such drilling block and that such application and the location and other circumstances incident to the drilling of the proposed well comply with this section, the applicant shall be issued a permit to drill the same subject only to the other provisions and conditions of this chapter and the laws of the State. If, upon such hearing, it is found that the applicant owns, holds leases on or otherwise controls less than the whole of such drilling block, Council, taking into account the rights, interests and equities of the several persons who, in the absence of this chapter, would have the right to drill on the different parts of the drilling block, shall grant a permit for the drilling of the well upon such terms and conditions as are found by Council to be fair and reasonable and such as will avoid unnecessary hardship, carry out the spirit of this chapter and result in substantial justice to all concerned, provided that regardless of who may file the application, the person owning, holding leases on or otherwise controlling the right to drill fifty percent or more of the drilling block shall have the right, if such person within a reasonable time to be fixed by Council elects to do so, to manage, conduct and carry on the drilling and operation of the well.
The granting of a permit to drill a well to a particular depth or formation shall constitute a permit to complete the well in a shallower formation if another well on the same drilling block is not already completed in and producing from such shallower formation, in which event, another permit may be granted for the drilling of another well thereon to such deeper formation if no other well on such drilling block is completed in and producing from such deeper formation.
Any permit granted in compliance with this section shall automatically expire unless, within ninety days from the date of issuance of such permit, the person to whom such permit has been issued has commenced drilling operations on the drilling block designated in the permit.
(Ord. 907. Passed 9-26-77.)