CHAPTER 115: OIL AND GAS WELLS

Section
General Provisions
115.01 Definitions

Standards and Requirements
115.15 Well location; distance from buildings
115.16 Well location; streets and alleys
115.17 Derrick and rig
115.18 Pits
115.19 Casing standards
115.20 Casing; setting; cementing
115.21 Valves; blowout preventers
115.22 Drilling fluid
115.23 Drill stem tests
115.24 Tubing
115.25 Bradenhead
115.26 Christmas tree and well head connections

Well Operations
115.40 Clean and sanitary premises
115.41 Mufflers
115.42 Storage tanks; separators
115.43 Fence
115.44 Venting and flaring of gas
115.45 Abandonment; plugging
115.46 Disposal of salt water

Permits
115.60 Permit required
115.61 Application; filing fee
115.62 Issuance; refusal
115.63 Insurance; bond
115.64 Depth of well
115.65 Deeper drilling; permit required
115.66 Termination of permit

Enforcement
115.80 Oil and gas inspector
115.81 Violations of state or federal law
115.82 Violations; permit revocation
Statutory reference:
Movement of oversize or overweight oil well servicing and drilling machinery, see Tex. Trans. Code, §§ 623.141 - 623.150
Oil and gas generally, see Tex. Nat. Res. Code, Chapter 81 et seq.
Oil, gas, or mineral lands owned by cities, see Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code, § 253.005

GENERAL PROVISIONS

§ 115.01 DEFINITIONS.
(A) All technical or oil and gas industry words or phrases not specifically defined herein shall have that meaning customarily attributable thereto by prudent operators in the oil and gas industry.

(B) For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

LEASE. Any oil, gas, and mineral lease or other oil and gas development contract, or any unit composed of several tracts and leases but operated as one LEASE, and any tract of land in which the minerals are owned by an operator or someone holding under it or him or her, but which, due to the fee royalty, ownership is developed and operated as a separate tract.

PERMITTEE. The person to whom is issued a permit for the drilling and operation of a well under this chapter, and his, her, or its administrators, executors, heirs, successors, and assigns. PERSON. Any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, club, society, cooperative, trust, municipal corporation, or political subdivision.

WELL. Any hole or holes, bore or bores, to any sand, formation, strata, or depth for the purpose of producing and recovering any oil, gas, or liquid hydrocarbon.
(Prior Code, § 12-1)

STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS

§ 115.15 WELL LOCATION; DISTANCE FROM BUILDINGS.
No well shall be drilled and no permit shall be issued for any well to be drilled at any location which is nearer than 300 feet from any residence or commercial building without the applicant having first secured the written permission of the owner or owners thereof.
(Prior Code, § 12-5) Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 115.16 WELL LOCATION; STREETS AND ALLEYS.
No well shall be drilled and no permit shall be issued for any well to be drilled at any location which is within any of the streets or alleys of the city. No street or alley shall be blocked or encumbered or closed in any drilling or production operation except by special permit by order of the City Council, and then only temporarily.
(Prior Code, § 12-6) Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 115.17 DERRICK AND RIG.
It shall be unlawful for any person to use or operate, in connection with the drilling or reworking of any well within the city limits, any wooden derrick or any steam-powered rig, and all engines shall be equipped with adequate mufflers approved by the oil and gas inspector, or to permit any drilling rig or
derrick to remain on the premises or drilling site for a period longer than 60 days after completion or
abandonment of the well. At all times from the start of erection of a derrick, or a mast, or a gin-pole, until the well is abandoned and plugged or completed as a producer and enclosed with a fence as provided in this chapter, the permittee shall keep a watchperson on duty on the premises; provided, however, it shall not be necessary to keep an extra watchperson on duty on the premises when other workers of the permittee are on the premises.
(Prior Code, § 12-7) Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 115.18 PITS.
Either earthen or steel slush pits shall be permitted in connection with the drilling operation. In the
event a steel pit is used, the pit and its contents shall be removed from the premises and the drilling site
within 30 days after completion of the well. In the event an earthen slush pit is used, same shall be filled
and leveled within 120 days after completion of the well.
(Prior Code, § 12-8)

§ 115.19 CASING STANDARDS.
(A) All casing, including surface protection and production strings, shall be either seamless steel or
equivalent quality oil well casing.

(B) Each production string of casing must comply with at least the following minimum internal pressure yield strength, computed in accordance with American Petroleum Institute standards, to wit:

(C) Each joint and length of each particular casing string, prior to setting, shall have unconditionally
passed a complete cold water test.
(Prior Code, § 12-9)
Statutory reference:
Casing, see Tex. Nat. Res. Code, § 91.011

§ 115.20 CASING; SETTING; CEMENTING.
No person shall drill a well within the city limits without properly setting surfacing casing to a minimum depth of 800 feet. No well shall be drilled within the city limits without cementing the surface casing by the pump and plug method with sufficient cement to completely fill all of the annular space behind the casing to the surface of the ground, and without cementing the production string by the pump and plug method with sufficient cement to completely fill all the annular space behind the production string to at least 600 feet above the highest oil- or gas-bearing horizon, and in the event a protection string of casing is required under the terms of this chapter, without cementing all the annular space behind the protection string to at least 600 feet above the highest oil- or gas-bearing horizon.
(Prior Code, § 12-10) Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 115.21 VALVES; BLOWOUT PREVENTERS.
No person shall drill a well within the city limits without properly equipping the protection casing when set with at least one master valve and one fluid-operated ram type blowout preventer, and without properly equipping the production casing during completion operations and workover operations with at least one master valve and at least one fluid-operated ram type blowout preventer. On each well drilled a valve cock or kelly cock shall be installed on the kelly used. Each blowout preventer shall test 6,000 pounds, and its mechanical operation shall be tested at least once every eight-hour period. All control equipment shall be in good working condition and order at all times.
(Prior Code, § 12-11) Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 115.22 DRILLING FLUID.
No well shall be drilled within the city limits without using mud as the drilling fluid after the setting of surface casing as provided in § 115.20 hereof. Prior to the time the well reaches a total depth of 5,000 feet or the depth of the first known or encountered oil- or gas-bearing horizon, whichever is the lesser depth, the weight of the mud-laden drilling fluid shall be at all times maintained at not less than ten pounds per gallon. After the well reaches a total depth of 5,000 feet or the depth of the first known or encountered oil- or gas-bearing horizon, whichever is the lesser depth, the weight of the mud-laden drilling fluid shall be at all times maintained at a weight as will provide a hydrostatic head of not less than 500 pounds per square inch in excess of the formation pressure. In reworking a well, a drilling fluid shall be at all times maintained at a weight as will provide a hydrostatic head of not less than 500 pounds per square inch in excess of the formation pressure.
(Prior Code, § 12-12) Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 115.23 DRILL STEM TESTS.
It shall be unlawful for any person in connection with the drilling or reworking operations of any well within the city limits to take and to complete any drill stem test or tests except during daylight hours and then only if the well effluent during the test is produced through an adequate oil and gas separator to storage tanks, and the effluent remaining in the drill pipe at the time the tool is closed is flushed to the surface by circulating drilling fluid down the annulus and up the drill pipe.
(Prior Code, § 12-13) Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 115.24 TUBING.
All tubing used in any well within the city limits shall be seamless steel tubing having not less than a minimum internal pressure yield strength of 5,280 pounds per square inch if used in connection with a well completion at a depth not exceeding 7,000 feet, or less than a minimum internal pressure yield strength of 7,260 pounds per square inch if used in connection with a well completion at a depth in excess of 7,000 feet.
(Prior Code, § 12-14)

§ 115.25 BRADENHEAD.
Each well drilled within the city limits shall be equipped with a bradenhead with a working pressure of not less than 3,000 pounds per square inch. Bradenheads shall not be welded. The bradenhead installed on the surface casing shall be set above ground level and shall be equipped with fitting having a working pressure rating of not less than 3,000 pounds per square inch. The bradenhead pressure shall be checked at least once each calendar month and if pressure is found to exist, proper remedial measures shall be immediately taken to eliminate the source and the existence of the pressure.
(Prior Code, § 12-15) Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 115.26 CHRISTMAS TREE AND WELL HEAD CONNECTIONS.
(A) The Christmas tree and all well head connections on each well drilled within the city limits shall be as follows: on all flowing wells completed at a depth of above 4,000 feet, the Christmas tree and well head connections shall have at least a minimum working pressure of 2,000 pounds per square inch and a minimum test pressure of at least 4,000 pounds per square inch; and on all wells completed to a depth of from 4,001 to 7,000 feet, the Christmas tree and well head connections shall have at least a minimum working pressure of 3,000 pounds per square inch and a minimum test pressure of at least 6,000 pounds per square inch; and on all wells completed below a depth of 7,000 feet, the Christmas tree and well head connections shall have at least a minimum working pressure of 5,000 pounds per square inch and a minimum test pressure of at least 10,000 pounds per square inch.

(B) All piping and fittings connecting the well head to an oil gas separator shall have at least the same
minimum working pressure and minimum test pressure as hereinabove specified for Christmas tree and
well head connections.

(C) In the event the surface shut-in pressure of any well in the city limits exceeds 2,000 pounds per square inch, the flowing of the Christmas tree shall be equipped with an automatic closing safety valve in addition to the regular control valves.
(Prior Code, § 12-16)

WELL OPERATIONS

§ 115.40 CLEAN AND SANITARY PREMISES.
Premises regulated by this chapter shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition, free from rubbish of every character, to the satisfaction of the Health Officer, at all times drilling operations or reworking operations are being conducted, and as long thereafter as oil or gas is being produced therefrom.
(Prior Code, § 12-17)

§ 115.41 MUFFLERS.
Motive power for all operations after completion of drilling operations shall be electricity or properly
muffled gas, gasoline, or diesel engines, those mufflers to be approved by the oil and gas inspector prior
to their use.
(Prior Code, § 12-18)

§ 115.42 STORAGE TANKS; SEPARATORS.
It shall be unlawful for any person to use, construct, or operate in connection with any producing well
within the city limits any crude oil storage tanks except to the extent of two steel tanks for oil storage, not exceeding 500 barrels’ capacity each and so constructed and maintained as to be vapor-tight and each surrounded with an earthen fire wall at a distance from the tanks as will under any circumstances hold and retain at least one and one-half times the maximum capacity of the tanks. A permittee may use, construct, and operate a steel conventional separator and such other steel tanks and appurtenances as are necessary for treating oil, with each of these facilities to be so constructed and maintained as to be vapor-tight. Each oil gas separator shall be equipped with both a regulation pressure relief safety valve and a bursting head.
(Prior Code, § 12-19) Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 115.43 FENCE.
Any person who completes any well as a producer shall have the obligation to enclose that well, together with its surface facilities and storage tanks, by a substantial smooth net wire fence sufficiently high and properly built so as to ordinarily keep persons and animals out of the enclosure, with all gates thereto to be kept locked when the permittee or his or her employees are not within the enclosure. It is provided, however, that in non-congested areas the oil and gas inspector, in his or her discretion, may waive the requirement of any fence or may designate the type of fence to be erected.
(Prior Code, § 12-20)

§ 115.44 VENTING AND FLARING OF GAS.
No person engaged in drilling or operating any well shall permit gas to escape or be vented into the air unless that gas is flared and burned. All gas flared or burned from a torch pipe or any other burning device within the city limits must be done in a manner so as not to constitute a fire hazard to any property; and the location of the torch, pipe, or other burning device, the construction thereof, the maintenance thereof, and the operation thereof shall at all times be in full compliance with those regulations as may from time to time be issued by the oil and gas inspector of the city and approved by the City Council.
(Prior Code, § 12-21) Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 115.45 ABANDONMENT; PLUGGING.
Whenever any well is abandoned it shall be the obligation of the permittee and the operator of the well
to set a 200-foot cement plug in the bottom of the surface casing with the bottom of the plug 100 feet
below the surface casing section, and the top of the plug 100 feet above the surface casing section; and to set a 50-foot cement plug in the top of the surface casing. No surface or conductor string of casing may be pulled or removed from a well. During initial abandonment operations it will be the obligation of the permittee and the operator of the well to flood the well with mud-laden fluid weighing not less than ten pounds per gallon, and the well will be kept filled to the top with this mud-laden fluid at all times; mudladen fluid of the above specifications will be left in the well bore below and between cement plugs. Any additional provision of precautionary measures prescribed by the state or the Railroad Commission of the state in connection with the abandonment and plugging of a well shall be complied with by the permittee.
(Prior Code, § 12-22) Penalty, see § 10.99
Statutory reference:
Abandoned oil and gas wells, see Tex. Nat. Res. Code, §§ 89.001 et seq.

§ 115.46 DISPOSAL OF SALT WATER.
A permittee shall make adequate provisions for the disposal of all salt water or other impurities which
he or she may bring to the surface, that disposal to be made in a manner so as to not contaminate the water supply, present or prospective, or to injure surface vegetation.
(Prior Code, § 12-23)

PERMITS

§ 115.60 PERMIT REQUIRED.
It shall be unlawful for any person acting either for himself or herself or as agent, employee, independent contractor, or servant of any other person to commence to drill, to drill, or to operate any well within the city limits, or to work upon or assist in any way in the prosecution or operation of any such well, without a permit for the drilling and operation of that well having first been issued by the authority of the City Council in accordance with the terms of this chapter.
(Prior Code, § 12-36) Penalty, see § 10.99
Statutory reference:
Operation under permit, see Tex. Nat. Res. Code, § 52.178

§ 115.61 APPLICATION; FILING FEE.
(A) Every application for a permit to drill and operate a well shall be in writing, signed by the applicant or by some person duly authorized to sign same on his or her behalf, and it shall be filed with the City Secretary and be accompanied with a filing fee of $300 in cash. No application shall request a permit to drill and operate but one well.

(B) The application shall include full information, including the following:

(1) The date of the application;

(2) The name of the applicant;

(3) The address of the applicant;

(4) The proposed site of the well, including:

(a) The name of the fee owner;

(b) The name of the lease owner; and

(c) A brief description of the land.

(5) The type of derrick to be used; and

(6) The proposed depth of the well (which shall not be deeper than 12,000 feet).
(Prior Code, § 12-37)

§ 115.62 ISSUANCE; REFUSAL.
(A) The City Council, within 20 days after the filing of the application for a permit to drill and operate a well, shall determine whether or not the application complies in all respects with the provisions of this chapter, and if it does, the City Council shall then fix the amount of the principal of the bond and insurance provided for in § 115.63 herein, and after that determination shall issue a permit for the drilling and operation of the well applied for. Each permit issued under this chapter shall:

(1) By reference have incorporated therein all the provisions of this chapter with the same force and effect as if this chapter were copied verbatim in the permit;

(2) Specify the well location with particularity to lot number, block number, name of addition or subdivision, or other available correct legal description;

(3) Contain and specify that the term of the permit shall be for a period of one year from the date of the permit and as long thereafter as the permittee is engaged in drilling operations with no cessation of operations for more than 90 days, or oil or gas is produced in commercial quantities from the well drilled pursuant to the permit, provided that if at any time after discovery of oil or gas the production thereof in commercial quantities shall cease, the term shall not terminate if the permittee commences additional reworking operation within 90 days thereafter, and if they result in the production of oil or gas, so long thereafter as oil or gas is produced in commercial quantities from the well;

(4) Contain and specify those conditions as are by this chapter authorized;

(5) Specify the total depth to which the well may drilled, not exceeding the projected depth; and

(6) Contain and specify that no actual operations shall be commenced until the permittee shall file and have approved an indemnity bond in the designated principal amount as so determined by the City Council and conditioned as specified in § 115.63 hereof.

(B) The permit, in duplicate originals, shall be signed by the City Secretary, and prior to delivery to the permittee shall be signed by the permittee (with one original to be retained by the city and one by the
permittee); and when so signed shall constitute the permittee’s drilling and operating license and the
contractual obligation of the permittee to comply with the terms of the permit, the bond, and this chapter.

(C) If the permit for the well is refused, of if the applicant notifies the City Council in writing that he or she does not elect to accept the permit as tendered and wishes to withdraw his or her application, of if the bond of the applicant is not approved and the applicant notifies the City Council in writing that he or she wishes to withdraw the application, then upon the happening of those events the cash deposit provided for to be filed with the application shall be returned to the applicant, except that there shall be retained therefrom by the city $100 as a processing fee.
(Prior Code, § 12-38)

§ 115.63 INSURANCE; BOND.
(A) In the event a permit is issued by the City Council under the terms of this chapter for the drilling and operation of a well, no actual drilling operations shall be commenced until the permittee shall file with the City Secretary a bond and a certificate of insurance.

(B) The bond and certificate of insurance shall be as follows.

(1) A bond in the principal sum of that number of dollars as has been so determined by the City Council, but not to be less than $25,000. This bond shall be executed by a reliable insurance company authorized to do business in the state, as surety, and with applicant as principal, running to the city for the benefit of the city and all persons concerned, conditioned that the permittee will comply with the terms and conditions of this chapter in the drilling and operation of the well. This bond shall become effective on or before the date the same is filed with the City Secretary and remain in force and effect for at least a period of six months subsequent to the expiration of the term of the permit issued, and in addition the bond will be conditioned that the permittee will promptly pay off fines, penalties, and other assessments imposed upon permittee by reason of his or her breach of any of the terms, provisions, and conditions of this chapter, and that the permittee will promptly restore the streets and sidewalks and other public property of the city, which may be disturbed or damaged in the operations, to their former condition; and that the permittee will promptly clear all premises of all litter, trash, waste, and other substances used, allowed, or occurring in the drilling or producing operations, and will, after abandonment, grade, level, and restore the property to the same surface condition, as nearly as possible, as existed when operations for the drilling of the well or wells were first commenced; and that the permittee will indemnify and hold the city harmless from any and all liability growing out of or attributable to the granting of that permit.

(a) If at any time the City Council shall deem any permittee’s bond to be insufficient for any reason, it may require the permittee to file a new bond.

(b) If, after completion of a well, the permittee has complied with all of the provisions of this chapter, such as to removing derrick, clearing premises, and the like, he or she may apply to the City Council to have the bond reduced to a sum of not less than $10,000 for the remainder of the time that well produces without reworking. During reworking operations the amount of the bond shall be increased to the original amount.

(2) In addition to the bond required in division (B)(1) of this section, the permittee shall carry a policy or policies of standard comprehensive public liability insurance, including contractual liability covering bodily injuries and property damage, naming the permittee and the city, in an insurance company authorized to do business within the state; the policy or policies in the aggregate shall provide for the following minimum coverages:

(a) Bodily injuries: $100,000 for one person; $300,000 for one accident; and

(b) Property damage: $200,000.

(3) The permittee shall file with the City Secretary certificates of the insurance as above stated, and shall obtain the written approval thereof by the City Secretary, who shall act thereon within ten days from the date of filing. The insurance policy or policies shall not be cancelled without written notice to the City Secretary at least ten days prior to the effective date of that cancellation. In the event the insurance policy or policies are cancelled, the permit granted shall terminate, and the permittee’s rights to operate under that permit shall cease until the permittee files additional insurance as provided herein.

(4) If, after completion of a well, the permittee has complied with all of the provisions of this chapter, such as to removing derrick, clearing premises, and the like, he or she may apply to the City Council to have the insurance policies reduced as follows for the remainder of the time the well produces without reworking. During reworking operations the amount of the insurance policy or policies shall be increased to the original amount:

(a) Bodily injuries: $50,000 for one person; $100,000 for one accident; and

(b) Property damage: $50,000.
(Prior Code, § 12-39)

§ 115.64 DEPTH OF WELL.
It shall be unlawful for any person to drill a well within the city limits to a true vertical depth in excess
of 12,000 feet; and no drilling and operating permit shall be granted for any well to a true vertical depth
in excess of 12,000 feet.
(Prior Code, § 12-40) Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 115.65 DEEPER DRILLING; PERMIT REQUIRED.
(A) Once any well has either been completed as a producer or abandoned as a dry hole, it shall be unlawful for any person to drill that well to a deeper depth than that reached in the prior drilling operations without the permittee as to that well obtaining a supplemental permit after filing a supplemental application with the City Secretary, specifying:

(1) The then condition of the well and the casing therein;

(2) The depth to which it is proposed the well be deepened, not to exceed in any event a total true vertical depth from the surface in excess of 12,000 feet;

(3) The proposed casing program to be used in connection with proposed deepening operations; and

(4) Evidence of adequate current tests showing that the casing strings in the well currently pass the same tests as are in this chapter provided for in case of the drilling of the original well.

(B) In the event the City Council is satisfied that the well may be deepened with the same degree of safety as existed in the original well, a supplemental permit may be issued without an additional filing fee to the permittee, authorizing the deepening and operation of the well to the specified depth as applied for, not exceeding in any event a total true vertical depth from the surface in excess of 12,000 feet. In any deeper drilling or any deeper completion or any deeper production operations, the permittee shall comply with all other provisions contained in this chapter and applicable to the drilling, completion, and operation of a well or wells.
(Prior Code, § 12-41) Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 115.66 TERMINATION OF PERMIT.
When a permit shall have been issued, the same shall terminate and become inoperative without any
action on the part of the city unless within 90 days from the date of actual drilling of the well shall have
commenced. The cessation for a like period of the drilling operations or the cessation of the production
of oil or gas from the well after production shall have commenced shall operate to terminate and cancel
the permit, and the well shall be considered as abandoned for all purposes of this chapter, and it shall be unlawful thereafter for any person to continue the operation or drilling of that well without the issuance of another permit.
(Prior Code, § 12-42) Penalty, see § 10.99

ENFORCEMENT

§ 115.80 OIL AND GAS INSPECTOR.
The City Manager shall appoint an oil and gas inspector. It shall be the duty of the oil and gas inspector to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
(Prior Code, § 12-4)

§ 115.81 VIOLATIONS OF STATE OR FEDERAL LAW.
Any violation of the laws of the state or any rules, regulations, or requirements of any state or federal
regulatory body having jurisdiction in reference to drilling, completing, equipping, operating, producing,
maintaining, or abandoning an oil or gas well or related appurtenances, equipment, or facilities, or in
reference to fire walls, fire protection, blowout protection, safety protection, or convenience of persons or property, shall also be a violation of this chapter and shall be punishable in accordance with the provisions hereof.
(Prior Code, § 12-2) Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 115.82 VIOLATIONS; PERMIT REVOCATION.
No person shall violate any of the provisions of a drilling and operating permit issued pursuant to this
chapter or any condition of the bond filed by the permittee pursuant to this chapter. The violation of each separate provision of this chapter, and of that permit, and of that bond, shall be a separate offense, and each day’s violation of each separate provision thereof shall be considered a separate offense. In addition to the penalties for a violation of this code, the City Council at any regular or special session or meeting may, provided ten days’ notice has been given to the permittee that revocation is to be considered at that meeting, revoke or suspend any permit issued under this chapter and under which drilling or producing operations are being conducted in the event the permittee thereof has violated any provision of that permit, that bond, or this chapter. In the event the permit is revoked, the permittee may make application to the City Council for a reissuance of the permit, and the action of the City Council thereon shall be final.
(Prior Code, § 12-3) Penalty, see § 10.99