FORT BERTHOLD OIL AND GAS STATUS REPORT 
Source, BIA Fort Berthold Agency)

NEW - Updated March 10, 2011

(Previously updated in February 2011 and prior to that on December 3, 2010.  Updates are made when reports are provided by the BIA.)
 
New! Updated April 1, 2010

The Fort Berthold Agency has developed "Standards of Operations" for oil and gas development on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.  The Fort Berthold Agency held an Industry meeting in March in Bismarck to review these standards and other regulatory issues.  The FBALMOA did participate in this meeting.

ASSIGNMENTS:  The Fort Berthold Agency has processed approximately 300 new assignments of oil/gas mining leases for this location for various companies.  The BIA has streamlined the process for encoding assignments that will save time in processing assignments into TAAMS. (400 previous update - April 2010).  The FB BIA Agency has completed over 1,550 assignments since 2007. *No changes on 03/10/2011.

SAND & GRAVEL PERMITS:  Although [the Agency has] not recieved any sand & gravel permit applications as of this date, [they] expect workload to increase in this area as companies look for areas to obtain, sand, gravel, scoria, for oil and gas activities.  (No changes from previous update.  This information is no longer provided in the BIA Oil & Gas Status Reports).

RDRS:  [The BIA has] will continue to utilize RDRS pending the conversion to TAAMS. 

PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT (Rights-of- Way (ROWS) and Applications for Permit to Drill (APD)):  As of 03/10/2011
Previous updates 02/02/2011 and 12/03/2010:

Total Number of Permission to Survey Approved:  699 / (683 prev. update)
Total Number of Onsight Inspections Conducted:  436 (420 previous update)
Total Number of ROWS Approved:  163 (152 prevous update) 
Total Number of APD's Received:  363 (342 previous update)
Total Number of APD's Approved:  241 (224 previous update)
Total Number of APD's Pending: 122 (118 previous update)
Number of Wells Currently Drilling:  13 (13 previous update) 
Number of Wells Producing:  103 (99 previous update)
Number of Wells Produced but shut in pending pipeline: 4 (2 previous update) No information provided on this for 12/2010 report.
Number of Wells waiting on Completion or Pipeline:  42 (46 previous)

Since 03/01/2010, 15 Permissions to Survey have been approved, 0 on-site inspections have been conducted, 5 new APD's have been recieved, 21 have been Approved, 7 have been cancelled.  * As of 12/2011 no new information was provided.  As of March 2011 this information is no longer provided in BIA Status Reports. 

The average processing time at the Fort Berthold Agency for ROWS and Associated Documents is less than 5 days.  Delays occur typically due to incomplete or inaccuracies in the applications.   

SEISMIC PERMITS:  The Fort Berthold Agency has approved 3 seismic permits that involved a total of 573 tribal and allotted tracts of land.  An additional seismic permit is currently being pursued.   As of 12/2010 no new information was provided on this.

UNIT & COMMUNITIZATION AGREEMENTS:    

The Fort Berthold Agency has approved 93 communization agreements. 1 new communitization agreement was submitted in February 2011.

*  This Association has written to the North Dakota Industrial Commission to state their official position of opposition against spacing units and larger spacing units on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.  It is the position of the Association that spacing units and larger spacing units are not to the benefit of the Allottee and does not support maximizing their minerals.  Larger Units do not mean "increased" productions on Allottees Lands.

The Fort Berthold Agency has approved the Unit Agreement for Cirque Resources on May 21, 2009, and the unit agreement for Kodiak was approved on July 1, 2009.  Three Wells are being completed in the Kodiak Twin Buttes Unit.  Cirque has commenced drilling its first Spotted Bear Unit well.  

The Fort Berthold Agency has approved 61 Communitization Agreements.  4 New Agreements were submitted in September 2010.  Previous update of April, 2010 - 20 Communitization Agreements (18 previous update).

NEW!  *2/2/2011 - The Fort Berthold Agency has approved 89 communitization agreements.  8 new agreements were submitted in January, 2011.

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PROGRAMMATIC EA:  (11/02/09 information)  The Draft Programmatic EA has been completed and finalization is pending commnets from  Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).  Upon finalization of the Programmatic EA, public meetings will be conducted to notify the public of the purpose of intent of the P-EA.

Pending finalization and implementation of the P-EA, DESCRM will continue to receive and process individual EA's.  Also, planning and development of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will commence immediately upon finalization and implementation of the P-EA.

PIPELINES:  *NEW.  *PLANS FOR ADDITIONAL PIPELINES THROUGHOUT THE RESERVATION ARE IN DISCUSSION.  

The Fort Berthold Allottee Land and Mineral Owners Association, Inc., are in support of the proposal submitted to the BIA by the Saddle Butte Pipeline which offers the individual land owner a Net Profit Interest in the pipeline.  They are the only Pipeline to offer this.   (Source, FBALMOA)  The Saddle Butte Pipeline Co. currently has 1300 right of ways signed by individual land owners.  John Early, President of Saddle Butte Pipeline - stated publicly at a meeting on April 26, 2010 - that Saddle Butte will not support or use Condemnation as a manner of acquiring Rights of Way on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. 

*The FBALMO Association has passed a resolution on 10/20/2009 to support an Allottee Pipeline with the support of the BIA.

The Zenergy-Arrow Midstream Holdings, LLC pipeline gathering system:  The Fort Berthold Agency approved the easement for Phase 1 of this project on April 28, 2009 involving approximately 12.5 miles of pipeline.  Construction was completed on this section of the pipeline and oil and gas are currently flowing through it.  The easement for Phase 1A was approved on January 20, 2010 involving approximately 5 miles of pipeline and the easement for Phase 1b Northern Extension was approved February 27, 2010 involving approximately 6 miles of pipeline.  Construction will begin shortly.  (Source, BIA) 

The Board of Directors of the Fort Berthold Allottee Land and Mineral Owners Inc., did meet with a representative of Arrow Pipeline in January 2010 to propose the same [Net Profit Interest] to the individual land owner.  The Arrow representative declined to discuss the matter. (Source FBALMOA)


ENVIRONMENTAL:  As of 04/01/2010  

Approved Well EA's (FONSI):  104 (63 previous update) 
Number of Wells in Approved EA's (FONSI):  278 (204 previous update)
Approved Non Well EA's (FONSI):  70 (38 previous update) 
Pending Well EA's:  7 (2 previous update)
Number of Wells in Pending Well EA's:  50 (13 previous update)
Approved Cat Exs for wells:  2 (no changes no updates)
This information is no longer being provided in the BIA Oil & Gas Status Report:  12/2010.
 
 

Association Membership is offered to any individual who owns a surface or mineral interest on allottment 
on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
             

             

 
 
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