The North Dakota Senate gave its unanimous approval this week to a bill that creates a new category of non-producing oil well that gives industry producers time to develop technology to produce more oil from the well.

HB 1272, introduced by Watford City Rep. Jeremy Olson, passed the Senate 45-0 and is headed to the governor for his signature. Currently, wells are placed in abandoned status if they have not produced oil or natural gas in paying quantities for one year. A well in abandoned status must be either returned to production or plugged and reclaimed within six months. Olson said his bill allows regulators to create an in-between category to give technology time to develop.

Click here to listen to Olson's comments.

North Dakota Petroleum Council President Ron Ness said the bill makes a minor change, but it's incredibly important to the oil industry, which he said has already lost wells that could have produced more oil. 

Click here to listen to Ness' comments.

The legislation will allow a surface owner to request a review of the enhanced oil recovery potential status of a well that has been placed on EOR status for 12 years or more, which would initiate a hearing by the ND Industrial Commission. After the initial hearing, surface owners would be able to request a review of the EOR status every two years.

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