Trespass - Road Allowances | Trespass - General

You are allowed to drill through the undisposed Crown rights to get to your leased rights. Logging and taking samples as required by the ERCB is permitted. You can not test, terminate in or produce from the undisposed Crown rights. 

You are allowed to drill through the excepted rights to get to your lease. Logging and taking samples as required by the ERCB is permitted. You can not test, terminate or produce from the excepted rights.

You need to know how the excepted rights are defined in comparison to your leased rights. Trespass can occur by misinterpreting a Deeper Rights Reversion Zone Designation (DRRZD) or a Zone Designation (ZD). Information Letter 98-14 outlines how to interpret a DRRZD versus a ZD.

 

No. If you are producing over expiry, you will be granted continuation to the base of your producing zone. However, a company must be very sure of their circumstances before continuing to work. Such things as a company thinking they have regular spacing, when they actually have reduced spacing, has led a company into trespass. 

The current lease holder is responsible for the trespass. When a company purchases a lease from another company, that purchaser assumes all liability that goes along with the rights. (Buyer beware) 

As soon as you become aware of the trespass and if you are still producing from the undisposed rights you should immediately shut-in the well. You then need to contact the Manager of Well Administration and Undisposed Rights area, Grace Matias
[Phone: 780-422-9395 or Fax: 780-422-0382] to advise of the circumstances. She will request information from you and then determine how you should proceed.

In cases of trespass, you are not allowed to profit from any production and will be required to compensate the department for the production, though in some cases you are allowed to deduct costs. You cannot re-commence production until you obtain the rights legally, usually through the public sales process. All information acquired through trespass must also be made public through the ERCB. The department will also ask you to examine your business practices to ensure that there will not be any re-occurrences.

 

Private sales of rights are used in very restrictive circumstances only. If the undisposed Crown land is less than 50% of the spacing unit, you should contact the department, P&NG Sales [Phone: 780-427-7425 or Fax: 780-422-1123] to discuss a direct purchase. Information Letters 97-14 and 2001-9 will provide you with the information you need regarding direct purchases. 

Trespass means you are obtaining production from rights you do not legally hold. Since you may not profit from this action, you will be required to repay the Crown on any production. By shutting in the well, you are prevented from continuing to profit from an illegal action. You must immediately shut-in the well and you can not start producing again until you have legally obtained the rights. 

Information you have the right to obtain through a P & NG lease or licence provides you with a competitive advantage when you participate at a sale. Information you obtained in trespass provides you with an unfair advantage, as you should not be in possession of the information. In order to maintain the integrity of the sales process all information obtained in trespass must be made public. Any postings will be withdrawn from the sale until we are confident that all information you obtained in trespass has been made public. This is done by forwarding it to the ERCB, along with a letter advising them to make the information public immediately. 

No. The penalty is applied when a trespass is occurred on or after September 1, 2004. 

We are very firm on the 15m. This is the amount allowable, for the purpose of setting logging tools and casing only, under the ERCB’s Guide 56. When a company drills past the 15m, into undisposed rights, it could provide them with an unfair advantage at the land sale. It could also be a safety issue. It is expected that a company know where the base of their rights are and then add 15m. 

The Crown may waive the penalty in exceptional circumstances where our technical staff agree that a company was unable to identify the base of their agreement due to complex geology. A company is always given the opportunity to provide data to substantiate their actions. The department normally requests data such as wells logs (strip/wireline) and daily drilling reports for review. 

No, There is no difference to the department’s processes whether a company self-declares a trespass or whether the department identifies the trespass. However, the Energy Resources Conservation Board does make allowances when a company self-declares. 

All references to overhole are in the Energy Resources Conservation Board's regulations/guides. The ERCB uses the term "Total Depth" (Guides 56 & 59). This is also what the department of Energy refer to as the "measured depth". The total depth, not the true vertical depth is what is used for reporting and what the ERCB looks at. 

A company can test, but must be in accordance with the testing criteria outlined in ERCB Guide 60. The Board considers testing as production. A company would be in contravention of the ERCB's Oil and Gas Conservation Regulation if they produced without common ownership of a spacing unit.

In addition, the department may ask for compensation for the unauthorized taking of production.

 

If a "qualifying" well is drilled pursuant to Section 16 of the Regulation, a company can continue to work on the spacing unit where the qualifying well is located. A company cannot spud any other wells in another spacing unit and must select the spacing unit as one of the five allowable sections for continuation to avoid trespass. 

Yes, BUT only on the spacing unit. A company must be very careful to ensure they know what rights will be continued and know whether they have regular or reduced spacing. 

The recorder should be removed by midnight on expiry unless the well is a "qualifying" well under "Section 16". 

All references to overhole are in the Energy Resources Conservation Board's regulations/guides. The ERCB uses the term "Total Depth" (Guides 56 & 59). This is also what the department of Energy refer to as the "measured depth". The total depth, not the true vertical depth is what is used for reporting and what the ERCB looks at. 

A company is always given the opportunity to provide data to substantiate their actions. The department normally requests data such as wells logs (strip/wireline) and daily drilling reports for review. 

Letter identifying well(s) in Trespass.

• Strip logs
• Wireline logs
• Completion Report, if well tested in over hole
• Flow Test Data, if well tested in over hole
• Directional Survey, if it is a directional or horizontal well
• Drilling Prognosis as prepared for well site geologist
• Geologist’s morning report
• Daily Drilling Reports
• Any other pertinent information that may be useful