American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2017 - 119

counties, was switching to something
called a KVA meter, which measures the
amount of current required to deliver a
given amount of power and rewards motor
efficiency.
Observing that oil well motors typically
had power factors below 70 percent, and
given that many pumping unit motors
were oversized, Beren warned that a 20
kw motor today could become a 40 KVA
load, which he estimated could add $100
a month in electricity costs, or almost
$0.01 a kw/hr. "Capacitors can reduce
the power factor, but they are a $400$500 expense, and some will burn out in
less than five years," he added.

Surface Owner Rights
Surface owner rights is another issue
that received a bit of a boost from failed
legislation, although its ultimate disposition
may rest with the KCC's Oil and Gas
Advisory Committee.
Cross advised the KIOGA membership
meeting that House Water and Environment Chairman Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence,
held a hearing on HB 2189, although the
bill didn't advance out of committee.
HB 2189 is a bill that has been introduced each of the past four years. It
would have, among other things, mandated
a 500-foot setback for wells from any
municipally-permitted structure, additional
consultations for drilling within 1,000
feet of an occupied structure, and minimum
10-acre spacing throughout the state
(AOGR, April 2017, pg. 31).
Conservation Director Hoffman told
KIOGA the legislation stemmed from an
application for an exception and clarification in Douglas County, Ks., in which
some homeowners had questioned the
interpretation of Kansas' spacing statutes
that supported 2.5-acre spacing in eastern
Kansas.
He said the KCC ruled 2.5-acre spacing
was appropriate, although it did establish
a 165-foot setback for that particular
lease. Not satisfied, Hoffman continued,
the homeowners appealed to district court,
which said there was not enough evidence
in the record to support the KCC's decision. "So the matter came back before
the commission, and is waiting for final
disposition," Hoffman reported.
In the meantime, he said, Chairman
Sloan wrote the KCC, asking it to investigate property rights issues, including:
* The appropriate setbacks from structures and man-made features;
* Hours of operation for drilling,
road or facility construction and maintenance, and property or wastewater hauling;
* Whether existing notice requirements were sufficient, or should include

information about property owners' rights;
and
* Whether existing regulations adequately protected property owners.
Hoffman said the Conservation Division staff had advised the commissioners
to put the issue before the Oil and Gas
Advisory Committee. "My recommendation is that if any changes are needed,
they should come from that body," he
told KIOGA.
Seismicity, Orphan Wells
Hoffman also reviewed the KCC's response to earthquake activity in the state,
going back to its March 2015 order that
capped saltwater injection volumes at
25,000 barrels a day for any disposal
wells injecting into the Arbuckle formation
throughout Harper and Sumner counties,
and phased down maximum volumes to
8,000 bbl/d for wells within five "areas
of concern" in the two counties.
That order was followed by another
in August 2016 that set a maximum disposal limit of 16,000 bbl/d for wells in
approximately 1,500 sections in Barber,
Harper, Kingman, Sedgwick and Sumner
counties, he recalled.
Most recently, Hoffman said, Conservation Division staff filed a recommendation on March 30 that no additional
changes were necessary at this time.
In the five-county area specified in
the August 2016 order, Hoffman reported,
from March 2015 through February 2017,
injection volumes have declined by 29
percent while the number of recorded
earthquakes has declined 66 percent.
Within the areas of seismic concern specified in the March 2015 order, he added,
injection volumes are down 34 percent
while the number of earthquakes has
dropped 82 percent.
Interestingly, he commented, "We are
starting to see some seismicity outside
those zones. It isn't because there is
large-volume injection going on, but the
seismicity is moving away from these
areas. We really don't know why."
Hoffman said the KCC was working
with the Kansas Geological Survey to
gain a better understanding of Kansas
seismicity. He said the KCC also was
partnering with the Kansas Department
of Health and Environment, which permits
Class I industrial and municipal waste
disposal wells. "It makes sense that we
should work together, because if we have
(Class I and II) large-volume wells disposing into the Arbuckle near each other,
we should take that into consideration,"
he reflected.
In response to a question about whether
injection pressure appeared to affect seismicity, Hoffman replied, "We are not

seeing any relationship to injection pressures," although he allowed that it was
very rare-even for wells permitted for
very large pressures-to be equipped with
pumps larger than 250 psi.
On the issue of the KCC's orphan
well plugging policy, Hoffman said staff
hoped to file in the docket by the end of
April, its responses to comments received
since an informational hearing convened
last November.
"Intervenors then will have a chance
to respond, and at some point-hopefully
in the near future-the commission will
have the opportunity to act," he said. "I
don't have a time frame."
KOLAR
Hoffman also reviewed changes to the
KCC's online automated reporting system,
KOLAR. He said beginning June 1, operators would be required to file changeof-operator (T-1) and surface-owner-notification forms through KOLAR only.
Commenting that T-1 forms are "one
of our most time consuming because if
there is any kind of error, it requires the
form be sent back," Hoffman suggested
that online filings would be more efficient
because the Conservation Division could
notify operators immediately of any problems.
Also-although not as soon as the
Kansas Department of Revenue had
hoped-Hoffman said operators likely
would be required to include KDOR lease
codes on all well inventories beginning
Jan. 1, 2018.
Among the most exciting changes
coming to KOLAR, Hoffman indicated,
is developing an operator management,
or compliance module, which will enable
the KCC to send operators reminders,
and operators will be able to check their
compliance status.
For example, he noted that operators
had 365 days to return temporarily abandoned wells to service, plug them, or request
an extension. He said KOLAR's compliance
module would enable the KCC to alert operators of impending deadlines. Another
example he mentioned is an operator's
schedule of mechanical integrity tests.
"This isn't going to be a reminder and
listing only," Hoffman added. "It will be
interactive. There will be a link for filing
the necessary form, or to e-mail your district office about scheduling an MIT."

Kansas Strong
Since being named executive director
of Kansas Strong in January, Warren
Martin said he had been involved in reevaluating all the organization's programs.
He said Kansas Strong was focused on a
three-pronged education program: students,
JUNE 2017 119

American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2017

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