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ERCB – Alberta's Royalty Framework (ARF) Project  

Acid Gas Content Change Request Process

Process for Requesting a Change in Acid Gas Content

This communication is to inform industry of how to submit a request for change to the acid gas content (AGC) of well events maintained by the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB).

The ERCB has completed the first phase of its AGC systems implementation that supports the publication of AGC data from the ERCB to the Petroleum Registry of Alberta (PRA) in support of Alberta’s Royalty Framework. This initial release of AGC values is for single well non-commingled gas pools only and will be followed by future releases as outlined in the ERCB's AGC Project Implementation Schedule.  Once the AGC solution is completed in its entirety, AGC will be published to the PRA on a periodic basis.

Operators/licensees may submit a request to the ERCB to change the AGC value of well events where a value is published at the PRA. When submitting such a request, the requester should be aware of the following:

• Prior to the completion of the AGC solution (scheduled for fall of 2009), requests will be processed only for wells that have an AGC value published at the PRA.
• Well test data submissions are to be completed in accordance with requirements described in Directive 040.  AGC of a well is determined from good quality gas analysis tests submitted to the ERCB through the Well Test Capture System.  Gas analysis tests not submitted through this process will not be considered when investigating a change request.
• Until a regular publication schedule is implemented (fall 2009) the publication of AGC data to the PRA will occur on an as available basis.
• The AGC value of a well (where applicable) will be based on the AGC value of the pool(s) to which it belongs. When requesting a change in a multi-well pool, the requester should notify other operators within the pool.
• If a request results in an AGC change for a pool that contains multiple wells, only the requester will be responded to. However, operators of wells in the same pool will have the opportunity to view the changed value on the PRA as it becomes available.
  

Submitting a Change Request

A request for a change to a published AGC value should be sent by e-mail to the ERCB’s Customer Contact Centre at Inquiries@ercb.ca, with the subject line Acid Gas Content Change Request.
The submission must include the following information:

• Well event unique identifier (UWI)
• Well license number
• Field, Pool code and name
• Description of the change, including
  • the requested AGC value for the well event
  • the current AGC value for the well event
  • reason for change request
• Contact name, title, and company, as well as
  • phone number
  • e-mail address
    

Additionally, one or more of the following may be submitted to support the validity of a change request:

• The Tracking ID (Well Test Submission Identifier) of a relevant gas analysis test(s) that has already been submitted to the ERCB’s Well Test Data Capture Digital Submission System.  If the Tracking ID is not available, provide key information that could be used to uniquely identify the tests (eg. unique well identifier, sample date, test interval, etc.)
• AGC information for other wells in the subject pool

Inquiries related to Alberta’s Royalty Framework (ARF) policies and rules must be directed to the Alberta Department of Energy. See the DOE Web site http://www.energy.gov.ab.ca.

Processing Details
The ERCB will handle change requests in the order in which they are received.  Once the request has been reviewed and investigated, the ERCB will issue a response indicating whether the request has been approved. If the request is denied, a reason will be given.

The status of a submitted request will not be posted by the ERCB. However, the requester may inquire about the progress of a request by sending an e-mail to Inquiries@ercb.ca with the same subject line: Acid Gas Content Change Request.

The e-mail should contain details of the change request being inquired about in order for the ERCB to determine the current status of the request.

If a request results in AGC value changes for a pool that contains multiple wells, only the requester will be responded to. However, operators/licensees of wells in the same pool will have the opportunity to view the changed value on the PRA as it becomes available.

Further requests to reexamine or reassess a decision on a request for change should be accompanied with new or previously unavailable supporting information.