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Bulletin 2008-42

November 19, 2008

Process for Requesting a Change in Pool Oil Density

The purpose of this bulletin is to inform industry of how to submit a request for change to the pool oil density value maintained by the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB).
The ERCB has completed an information systems implementation that supports the transfer of oil density values from the ERCB to the Petroleum Registry of Alberta (PRA). This implementation enables the Department of Energy (DOE) to access all oil density values on the PRA for the calculation of royalties; however, operators will continue to be able to view only nonconfidential data.

Operators may submit a request to the ERCB to change the oil density values of pools posted on the PRA. When submitting such a request, operators should be aware of the following:

• Changes in density values will only be considered at the producing pool level.
• If the request is for a multiwell pool, other operators of the pool should be consulted.
• Approved requests may take up to 6 weeks to reach the PRA system, as oil density values are transferred to the PRA on a monthly basis.
• A change request may also be submitted for wells within an undefined pool that have been on production for over 12 months and have produced less than 50 cubic metres and for which no density value is shown on the PRA.

Submitting a Change Request
A request for change to a pool oil density value should be sent by e-mail to the ERCB’s Customer Contact Centre at Inquiries@ercb.ca, with the subject line Oil Density Value Change Request.
The submission must include the following information:

• pool ID/name
• field ID/name
• description of the change, including the proposed oil density value for the pool
• contact name, title, and organization, as well as
  - phone number
  - e-mail address
  - unique well identifier(s)
  - licence number

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

• density submitted on a Form 0-38 application
• oil analysis data for other wells in the subject or offsetting pools
• production and gas-oil ratio data for wells in the pool
• pressure volume temperature (PVT) analysis for wells in the pool

Inquiries related to the New Royalty Framework (NRF) 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. Under normal circumstances, a request that has reached the front of the request queue will be processed within 10 business days, assuming there are no deficiencies.

Once the request has been reviewed, 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: Oil Density Value Change Request.

The e-mail should contain a reference to the change request being inquired about.

If a request results in a density value 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.

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

<original signed by>

Cal Hill
Executive Manager
Resources Branch