HB 301 - Oil and Gas Conservation Act Summary

• Restructures the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to consist of the Department of Lands director, one county commissioner from an oil and gas producing county, and three governor-appointed members with specified expertise in oil and gas, geology, and geosciences/engineering.

• Establishes well spacing and drilling location requirements for oil wells (40 acres), vertical gas wells (160 or 640 acres), and horizontal wells (640 acres) with specified setback distances from occupied structures and water sources.

• Creates new royalty owner protections including mandatory minimum royalty of 12.5%, royalty payment deadlines with interest penalties, reporting requirements with detailed check stub information, and private civil remedies for non-payment disputes.

• Requires metering system standards, commingling approval procedures, and comprehensive production reporting by operators, gatherers, processors, and purchasers to the Department of Lands on monthly basis.

• Designates certain oil and gas data as public information (permits, reports, plats) while maintaining confidentiality protections for well logs, seismic data, and geological information for specified periods under defined conditions.