[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 13, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-30533]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 13, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. GP94-18-000]

 

State of Louisiana Office of Conservation--Geopressured Brine Gas 
Well Determinations (FERC Nos. JD94-04615, et al.); Order Granting 
Withdrawal Request and Notice of Preliminary Finding

    Before Commissioners: Elizabeth Anne Moler, Chair; Vicky A. 
Bailey, James J. Hoecker, William L. Massey, and Donald F. Santa, 
Jr.

Issued: December 6, 1994.
    On August 2, 1994, in Docket No. GP94-16-000, the Commission 
preliminarily found that five well determinations by the Office of 
Conservation for the State of Louisiana (Louisiana) are not supported 
by substantial evidence.\1\ Louisiana's determinations find that gas 
produced from the five wells qualifies as natural gas produced from 
geopressured brine under section 107(c)(2) of the Natural Gas Policy 
Act of 1978 (NGPA).\2\
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    \1\68 FERC  61,186 (1994).
    \2\The five wells are the Edna Delcambre #1 (JD94-04615), the 
Exxon Fee #13 (JD94-06209), the Exxon Fee #16-Alt (JD94-06208), the 
Exxon Fee #18-Alt (JD94-06207), and the Exxon Fee #24 (JD94-06206).
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    On September 6, 1994, WRT Energy Corporation (WRT), the applicant 
before Louisiana, filed a letter withdrawing its applications for the 
five wells. By letter dated September 9, 1994, the Commission advised 
WRT that the withdrawal nullified the applications and Louisiana's 
determinations and terminated the proceeding in Docket No. GP94-16-000.
    On September 19, 1994, WRT asked the Commission to allow it to 
withdraw its letter filed on September 6, 1994, and, if necessary, to 
reinstate the proceeding in Docket No. GP94-16-000. WRT states that it 
withdrew its applications because it believed that it would not have 
sufficient time to effectively respond to the preliminary finding but 
that after it withdrew its applications, it became aware that staff 
would allow WRT additional time to file comments.
    Subsequently, WRT and Louisiana filed comments urging the 
Commission to reverse the preliminary finding on October 5, 1994. In 
addition, an informal conference was held on October 26, 1994, and WRT, 
Louisiana and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOCC) 
filed comments urging the Commission to find that gas from the five 
wells qualify as geopressured brine gas on November 4, 1994, November 
8, 1994, and November 4, 1994, respectively.
    Pursuant to Sec. 275.202(d) of the regulations, the letter WRT 
filed on September 6, 1994 nullified both the determinations and the 
underlying applications on that date.\3\ However, since WRT states that 
it withdrew the applications due to a misunderstanding and has filed 
additional comments to support the applications, for good cause shown, 
we grant WRT's request to withdraw the letter filed on September 6, 
1994, so as to reinstate its applications and Louisiana's 
determinations as of the date of this order. However, inasmuch as the 
proceeding in Docket No. GP94-16-00 has been terminated, the Commission 
will process the determinations, and underlying applications, in a new 
proceeding and hereby makes a preliminary finding in Docket No. GP94-
18-000, pursuant to the procedures previously set forth in section 
275.202(a) of the regulations, that Louisiana's determinations for the 
five wells are not supported by substantial evidence in the records 
upon which they were made for the reasons stated in our August 2, 1994 
Notice of Preliminary Finding. In addition, the record in Docket No. 
GP94-16-000 is included in new Docket No. GP94-18-000.
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    \3\Order No. 567, issued on July 28, 1994, rescinded the 
Commission's NGPA's regulations, including Section 275 as of that 
date (68 FERC  61,135). The Commission stated, however, that 
rescission of Part 275 is prospective only and that timely filed 
applications for well determination proceedings still pending before 
the Commission will continue to be subject to the requirements of 
Part 275 as that section existed before July 28, 1994.
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    The Commission will issue a final order in Docket No. GP94-18-000 
no later than 120 days from the date hereof. Since the final order will 
consider the comments filed on the August 2, 1994 preliminary finding 
and the comments filed after the informal conference, WRT, Louisiana 
and the IOCC need not file additional comments.

    By the Commission.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-30533 Filed 12-12-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M