Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 106 Part 4.djvu/252

 106 STAT. 2988 PUBLIC LAW 102-486—OCT. 24, 1992 filed by any entity claiming a coalbed methane ownership interest within a proposed spacing unit. Upon receipt and approval of an application, the Secretary of the Interior shall issue an order establishing the boundaries of the coalbed methane spacing unit. Spacing umts shall generally be miiform in size. (g) DEVELOPMENT UNDER POOLING ARRANGEMENT.—Following issuance of an order establishin^ a spacing unit under subsection (f), and pursuant to an application for pooling filed by the entity claiming a coalbed methane ownership interest and proposing to drill a coalbed methane gas well, the Secretary of the Interior shall hold a hearing to consider the application for pooling and shall, if the criteria of this section are met, issue an order allowing the proposed pooling of acreage within the designated spacing imit for purposes of drilling and production of coalbed methane from the spacing unit. The poolii^ order shall not be issued before notice or a reasonable and mligent effort to provide notice has been made to each entity which may claim an ownership interest in the coalbed methane gas within such spacing unit and each such entity has been offered an opportunity to appear before the Secretary of the Interior at the hearing. Upon issuance of a pooling order, each owner or claimant of an ownership interest shall be allowedtomake one of the following elections: (1) An election to sell or lease its coalbed methane ownership interest to the unit operator at a rate determined by the Secretary of the Interior as set forth in the pooUn^ order. (2) An election to become a participating working mterest owner by bearing a share of the risks and costs of drilling, completing, equipping, gathering, operating (including all disposed coste), ping^g and abandoning the well, and receiving a share of production from the well. (3) An election to share in the operation of the well as a nonparticipating working interest owner by relinquishing its working interest to participating working interest owners until the proceeds allocable to its share e^ual 300 percent of the share of such costs allocable to its interest. Thereafter, the nonparticipating working interest owner shall become a participating working interest owner. The pooling order shall designate a unit operator who shall be authorized to drill and operate the spacing unit. The pooUng order shall provide that any entity claiming an ownership interest in the coalbed methane within such spacing unit which does not make an election under the pooHng order snail be deemed to have leased its coalbed methane interest to the unit operator under such terms and conditions as the pooling order may provide. No pooling order may be issued under this paragraph for any spacing imit if all entities claiming an ownersmp interest in the coalbed methane in the spacing unit have entered into a voluntary agreement providing for the drilling and operation of the coalbed methane gas well for the spacing unit. (h) ESCROW ACCOUNT.— <1) Each pooling order issued under subsection (g) shall provide for the establishment of an escrow account into which the payment of costs and proceeds attributeble to the conflicting interests shall be deposited and held for the interest of the claimante as follows: (A) Each participating working interest owner, except for the unit operator, shall deposit in the escrow account ite proportionate share of the costs allocable to the ownership interest

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