Utah Oil & Gas Home

Welcome...

The state of Utah is ranked 11th in the country in crude oil production and 9th in natural gas gross production (Energy Information Administration; rankings based on 2011 oil production and 2011 natural gas production, not including Federal Offshore production areas). There are approximately 11,000 wells currently in production within the state.

The Oil and Gas Program of the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (part of the Department of Natural Resources) was established in 1955 to prevent the waste of oil and natural gas, encourage conservation and protect correlative rights of oil and natural gas owners.

Our Mission today is to promote the exploration, development and conservation of oil and natural gas resources in Utah, to foster a fair economic return to the general public for such resources, and to maintain sound regulatory practices to ensure environmentally acceptable activities.

News and Announcements...

    NOTICE TO OPERATORS (5/1/2013) - New
    Incident Report eForm – Amendments Now Allowed      
    Operators using the division's "Incident Report" web form to report spills, blowouts, fires, and other undesirable events, may now amend existing reports previously entered into the system. Original reports should be amended when corrections are needed, rather than creating new reports for the same event. This will allow for more accurate tracking of such events.

    NOTICE TO OPERATORS (4/24/2013) - New
    New Option for Submitting Well Completion Reports Now Available      
    Utah oil and gas operators can now submit their Well Completion Reports (Form 8) and associated attachments by uploading a single pdf copy through the division's ePermit system (a "Completion Report" button is located on the Main Menu). This option replaces the need for submitting paper copies of this report. Hard copies of all required well logs must still be mailed to the division at this time.
    NOTE: Prior to filing reports electronically, companies must first submit an ePermit registration form.

    NOTICE TO OPERATORS (1/24/2013) - 
    New Surface Owner Protection Act Rules Effective January 23, 2013      
    As a result of S.B. 77 passed by the 2012 Legislature, the Board of Oil, Gas and Mining approved Rule R649-3-38, Surface Owner Protection Act, effective January 23, 2013. The key focus of S.B. 77 and the new rule is to surface land that is defined as privately owned land overlying privately owned oil and gas resources, upon which oil and gas operations are conducted. The rule can be reviewed by clicking here.

    NOTICE TO OPERATORS (10/29/2012) - 
    New Hydraulic Fracturing Rule Effective November 1, 2012      
    The Utah Board of Oil, Gas and Mining has approved a hydraulic fracturing rule which has an effective date of November 1, 2012. Rule R649-3-39 requires all operators to report the amount and type of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations to the national registry website, "FracFocus", within 60 days of the work being performed. The rule can be reviewed by clicking here. To read Associate Director John Roger's Notice to Operators, click here.

    NOTICE TO WELL OPERATORS & DISPOSAL FACILITIES (10/29/2012) -
    Proper Disposal of Drilling Mud and Cuttings     
    All drilling mud and other by-products from the drilling process that are normally present in the reserve pit after drilling should remain and be mitigated in place. The practice of hauling reserve pit materials to off-site disposal facilities is not acceptable. Click here to learn more.

    NOTICE TO OPERATORS (5/21/2012) - 
    FracFocus Webinar Training is Now Available
    The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission and Ground Water Protection Council have announced that a webinar is now available for companies that would like to participate in the FracFocus hydraulic fracturing chemical registry. This 15-minute training offers companies a way to quickly train their personnel in the use of the FracFocus disclosure system. It can be accessed by navigating to the FracFocus website located at http://fracfocus.org or by clicking here.

    HYDRAULIC FRACTURING - What Is It? (2/8/2012) 
    There are a lot of stories in the media these days about hydraulic fracturing - a method used for nearly 65 years to increase production in oil and natural gas wells. Here are a few websites that will help you learn more about this process:
    - FracFocus (Ground Water Protection Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission)
    - Energy in Depth (Independent Petroleum Association of America)
    - Hydraulic Fracturing (American Petroleum Institute)

    Office Hours
    The Division of Oil, Gas and Mining is open Monday thru Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Contact us if you have questions.