- A. Unless the drilling and operating permit provides for controlled directional drilling or estimated natural deviation, a well may not vary more than 3 degrees from the vertical.
- B. If a permittee needs to deviate more than 3 degrees from the vertical, the permittee shall notify the Department. Deviations larger than 3 degrees from vertical may be permitted by the Department in order to straighten the hole, sidetrack impenetrables, or to correct other mechanical difficulties, if correlative rights are not in dispute.
- C. The Department may require the deviation to be less than 3 degrees to protect correlative rights.
- D. The Department shall have the right to require the permittee to run a complete angular deviation and directional survey by a company knowledgeable about downhole surveys in directionally drilled wells at the permittee's sole cost and risk.
- E. If an angular deviation and directional survey verifies violations of the approved well location or spacing requirements, the Department may require the well to be redrilled or plugged and abandoned.
Authority: Environment Article, §14-103, Annotated Code of Maryland
Effective date: November 25, 1991 (18:23 Md. R. 2487)
Regulation .01B amended effective February 15, 1993 (20:3 Md. R. 258)
Regulation .06E and F amended effective February 15, 1993 (20:3 Md. R. 258)
Regulation .09K amended effective February 15, 1993 (20:3 Md. R. 258)
Regulation .10 amended effective February 15, 1993 (20:3 Md. R. 258)
Regulation .11A—C amended effective February 15, 1993 (20:3 Md. R. 258)
Regulation .12 amended effective February 15, 1993 (20:3 Md. R. 258)
Regulation .14A amended effective February 15, 1993 (20:3 Md. R. 258)
Chapter recodified from COMAR 08.10.01 to COMAR 26.19.01, June 1996