Indiana oil and gas laws can be found in Article 37, Title 14 of Burns Indiana Statutes.  Pursuant to Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 14-37-2-2, the commission may delegate any or all of the commission’s powers and duties under this statute to the director, deputy director, director of the division of oil and gas, or other employee of the department.

Duties of the Commission

The Duties of the commission include:

• Requiring an owner or operator to file written reports showing the location of wells for oil and gas purposes[i].
• Identifying the ownership and location of wells for oil and gas purposes, including the use of surveys and plats[ii].
• Regulating the spacing of wells for oil and gas purposes[iii].
• Making and filing of the following[iv]:

1. Well logs.
2. Completion information.
3. Directional surveys.
4. Reports on well locations and drilling.

• Regulating the drilling, casing, operating, plugging, and abandoning of wells and any related fluid storage[v].
• Establishing standards and testing for wells for oil and gas purposes placed on temporary abandonment[vi].
• Regulating the stimulation and treatment of wells[vii].
• Adopting rules to implement this statute[viii].
• Regulating the following[ix]:

1. Drilling.
2. Testing.
3. Equipping.
4. Completing.
5. Producing.
6. All other operations for the production of oil or gas.

Permits

A person may not drill, deepen, operate, or convert a well for oil and gas purposes without a permit issued by the department[x].  A person must submit along with an application for a permit, a bond and a permit fee[xi].

Civil Actions

The commission may bring a civil action in the name of the state of Indiana through the attorney general, in a circuit or superior court having jurisdiction in any county in which land involved is located or in which a person resides, to restrain the person from commencing or continuing to violate any of the following[xii]:

• This statute.
• A rule adopted under this statute.
• An order of the commission.

Penalties

Pursuant to Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 14-37-13-3, the commission may assess against a person who violates this statute or a rule adopted, a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each day the violation occurs.

[i] Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 14-37-3-1.

[ii] Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 14-37-3-2.

[iii] Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 14-37-3-3.

[iv] Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 14-37-3-4.

[v] Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 14-37-3-5.

[vi] Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 14-37-3-6.

[vii] Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 14-37-3-8.

[viii] Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 14-37-3-15.

[ix] Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 14-37-3-7.

[x] Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 14-37-4-1.

[xi] Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 14-37-4-6.

[xii] Burns Ind. Code Ann. § 14-37-13-5.