Oil and Gas Program
The Oil and Gas
377, Florida Statutes and Rules
62C-25 through 30, Florida Administrative Code) is the permitting authority within
the the Department's Mining and Minerals Regulation Program. Companies interested in exploration or
production of hydrocarbons in Florida are regulated by the Oil and Gas
Program. Primary responsibilities of the Program include conservation of oil
and gas resources, correlative rights protection, maintenance of health and
human safety, and environmental protection. These concerns are addressed
through a system of permits and field inspections to insure compliance.
Key activities include permitting geophysical operations, (usually seismic
prospecting), and drilling or operating wells (all separate permits), and
tracking activities through use of a computer database. All permitted
activities are inspected by Oil and Gas staff. Two field offices
facilitate these inspections. The offices are located near Florida's
productive oil fields in northwest (Jay) and south (Ft. Myers) Florida.
Decisions regarding non-routine well spacing, production allowables, field
unitization, and sensitive environments often lead to controversy since they
invariably affect sensitive issues such as correlative rights or the
environment. It is crucial that these decisions be technically and
scientifically well-founded. Therefore, expert input from petroleum
engineers, petroleum geologists, and various scientific disciplines from
other governmental agencies are included in the permitting process.