The American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL) anticipates the release of the newest Operating Agreement format specifically related to horizontal drilling. Beginning in 1956 the AAPL has promulgated a standard format Operating Agreement for use onshore in the oil and gas industry, with revision in 1977, 1982 and 1989. Also the AAPL has developed standard Operating Agreement for use offshore.
As horizontal drilling has become more and more the norm, many parties simply began incorporating revisions into Article XVI of the 1989 Form 610 JOA, to address horizontal specific issues that were never contemplated by the 1989 format. The new A.A.P.L. No. 610- 1989 (Horz.) Operating Agreement will be released in the near future, and we will provide a comparison on this blog to identify the new definitions and provisions that are horizontal well specific.
