Data And Geographic Information On Oil, Gas And Other Wells In New York State

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The following resources are available for public access to information and data regarding oil, gas and other well types in New York State:

The Division of Mineral Resources' maintains Downloadable Well Data which is updated nightly and includes a comma-separated values (.csv) data file, an online Oil and Gas Searchable Database, and an online mapping application. The Searchable Database provides information on well types, locations and depths, permitting and drilling history, ownership, and annual production, as well as information regarding well operators, drillers, pluggers, and those companies that offer financial security services.

Another source for oil and gas data is the Division's Annual Reports on New York's Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources. The Annual Reports include information and statistics such as the number of oil & gas permits and completions, production and market data including leading producing companies and counties, state leasing, revenues and financial security. The Division's technical and informational presentations on New York's oil, gas and solution mining activities and related geology may also be of interest as many of the reports contain information on historical operations.

Open New York

The Division of Mineral Resources publishes four datasets to the Open New York Data project regarding oil and gas. One of the datasets titled "Oil, Gas and Other Regulated Wells: Beginning 1860" is updated daily and includes the same data fields as the downloadable well data provided directly from this website. Open Data provides additional tools to export the data in a variety of file formats and allows users to create custom visualizations. Dataset that contain geographic coordinates are also presented as maps.

The Division of Mineral Resources publishes two data sets annually. These include "Abandoned Wells" and "Oil and Gas Annual Production: Beginning 2001." The Division of Mineral Resources has also published two historic oil and gas production datasets that are not updated: "Oil and Gas Summary Production Data: 1967-1999" and "Oil and Gas Annual Production: 1985-2000."

Geographic Information on New York's Wells

Mineral Resources On-Line Maps

The Division of Mineral Resources updates the data layer of the Mineral Resources Navigator daily with locations of more than 40,000 wells from the Division's database. The Mineral Resources Navigator is a utility to locate oil, gas and other regulated well types. The Navigator also includes reference layers, such as tax parcels, geographic boundaries, and state-owned lands. To become familiar with this system, the user should review the Environmental Navigator Help Page and the specific information for our application. Return users can navigate directly to the Environmental Navigator for Minerals.

Displaying Well Location Data in GoogleTM earth

The locations of wells from the online searchable database can be easily displayed and organized using basic functionality of GoogleTM earth. Users who require a geographical display of location data for wells selected from the database may do so through the use of the 'Export KML' button located at the top and bottom of set of results. The resultant file is a native GoogleTMearth file (a .kml file) and can be opened either by double clicking on the file or opening the GoogleTMearth program and navigating to where the file is stored, executing it from there.

KML files can be manipulated and edited with GoogleTMearth for displaying your specific location data. Keyhole Markup Language or KML is an XML notation for expressing geographic annotation and visualization within internet-based, two-dimensional maps and three-dimensional Earth browsers. KML was developed for use with GoogleTMearth; however, KML files can also be manipulated in other GIS software.

Instructions:

  1. Structure your query and obtain the results, check that your query is representative of the wells you would like to display. Note: Your query should be structured so that the resultant data set is no larger than 2000 records. The application is configured to only display a maximum of 2000 points.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the results and click on 'Export KML'. This will initiate a download of the .kml file to your computer.
  3. Locate the file and double click it or open GoogleTMearth and navigate to the file.
  4. The hyperlinks contained in the output can be opened and will display in a new browser window.

This method of displaying geographical information is simple, effective and requires little to no experience with more advanced GIS software. Please contact [email protected] with any questions or assistance with obtaining data.

DECinfo Locator

The DECInfo Locator is another interactive map utility that presents oil, gas, and other regulated well types as part of a much larger number of data layers. DECinfo Locator provides basic information on Mineral Resource locations, however, the application provides links to the Searchable Database for more detailed data.

Empire State Organized Geologic Information System

Empire State Organized Geologic Information System (ESOGIS), is another searchable online database of information pertaining to the Oil & Gas wells of New York State (NYS). It provides the public with access to well-specific information including well locations, production graphs, and digital well logs. The public can also obtain other well-related records via ESOGIS, including raster logs, smart well logs, and other electronic files (consisting of completion reports, permits, well plats, etc.) at per datum pricing. ESOGIS also has collection of cores from over 400 wells across the state which are available for sampling and viewing upon request. Some of the core images are available in the ESOGIS Virtual Core Library as well. For more information regarding the data available through ESOGIS, please contact the ESOGIS Database Manager at the NYS Museum at (518) 473-9988 or [email protected].

The ESOGIS website also contains several oil and gas-related research publications authored by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). In particular, its 2007 publication "New York's Natural Gas and Oil Resource Endowment: Past, Present and Potential," offers an overview of oil and gas potential in New York.

New York Geological Survey

Another source of information about New York's mineral resources is the New York State Geological Survey (NYSGS) at the State Museum in Albany, where many geological records and maps are on file, along with the world's oldest and largest collection of New York rocks and minerals, and an extensive list of geological publications. Many NYSGS and other geological publications and maps may be obtained through the State Museum.

Freedom of Information Law

Well information that is not available through the Department's website may be requested by submitting a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to the Department. Records responsive to any such request will then be made available for review at a DEC office, or available for photocopying at a charge of 25 cents per page. Please visit the FOIL webpage for further details regarding such requests.

Well Data Confidentiality

Basis for Holding Drilling Data Confidential

Certain data filed with the Division of Mineral Resources are held confidential according to Section 23-0313 of the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Law and Section 87-2 of the New York State Public Officers Law. Division policies and procedures for handling confidential records subject to these laws and the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) are detailed in Technical Guidance Memorandum 90-3.

Public Disclosure Standards for Drilling Data

Never exempted from public disclosure:

  • permit applications
  • information on the total depth of wells
  • well plugging records

Automatically held confidential for six months:

  • annual oil and gas production reports (confidentiality ends July 1 following the calendar year to which the reports apply)

Held confidential for six months with possible extension to two years:

  • well logs and samples
  • well drilling and completion reports
  • directional surveys

ECL Section 23-0313 and Technical Guidance Memorandum 90-3 describe the procedures for requesting a two year extension.

May be defined as trade secrets eligible for continuous confidential status:

  • detailed analysis, opinion, interpretation or evaluation of factual data, such as a reservoir study or analysis
  • records, reports or studies of a formation or geologic phenomenon, or some other significant topic

Technical Guidance Memorandum 90-3 describes the guidelines for requesting "trade secret" status.

Never publicly disclosed without operator's consent:

  • brine production reported by individual solution mining operators

Data from Mineral Resources

The Division of Mineral Resources is legislatively mandated to regulate the extractive mineral industries. These industries break into two basic programs: the mining and the oil and gas programs. The Division collects and maintains in its computer systems extensive data on the regulation of these industries. The Division supplies this information to the public, regulated industries and other governmental agencies through its website. The following statement is the Division's disclaimer on the data we provide:

Disclaimer on data provided by the NYSDEC Division of Mineral Resources:

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is not responsible and shall not be liable to the user for damages of any kind arising out of the use of data or information provided by NYSDEC, including the installation of the data or information, its use, or the results obtained from its use. Any data or information provided by the NYSDEC is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The authorized use of this data is limited to informational and educational purposes only, and NOT for operational or commercial purposes. This data is provided "as is" and in no event shall the State of New York, its Agencies or Representatives be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from lost data or lost profits or revenue, the costs of recovering such data, the costs of substitute data, claims by third parties or for other similar costs, or any special, incidental, punitive or consequential damages, arising out of the use of the data. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and the State of New York, its Agencies and Representatives disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use the data. Data or information provided by the NYSDEC shall be used and relied upon only at the user's sole risk, and the user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the NYSDEC, its officials, officers and employees from any liability arising out of the use of the data/information provided.

 

 
 
Contact for this Page

DMN, Bureau of Oil and Gas Regulation
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233

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