§7. Orders fixing allowable productions; hearing to determine initial schedules; old fields,
hearing unnecessary, summary hearing
A. An order fixing allowable production of oil or gas or making changes therein
for any month or other period shall be issued by the commissioner on or before the
twenty-third day of the month preceding the month for which the order is to be effective
and it shall be promulgated by immediate publication in the official journal of the state.
B.(1) In the case of old fields or pools for which schedules of allowables had been
previously issued, it shall not be necessary for the commissioner to have a hearing prior to
the issuance of any subsequent order fixing or changing the schedule of allowables unless
there is a written request for a hearing by an interested person. This provision permitting
the issuance of a schedule of allowables for old fields without a hearing is an exception to
the general rule requiring notice and hearing prior to the issuance of an order by the
commissioner.
(2) In the event a schedule of allowables is promulgated without previous notice
and hearing, an aggrieved producer of oil or gas may file with the commissioner at his
office within seventy-two hours from the publication of the order, a sworn written
statement, giving in detail the grounds of his complaint. Thereupon, the commissioner
shall hold a hearing within forty-eight hours. At this hearing, oral or documentary
evidence may be received by the commissioner in favor of and against the complaint.
After the hearing, the commissioner shall summarily render a decision. If his decision is
not made on or before the effective date of the order complained of, that order shall be
suspended until a decision is rendered. During this period, the former order shall remain
in force. This provision permitting a summary hearing shall be restricted to cases
involving a complaint made against a schedule of allowables under the circumstances set
forth in this Paragraph.