§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.