Injury to formations bearing oil or gas or to oil or gas wells caused by the subsurface migration of any substance as a result of secondary recovery operations for oil or gas conducted in accordance with good oilfield practices shall not be grounds for enjoining the secondary recovery operations if an undertaking is given for the payment of any compensable damages to which the owners of interests in the formations or wells may be entitled resulting from the injury. Any benefit to the injured property from the secondary recovery operation shall be considered in mitigation of damages for the injury.
§ 731c.Secondary Recovery Operations Causing Injury to Oil Or Gas Formations Or Wells
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 2. Actions for Nuisance, Waste, and Willful Trespass, in Certain Cases, on Real Property · Last amended 1982 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 731c protects secondary oil and gas recovery operations conducted under good oilfield practices from injunctions over subsurface migration injuries, so long as an undertaking guarantees compensable damages to affected well or formation owners, with any benefit the operation confers on the injured property offset against those damages.
Full Text of § 731c
Plain-English Summary
Secondary recovery techniques for extracting oil and gas can cause substances to migrate underground in ways that injure neighboring formations or wells. Section 731c keeps that risk from automatically halting the operation through an injunction, so long as the operation follows good oilfield practices and an undertaking is posted to guarantee payment of whatever compensable damages the affected owners can prove.
The statute also builds in an offset: if the secondary recovery operation benefits the injured property in some way, that benefit gets weighed against the damages owed, rather than ignored.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a court enjoin a secondary oil recovery operation because it's injuring a neighboring well?
Not if the operation follows good oilfield practices and an undertaking is given to cover compensable damages to the owners of the injured formations or wells — § 731c bars an injunction on that basis alone.
What is the undertaking supposed to guarantee?
Payment of any compensable damages the owners of the affected formations or wells are entitled to as a result of the injury.
Does the injured property owner get full damages regardless of any benefit from the operation?
No. Any benefit the secondary recovery operation confers on the injured property is considered in mitigation of the damages owed.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 517, Sec. 154.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: secondary recovery oil gas injunction californiaoilfield subsurface migration damages