It is the 13th of the month in north Louisiana and your SONRIS upload kicks back twice before lunch. Condensate volumes for two Haynesville wells got lumped into the oil line, one serial number is off by a digit, and a flare volume was entered without a method. The deadline is 48 hours away and your filer is starting over from the field notebooks.
TL;DR: Louisiana operators file Form DM-1-R monthly with the Office of Conservation (part of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources) through SONRIS, due by the last day of the second month following production. The filing captures oil, gas, condensate, water, disposition, purchaser, and serial number per well. GreaseBook captures the daily gauges, run tickets, meter reads, and flare volumes in the field so the SONRIS upload is an export, not a rebuild. The submission stays with the operator or the designated Louisiana filer. For a map of how Louisiana’s monthly report fits alongside every other state’s filing, see the regulatory reporting pillar.
If you operate wells in the Haynesville, the Austin Chalk, or any of the legacy onshore fields in north or south Louisiana, DM-1-R is part of your monthly rhythm. SONRIS is specific about formats, and a misformatted file kicks back.
What DM-1-R Reports
Each month, Louisiana operators report for every well:
- Oil produced (barrels)
- Gas produced (MCF)
- Condensate produced (barrels, distinct from oil)
- Water produced (barrels)
- Disposition: sold, used on lease, stored, vented, flared
- Purchaser for sold volumes
- Serial number (Louisiana’s well identifier, similar to API but state-specific in format)
- Field and pool codes assigned by the Office of Conservation
Louisiana separates condensate from oil on the filing. If your well produces both (common in the Haynesville and in wet-gas plays), the split has to be accurate. The tax treatment differs.
Who Files and When
The operator of record files DM-1-R. Monthly filings are due by the last day of the second month following production. March production is due by the end of May. Filings go through SONRIS at sonris.com.
Louisiana allows electronic file upload (for operators with many wells) or direct data entry (for smaller operators). Both paths end in SONRIS.
The Field Data That Feeds DM-1-R
DM-1-R is a well-level report. That means the data chain has to produce:
- Daily gauges on every tank battery, tied to the wells feeding that battery.
- Run tickets noting volume, gravity, BS&W, and temperature, tied to the correct serial number.
- Gas meter reads: each producing well, each allocation point.
- Condensate-vs-oil separation: where applicable, measured and tracked separately.
- Lease use, flare, and vent volumes: documented with a method, not estimated.
- Water disposition: hauled to commercial SWD or injected on-lease, each tracked.
Louisiana has been tightening its flaring and venting rules, and the state’s data is cross-referenced with satellite and pipeline-gathering reports. Operators who guess at flare volumes get letters. Louisiana is tightening faster than most peers in the state-filing landscape, so the operators who document methods the first time avoid most of the backlog.
How GreaseBook Supports Louisiana DM-1-R Prep
GreaseBook captures daily gauges, run tickets, meter reads, flare and vent volumes, and water hauler tickets in the field. The data rolls up well-by-well in a format that mirrors what DM-1-R needs: oil, gas, condensate, water, disposition, purchaser, serial number.
GreaseBook does not submit through SONRIS. The operator (or the operator’s designated filer) handles the SONRIS login and the submission. What GreaseBook does is remove the month-end hunt for numbers, so when your filer sits down on the 15th of the second month, the data is already clean and reconciled.
A north Louisiana operator running 18 wells across two parishes put it this way: “My pumpers log the gauge, I see it the same day, and DM-1-R prep is done the first week of the month. The SONRIS submission takes an hour.”
GreaseBook gives Louisiana operators real-time field capture so the monthly SONRIS filing is built on measured numbers, not guesses.
See how GreaseBook works →Common DM-1-R Filing Mistakes
- Condensate mixed with oil. Louisiana separates them on the filing. Lumping condensate in with oil understates the condensate line and creates tax-treatment errors.
- Serial number mismatched to the well. Louisiana uses its own serial format, not just the API. Wrong serial means the filing references the wrong well in the state’s records.
- Flare volumes estimated. The Office of Conservation wants documented methods. “About 10 MCF” does not pass.
- Shut-in wells skipped. A shut-in well on the operator’s books still gets a monthly zero-production line, not a skipped filing.
- SONRIS upload format errors. The state’s template is specific. A misformatted CSV or a missing column kicks the whole file back, and the clock doesn’t stop.
Phrases to Eliminate in Office of Conservation Correspondence
The Office of Conservation treats DM-1-R as a measurement record. When something goes wrong, the words on the reply change the audit path.
| Instead of… | Say… | Why |
|---|---|---|
| “The condensate got mixed in with the oil this month” | “Condensate volume for serial 123456 is separated on the amended DM-1-R, measured at the wellhead separator” | Louisiana taxes condensate and oil differently. Measurement at the separator is the expected record. |
| “We estimated the flare on that Haynesville well” | “Flare volume was calculated using the documented method cited on the filing for the period” | The Office of Conservation tightened flaring rules and cross-checks against satellite data. A cited method passes. |
| “The pumper wrote the wrong serial on the run ticket” | “Run ticket for that pull is re-keyed to the correct Louisiana serial number, with the purchaser statement attached” | Louisiana uses state-specific serial numbers, not just the API. A corrected re-key with purchaser attachment closes the finding. |
| “We missed the DM-1-R deadline” | “DM-1-R was filed 4 business days after the due date and the variance was self-reported on the amended submission” | Self-disclosure carries more weight than silence. Louisiana forgives errors found corrected faster than errors it finds itself. |
Identity Framing: What the Best Louisiana Operators Do
The best Louisiana operators separate condensate at the wellhead, cite the flare method the first time they file, and keep the SONRIS template reconciled to the purchaser statement before the 15th. DM-1-R is a rhythm, not a deadline.
Wrong Fit for This Page
If you are a Haynesville major running a full production accounting platform with built-in SONRIS export, you don’t need help with the data collection side. This page is for the Louisiana independent running 5 to 75 wells, pumpers with phones, and a DM-1-R deadline that arrives every month whether you are ready or not.
FAQ
Can I submit the DM-1R directly from GreaseBook?
No. SONRIS is where Louisiana operators submit. GreaseBook builds the clean monthly per-lease rollup that feeds the form: the filing itself stays with you or your third-party filer.
When is Louisiana Form DM-1-R due?
DM-1-R is due by the last day of the second month following production. March production is due by the end of May.
What is SONRIS?
SONRIS is the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources’ online portal for oil and gas regulatory filings, well permits, and production data. DM-1-R is filed through SONRIS at sonris.com.
Does Louisiana separate condensate from oil on DM-1-R?
Yes. Oil, condensate, and gas are reported on separate lines, each with its own volume, disposition, and purchaser.
What is a Louisiana well serial number?
Louisiana assigns a state-specific serial number to each well, used on DM-1-R and related filings. It is distinct from the federal API number, though both identify the same well.
Related Pages
GreaseBook also automates state production reports in Mississippi, Alabama, Wyoming, and Michigan for operators filing across state lines.
- Oil and gas regulatory production reports: the pillar guide to state and federal monthly production filings.
- Texas RRC Form PR: Texas equivalent for operators active in both states.
- Oklahoma OCC Form 300R: Oklahoma equivalent for ArkLaTex and mid-continent operators.
GreaseBook puts Louisiana operators' daily gauges, run tickets, and inventory math on one screen, so the SONRIS filing runs off numbers that reconciled weeks ago. Because paper run tickets lose barrels that were already paid for.
See how GreaseBook works for Louisiana operators →