Before any person shall commence operations to rework an abandoned well to an injection well, such person shall file with the board his application to rework, accompanied by a fee of Six Hundred Dollars ($600.00), or some lesser sum as may be fixed by order of the board, payable to the State Oil and Gas Board. If the application complies in all respects with the rules and regulations of the board relating thereto, a permit shall be issued by the supervisor upon approval by the State Oil and Gas Board, after notice and hearing. Any such permit, when issued and the fee paid thereon, shall be good for a period of one (1) year from the date thereof; and in the event drilling has commenced within one (1) year, the permit shall be good for the life of the well commenced, unless during the course of drilling or production the operator is changed.