(a) The owner, lessee, agent, employee, or other person in charge of any oil and gas well within the State shall forward to the Board, in the manner and form prescribed by the rules of the Board, a report showing the character of the well, method of operation, and total production for the preceding calendar year. Such reports shall be held confidential.

(b) The Board may conduct investigations it considers necessary to verify compliance with this section. The operator shall grant the Board, its employees, and agents permission to enter upon the site for this purpose.

(c) Statistical bulletins based on these reports shall be compiled by the Board to show, for the State as a whole, and separately for each town, the totals of oil and gas produced, provided that, in order not to disclose the production of any one operator, no production figure shall be published that represents the production of less than three operators. If necessary to maintain confidentiality, production figures for two or more towns shall be combined. (Added 1981, No. 240 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 28, 1982.)