Gas and Oil e-Forms System Troubleshooting Guide
This guide is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of issues that may be encountered when using the E-forms and Gas and Oil Information Systems. Descriptions of and potential solutions to the most common internet browser settings and usage issues are listed below.
If you still have questions or problems, please contact the Gas and Oil e-Forms Center.
In order for the Virginia Gas and Oil Information and E-Forms Systems to function optimally, https://www.energy.virginia.gov should be added to your browser's list of trusted sites (found in Internet Explorer under "Tools">"Internet Options">"Security">"Trusted Sites").
This may eliminate problems viewing parts of the system or downloading files.
Sections of the Virginia Gas and Oil E-Forms System use pop-up windows; therefore, pop-ups should not be blocked for the E-Forms system website. To avoid
issues with viewing pop-up windows, add https://www.energy.virginia.gov to the list of sites from which pop-ups are allowed in both Internet Explorer
(found under "Tools">"Pop-up Blocker">"Pop-up Blocker Settings") and Google's pop-up blockers.
Some areas of the Virginia Gas and Oil Information and E-Forms Systems provide the opportunity to download files in several formats. To take advantage of these available
files, downloads and download prompting should be enabled once you have added the Information and E-Forms Systems to your Trusted Sites.
In Internet Explorer, these settings are found under "Tools">"Internet Options">"Security">"Trusted Sites">"Custom Level." Additionally, users should ensure
that they have software installed that is capable of viewing the file format downloaded. Where appropriate, Virginia Gas and Oil has recommended internet locations where
freeware versions of software can be obtained to view certain downloads. Information is typically available in Adobe PDF and MS Excel formats from the Information System.
Downloads may be available in several different electronic formats from the E-Forms system as operators are able to upload submissions in numerous formats.
Much of the information available on the Virginia Gas and Oil Information and E-Forms Systems can be viewed directly in an internet browser if the correct plug-in has been installed.
For example, many of the reports and database information available from the systems can be retrieved in Adobe PDF format. The Adobe Reader and plug-in software can be
obtained from Adobe's website
Several selection forms within the Virginia Gas and Oil Information System include a "Filter File Numbers" entry box and button. This tool can be used to quickly limit the file number
box on the selection form to display only files matching a specific character string. This tool will accept and filter the data to be retrieved based on either an existing
Operation Name or Virginia Gas and Oil File Number or parts thereof. Once the character string is entered and the "Filter File Numbers" button is clicked, the "File Number" box will display
only the file names matching or containing the entered character string. At this point, a selection(s) should be made from the remaining file numbers in the "File Number" box and
the "Selection" button should be clicked to retrieve the data.
On some selection forms within the Virginia Gas and Oil Information System, selection criteria box choices may be dependent upon earlier selections made on the same form (e.g. The "Monthly Gas
Production by Well" form allows a time period selection of only three years. Once a "Beginning" year is selected, the "Ending" year selection box will be reduced to contain only the
next three consecutive years.) It may take a few moments for dependent selection boxes to refresh selection choices. During this time, the user should not attempt to refresh the page
as all selections made will be lost.
All geophysical logs maintained by Virginia Gas and Oil through approximately the year 2006 are available on the Virginia Gas and Oil Information System. For various reasons such as changes in regulatory
requirements, geophysical logs are not available for all gas and oil wells in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As confidentiality regulations and government resources allow, geophysical logs
will be continually added to the system and made available online. Logs are currently available as .tif images, some of which are large files (up to 250Mb). Currently, geophysical logs
can only be downloaded one-at-a-time.
An electronic image viewer capable of opening .tif files of very long vertical dimensions is required to view these files. Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, which is often the default .tif
viewer on computers running a Windows operating system, is typically not acceptable for viewing geophysical logs. IrfanView is a freeware image viewer capable
of viewing geophysical log images in .tif format. Installing IrfanView software will not cause .tif images to open directly in an internet browser; however, .tif images can be downloaded and then opened
with IrfanView.
Additional data is being added to the Virginia Gas and Oil Information and E-Forms Systems daily. If data for known operations cannot be found on the system, it may not yet be available online. Users may choose
to contact the
Virginia Department of Energy
Gas & Oil
3405 Mountain Empire Road
Big Stone Gap, VA 24219
276-415-9700 (phone)
For additional information. Data retrieved from the Virginia Gas and Oil Information System is subject to the disclaimer provided on the system's Main Menu.