§ 113-389. Definitions.
§ 113‑389. Definitions.
Unless the context otherwise requires, the words defined in thissection shall have the following meaning when found in this law:
(1) "Department" shall mean the "Department ofEnvironment and Natural Resources," as created by this law.
(2) "Field" shall mean the general area which isunderlaid or appears to be underlaid by at least one pool; and"field" shall include the underground reservoir or reservoirscontaining crude petroleum oil or natural gas, or both. The words"field" and "pool" mean the same thing when only oneunderground reservoir is involved; "field," unlike "pool,"may relate to two or more pools.
(3) "Gas" shall mean all natural gas, including casing‑headgas, and all other hydrocarbons not defined as oil in subdivision (7).
(4) "Illegal gas" shall mean gas which has beenproduced within the State of North Carolina from any well during any time thatwell has produced in excess of the amount allowed by any rule, regulation ororder of the Department, as distinguished from gas produced within the State ofNorth Carolina from a well not producing in excess of the amount so allowed,which is "legal gas."
(5) "Illegal oil" shall mean oil which has beenproduced within the State of North Carolina from any well during any time thatthat well has produced in excess of the amount allowed by rule, regulation ororder of the Department, as distinguished from oil produced within the State ofNorth Carolina from a well not producing in excess of the amount so allowed,which is "legal oil."
(6) "Illegal product" shall mean any product of oil orgas, any part of which was processed or derived, in whole or in part, fromillegal oil or illegal gas or from any product thereof, as distinguished from"legal product," which is a product processed or derived to no extentfrom illegal oil or illegal gas.
(7) "Oil" shall mean crude petroleum oil, and otherhydrocarbons, regardless of gravity, which are produced at the well in liquidform by ordinary production methods, and which are not the result ofcondensation of gas after it leaves the reservoir.
(8) "Owner" shall mean the person who has the right todrill into and to produce from any pool, and to appropriate the productioneither for himself or for himself and others.
(9) "Person" shall mean any natural person,corporation, association, partnership, receiver, trustee, guardian, executor,administrator, fiduciary or representative of any kind.
(10) "Pool" shall mean an underground reservoircontaining a common accumulation of crude petroleum oil or natural gas or both.Each zone of a general structure which is completely separated from the otherzone in the structure is covered by the term "pool" as used herein.
(11) "Producer" shall mean the owner of a well or wellscapable of producing oil or gas, or both.
(12) "Product" means any commodity made from oil or gasand shall include refined crude oil, crude tops, topped crude, processed crudepetroleum, residue from crude petroleum, cracking stock, uncracked fuel oil,fuel oil, treated crude oil, residuum, gas oil, casing‑head gasoline,natural gas gasoline, naphtha, distillate, gasoline, kerosene, benzine, washoil, waste oil, blended gasoline, lubricating oil, blends or mixtures of oilwith one or more liquid products or by‑products derived from oil or gas,and blends or mixtures of two or more liquid products or by‑productsderived from oil or gas, whether hereinabove enumerated or not.
(13) "Tender" shall mean a permit or certificate ofclearance for the transportation of oil, gas or products, approved and issuedor registered under the authority of the Department.
(14) "Waste" in addition to its ordinary meaning, shallmean "physical waste" as that term is generally understood in the oiland gas industry. It shall include:
a. The inefficient, excessive or improper use or dissipation ofreservoir energy; and the locating, spacing, drilling, equipping, operating orproducing of any oil or gas well or wells in a manner which results, or tendsto result, in reducing inefficiently the quantity of oil or gas ultimately tobe recovered from any pool in this State.
b. The inefficient storing of oil, and the locating, spacing,drilling, equipping, operating or producing of any oil or gas well or wells ina manner causing, or tending to cause, unnecessary or excessive surface loss ordestruction of oil or gas.
c. Abuse of the correlative rights and opportunities of eachowner of oil and gas in a common reservoir due to nonuniform, disproportionate,and unratable withdrawals causing undue drainage between tracts of land.
d. Producing oil or gas in such manner as to cause unnecessarywater channelling or coning.
e. The operation of any oil well or wells with an inefficientgas‑oil ratio.
f. The drowning with water of any stratum or part thereofcapable of producing oil or gas.
g. Underground waste however caused and whether or not defined.
h. The creation of unnecessary fire hazards.
i. The escape into the open air, from a well producing bothoil and gas, of gas in excess of the amount which is necessary in the efficientdrilling or operation of the well.
j. Permitting gas produced from a gas well to escape into theair. (1945, c. 702, s. 9; 1973,c. 1262, s. 86; 1977, c. 771, s. 4; 1989, c. 727, s. 218(59); 1997‑443,s. 11A.119(a).)