Title 20 . Miscellaneous Boards and Commissions

Chapter 25 . Mental Health Trust Authority

Section 990. Definitions

20 AAC 25.990. Definitions

In this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise,

(1) "abandon" means to plug a well in accordance with 20 AAC 25.112 and without the commission's approval of well suspension under 20 AAC 25.110;

(2) "abnormally geo-pressured strata" means subsurface zones where the pore pressure exceeds a gradient of 0.50 psi/ft;

(3) "API" means the American Petroleum Institute;

(4) "API 5K" means an API-defined BOP configuration with a rated working pressure of 5,000 psi and as described in API RP 53, adopted by reference at 20 AAC 25.527(c) ;

(5) "API number" means the number assigned by the commission under 20 AAC 25.040(b) for a well or well branch consistent with the API well numbering convention;

(6) "API RP" means API recommended practices;

(7) "barrel" means 42 U.S. gallons;

(8) "BHA" means bottom-hole assembly;

(9) "BOP" means blowout preventer, which is a casinghead assembly equipped with special gates or rams or other pack-offs that can be closed around the drill pipe, tubing, casing, or tools, and that completely close the top of the casing to control well pressure;

(10) "BOPE" means blowout prevention equipment;

(11) "bottom-hole location" means the subsurface point at the greatest measured penetration of a well or a well branch;

(12) "casing stub" means the remnant of a casing string when the upper portion of the casing has been cut and recovered;

(13) "commission" means the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission;

(14) "complete" means to equip and condition a well as an oil, gas, or service well so that it is capable of producing or injecting fluids; in the case of a well branch in a previously completed well, "complete" means to equip and condition a well branch so that it is capable of contributing to the well's production or injection of fluids;

(15) "completion operation" means work performed in a well after the casing and cementing of the wellbore; "completion operation" includes plugging, perforating, stimulating, testing, and equipping the well to produce or inject fluids;

(16) "conductor casing" means a casing string set before surface casing; depending on well configuration, "conductor casing" can be either the first or second string of casing set in a well and usually supports a diverter system;

(17) "day" means a calendar day;

(18) "development well" means a well drilled to a known productive pool;

(19) "displacement method" means pumping a cement slurry or other material into a well through a drillpipe or other tubular string and recovering displaced fluids on the surface;

(20) "diverter system" means an assembly of nipples, valves, and piping attached to a well's structural or conductor casing for venting a gas kick away from the drill rig;

(21) "downsqueeze method" means pumping a cement slurry or other material into a well through a drillpipe or other tubular string and forcing displaced fluids into a downhole formation;

(22) "drilling fluid" means any fluid used for the purpose of drilling a well;

(23) "drilling operations" means the penetration of ground below the setting depth of structural or conductor casing, using a drilling rig capable of performing the permitted well work, and for purposes other than setting structural or conductor casing; "drilling operations" includes the running of casing, cementing, and other downhole work performed ancillary to formation evaluation, and operations necessary to complete and equip the well so that formation fluids can be safely brought to the surface;

(24) "drilling unit" means an area of a pool;

(A) established by the commission under AS 31.05.100 , either by order or by regulation;

(B) to which no more than one oil or gas well may be drilled; and

(C) from which no more than one oil or gas well may produce;

(25) "exploratory well" means a well drilled to discover or to delineate a pool;

(26) "fluid" means any material or substance that flows or moves, whether in a semi-solid, liquid, sludge, gaseous, or other form or state;

(27) "freshwater" means water that

(A) has a total dissolved solids concentration of less than 10,000 mg/l, and occurs in a stratum not exempted under 20 AAC 25.440; or

(B) occurs in a stratum that serves as a source of drinking water for human consumption;

(28) "function pressure-test" means to actuate a component and demonstrate its ability to effect a pressure seal;

(29) "function-test" means to actuate a component to demonstrate its proper functioning without subjecting it to pressure;

(30) "gas well" means a well that produces predominantly gas at a gas-oil ratio over 100,000 scf/stb, unless on a pool-by-pool basis the commission establishes another ratio;

(31) "gas-oil ratio" means the cubic feet of gas, determined at 60ΓΈ F and 14.65 psia, that are produced per stock tank barrel of oil produced;

(32) "injection" means the subsurface emplacement of fluid for enhanced recovery of oil or gas, disposal of oil field wastes, or underground storage of hydrocarbons;

(33) "intermediate casing" means a casing string run between the surface casing and the production casing or production liner and cemented in place to isolate abnormally geo-pressured strata, lost circulation zones, salt sections, or unstable shale sections;

(34) "junk" means debris lost in a hole; "junk" includes a lost bit, pieces of a bit, milled pieces of pipe, wrenches, or a relatively small object that impedes drilling;

(35) "landowner" has the meaning given in AS 31.05.170 ;

(36) "LEL" means lower explosive limit;

(37) "liner" means a string of casing that does not extend to surface but is

(A) hung inside the previous casing string, or

(B) set and cemented in place within the previous casing string;

(38) "meter curve" means a graph of the meter factor plotted against the flow rate, or of the pulse-per-unit-volume factor plotted against the flow rate, over the operating range of a meter;

(39) "meter factor" means the number obtained by dividing the gross standard volume of liquid passed through a meter, as measured by a prover during proving, by the corresponding meter-indicated volume at standard conditions;

(40) "mg/l" means milligrams per liter;

(41) "mscf" means thousand standard cubic feet;

(42) "mudline datum" means

(A) for a beach location, the plane of mean low water depth extended beneath the well site;

(B) for a location on a shifting natural island, the depth at which a horizontal plane through the toe of the island intersects the wellbore;

(C) for a location on an artificial island, the depth of the mudline as it existed before construction of the island; or

(D) for other offshore locations, the mudline;

(43) "multiple completion" means the completion of a well so as to permit production from more than one pool, with the production from each pool completely segregated;

(44) "offshore" means, in addition to its ordinary meaning, beach, artificial island, and shifting natural island locations;

(45) "oil well" means a well that produces predominantly oil at a gas-oil ratio of 100,000 scf/stb or lower, unless on a pool-by-pool basis the commission establishes another ratio;

(46) "operator" means an owner or a person authorized by an owner who is responsible for drilling, development, production, injection, disposal, storage, abandonment, and location clearance;

(47) "owner" has the meaning given in AS 31.05.170 ;

(48) "pilot gas" means gas routed to a safety flare system to maintain an ignition source;

(49) "ppm" means parts per million;

(50) "pressure-test" means to demonstrate the pressure integrity of a system without actuating its components;

(51) "production casing" means the casing installed from the wellhead to the top of or through the completion interval and cemented in place to seal off production or injection zones and water-bearing formations;

(52) "property" means a legally described tract of land, submerged or otherwise, to which a person has the right to drill, extract, remove, clean, process, and dispose of oil, gas, and associated substances;

(53) "psi" means pounds per square inch;

(54) "psia" means pounds per square inch absolute;

(55) "psi/ft" means pounds per square inch per foot, as a measure of pressure change with depth;

(56) "psig" means pounds per square inch gauge;

(57) "public water system" has the meaning given in 18 AAC 80.1990, as amended as of October 1, 1999, and as amended from time to time; 18 AAC 80.1990 is adopted by reference;

(58) "purge gas" means gas used to maintain forward flow and positive pressure in a safety flare system;

(59) "reservoir" means the same as "pool" in AS 31.05.170 ;

(60) "scf" means standard cubic feet;

(61) "service well" means a well used for injecting water, gas, or other fluids into a reservoir or producing formation in pressure maintenance, enhanced recovery, or storage operations, for disposing of oil field wastes, or for conducting other operations in support of oil or gas production;

(62) "shut in" means to close a well's surface, wellhead, or subsurface valves to halt flow from or into the well, with the completion interval remaining open to the tubing below the closed valves;

(63) "sidetrack operation" means a drilling operation conducted for the purpose of straightening the original hole, bypassing junk, or correcting mechanical difficulties in the original hole;

(64) "standard cubic foot" has the meaning given to "cubic foot" in AS 31.05.170 ;

(65) "stb" means stock tank barrel;

(66) "stock tank barrel" means 42 U.S. gallons, measured at 60ΓΈ F and 14.65 psia;

(67) "stratigraphic test well" means a hole drilled for the sole purpose of gaining structural or stratigraphic information to aid in exploring for oil and gas;

(68) "structural casing" means a short string of large diameter pipe that is set by driving, jetting, or drilling to support unconsolidated shallow sediments, provide hole stability for initial drilling operations, and provide anchorage for a diverter system;

(69) "surface casing" means a string of casing set and cemented in a well to prevent lost circulation while drilling deeper and to protect strata known or reasonably expected to serve as a source of drinking water for human consumption; usually "surface casing" is the first string of casing upon which BOPE is set;

(70) "suspend" means to plug a well in accordance with 20 AAC 25.110 and to reserve the option later to re-enter and

(A) redrill the well; or

(B) complete the well as an oil, gas, or service well;

(71) "tour" means a work shift in the drilling of a well;

(72) "underbalanced drilling" means drilling under conditions where the hydrostatic head of the drilling fluid column is intentionally designed to be lower than the pressure of the formation being drilled;

(73) "well"

(A) means a hole penetrating the earth, usually cased with steel pipe, and

(i) from which oil or gas, or both, is obtained or obtainable; or

(ii) that is made for the purpose of finding or obtaining oil or gas or of supporting oil or gas production; and

(B) includes a well with multiple well branches drilled to different bottom-hole locations;

(74) "well branch" means that portion of a well drilled below the structural or conductor casing to access a given objective in a well with more than one bottom-hole location or whose bottom-hole location is being or has been changed by plugging back and redrilling;

(75) "working day" means a calendar day other than Saturday, Sunday, or a state holiday.

History: Eff. 11/7/99, Register 152; am 1/5/2006, Register 177

Authority: AS 31.05.030

Editor's note: Before 11/7/99, Register 152, the substance of 20 AAC 25.990 was contained in 20 AAC 25.570. The history note for 20 AAC 25.990 does not reflect the history of 20 AAC 25.570.