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Alaska Statutes.

Title 31. Oil and Gas

Chapter 5. Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Act

Section 170. Definitions.

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AS 31.05.170. Definitions.

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires

(1) "and" includes "or" and "or" includes "and";

(2) "correlative rights" mean the opportunity afforded, so far as it is practicable to do so, to the owner of each property in a pool to produce without waste the owner's just and equitable share of the oil or gas, or both, in the pool; being an amount, so far as can be practically determined, and so far as can practicably be obtained without waste, substantially in the proportion that the quantity of recoverable oil or gas, or both under the property bears to the total recoverable oil or gas or both in the pool, and for such purposes to use the owner's just and equitable share of the reservoir energy;

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

(4) "cubic foot" of natural gas means the volume of gas contained in one cubic foot of space measured at a pressure base of 14.65 pounds per square inch absolute and a temperature base of 60 degrees Fahrenheit;

(5) "field" means a general area which is underlain or appears to be underlain by at least one pool, and includes the underground reservoir containing oil or gas; and the words "pool" and "field" mean the same thing when only one underground reservoir is involved, but "field" unlike "pool" may relate to two or more pools;

(6) "gas" includes all natural gas and all hydrocarbons produced at the wellhead not defined as oil;

(7) "landowner" means the owner of the subsurface estate of the tract affected;

(8) "nonconventional gas" has the meaning given in AS 38.05.965 ;

(9) "oil" includes crude petroleum oil and other hydrocarbons regardless of gravity which are produced at the wellhead in liquid form and the liquid hydrocarbons known as distillate or condensate recovered or extracted from gas, other than gas produced in association with oil and commonly known as casinghead gas;

(10) "owner" means the person who has the right to drill into and produce from a pool and to appropriate the oil and gas the person produces from a pool for that person and others;

(11) "person" includes a natural person, corporation, association, partnership, receiver, trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, fiduciary or other representative of any kind, and includes a department, agency or instrumentality of the state or a governmental subdivision of the state;

(12) "pool" means an underground reservoir containing, or appearing to contain, a common accumulation of oil or gas; each zone of a general structure which is completely separated from any other zone in the structure is covered by the term "pool";

(13) "producer" means the owner of a well or wells capable of producing oil or gas or both;

(14) "regular production" means continuing production of oil or gas from a well into production facilities and transportation to market, but does not include short term testing, evaluation, or experimental pilot production activities that have been approved by permit or order of the commission;

(15) "waste" means, in addition to its ordinary meaning, "physical waste" and includes

(A) the inefficient, excessive, or improper use of, or unnecessary dissipation of, reservoir energy; and the locating, spacing, drilling, equipping, operating or producing of any oil or gas well in a manner which results or tends to result in reducing the quantity of oil or gas to be recovered from a pool in this state under operations conducted in accordance with good oil field engineering practices;

(B) the inefficient above-ground storage of oil; and the locating, spacing, drilling, equipping, operating or producing of an oil or gas well in a manner causing, or tending to cause, unnecessary or excessive surface loss or destruction of oil or gas;

(C) producing oil or gas in a manner causing unnecessary water channeling or coning;

(D) the operation of an oil well with an inefficient gas-oil ratio;

(E) the drowning with water of a pool or part of a pool capable of producing oil or gas, except insofar as and to the extent authorized by the commission;

(F) underground waste;

(G) the creation of unnecessary fire hazards;

(H) the release, burning, or escape into the open air of gas, from a well producing oil or gas, except to the extent authorized by the commission;

(I) the use of gas for the manufacture of carbon black, except as provided in this chapter;

(J) the drilling of wells unnecessary to carry out the purpose or intent of this chapter.