Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 27 > Chapter 4 - Oil and Gas

• Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arizona refinery business: means a firm which markets in this state the product refined from royalty oil purchased under this article and which either owns and controls an oil refinery located within this state or is an Arizona corporation which owns an oil refinery in the United States located within one hundred miles of this state. See Arizona Laws 27-551
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Casinghead gas: means any gas or vapor indigenous to an oil stratum and produced from such stratum with oil. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Certificate of clearance: means a permit approved and issued or registered by the commission for transportation or delivery of oil, gas or oil and gas products. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Certificate of compliance: means a certificate issued by the commission prior to connection of an oil or gas well with a pipeline, showing compliance with the conservation laws of this state and conservation rules and orders of the commission. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Commission: means the oil and gas conservation commission. See Arizona Laws 27-651
• commissioner: means the oil and gas conservation commission. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Completed well: means a well that meets any of the following conditions:

  (a) Has produced or is ready to produce new formation hydrocarbons or gases. See Arizona Laws 27-501

• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Court reporter: A person who makes a word-for-word record of what is said in court and produces a transcript of the proceedings upon request.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Delinquent act: means an act by a juvenile that if committed by an adult would be a criminal offense or a petty offense, a violation of any law of this state, or of another state if the act occurred in that state, or a law of the United States, or a violation of any law that can only be violated by a minor and that has been designated as a delinquent offense, or any ordinance of a city, county or political subdivision of this state defining crime. See Arizona Laws 8-201
• Department: means the state land department. See Arizona Laws 27-551
• Department: means the state land department. See Arizona Laws 27-651
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Detention: means the temporary confinement of a juvenile who requires secure care in a physically restricting facility that is completely surrounded by a locked and physically secure barrier with restricted ingress and egress for the protection of the juvenile or the community pending court disposition or as a condition of probation. See Arizona Laws 8-201
• developed unit: means a drainage unit having a completed well capable of producing oil or gas in paying quantities. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• drilling unit: means the maximum area in a pool which may be drained efficiently by one well to produce the reasonable maximum amount of recoverable oil or gas in the area. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Environment: means the sum total of all the external conditions which may act upon an organism or community, to influence its development or existence. See Arizona Laws 27-651
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Field: means the general area which is or appears to be underlaid by not less than one pool, including underground reservoirs containing oil or gas, or both. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Fund: means the state general fund. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Gas: means natural gas, casinghead gas, all other hydrocarbons not defined as oil, carbon dioxide and helium or other substances of a gaseous nature. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Geothermal area: means the same general surface area which is underlain or reasonably appears to be underlain by one or more formations containing geothermal resources. See Arizona Laws 27-651
• Geothermal resources: means :

  (a) All products of geothermal processes embracing indigenous steam, hot water and hot brines. See Arizona Laws 27-651

• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Illegal product: means any product derived, in whole or in part, from illegal oil or gas. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Juvenile court: means the juvenile division of the superior court when exercising its jurisdiction over children in any proceeding relating to delinquency, dependency or incorrigibility. See Arizona Laws 8-201
• Lease: means an oil and gas lease issued, extended or amended pursuant to the provisions of this article. See Arizona Laws 27-551
• Lease: means a geothermal resources development lease issued for state lands pursuant to the provisions of this article. See Arizona Laws 27-651
• Lessee: means the holder of an oil and gas lease issued pursuant to this article and includes any assignee of an original lessee. See Arizona Laws 27-551
• Lessee: means the holder of a lease or any assignee of an original lease or part thereof. See Arizona Laws 27-651
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Month: means a calendar month unless otherwise expressed. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Natural gas: means any combustible gas or vapor composed chiefly of hydrocarbons occurring in gaseous or vapor phase at initial reservoir conditions. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• neglected: means :

  (a) The inability or unwillingness of a parent, guardian or custodian of a child to provide that child with supervision, food, clothing, shelter or medical care if that inability or unwillingness causes substantial risk of harm to the child's health or welfare, except if the inability of a parent, guardian or custodian to provide services to meet the needs of a child with a disability or chronic illness is solely the result of the unavailability of reasonable services. See Arizona Laws 8-201

• Net drainage: means drainage not equalized by counterdrainage. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oil: means crude petroleum oil and all other hydrocarbons, regardless of gravity, which are produced at a well in liquid form by ordinary production methods and which are not the result of condensation of gas. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• oil or gas: includes oil, gas, other hydrocarbon substances, and helium or other substances of a gaseous nature. See Arizona Laws 27-551
• Operator: means any person drilling, maintaining, operating, pumping or in control of any well, and includes the owner, when any well is or has been or is about to be operated or under the direction of the owner. See Arizona Laws 27-651
• Owner: means the person having the right to drill into, produce and appropriate production of oil or gas, or both, from a pool. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Owner: means and includes the operator when any well is operated or has been operated or is about to be operated by any person other than the owner. See Arizona Laws 27-651
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: includes a corporation, association, partnership, receiver, trustee, guardian, executor, administrator, fiduciary or representative or any group acting as a unit and includes any department, agency or instrumentality of the state or any of its governmental subdivisions. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Person: means and includes any individual, firm, association, corporation or any other group or combination acting as a unit. See Arizona Laws 27-651
• Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action and evidences of debt. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Petition: means a written statement of the essential facts that allege delinquency, incorrigibility or dependency. See Arizona Laws 8-201
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Pool: means an underground reservoir containing a common accumulation of oil or gas, or both, and includes each zone of a general structure completely separated from any other zone in the structure. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Produced: includes the words "procured and produced". See Arizona Laws 27-551
• Producer: means the owner of a well capable of producing oil or gas. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Product: means oil, gas or any product, by-product, mixture or blend of oil or gas. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Refinery charge stocks: means crude oil, liquid petroleum or gas condensate and blends of such products and all other products charged or chargeable to petroleum refinery facilities. See Arizona Laws 27-551
• Registered mail: includes certified mail. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Reworking operations: means work performed at any depth on a well after its initial completion in an effort to secure production where there has been none, or to restore production that has ceased or to increase production. See Arizona Laws 27-551
• Royalty oil: means crude oil, liquid petroleum products or gas condensates from wells or lease plants or a mixture of such products. See Arizona Laws 27-551
• Royalty owner: means a person who possesses an interest in the production but who is not an owner. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• State lands: means any land or any interest therein owned or held in trust or otherwise by the state, including but not limited to leased school or university lands. See Arizona Laws 27-551
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Surface lessee: means the holder of a lease on the surface of any state land for grazing, agricultural, commercial or homesite purposes. See Arizona Laws 27-551
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Testify: includes every manner of oral statement under oath or affirmation. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Waste: includes :

  (a) Physical waste, as that term is generally understood in the oil and gas industry. See Arizona Laws 27-501

• Waste: means any physical waste including, but not limited to, underground waste resulting from the inefficient, excessive or improper use or dissipation of reservoir energy or resulting from the location, spacing, drilling, equipping, operation or production of a geothermal resources well in such a manner that reduces or tends to reduce the ultimate economic recovery of the geothermal resources within a reservoir, and surface waste resulting from the inefficient storage or utilization of geothermal resources and the location, spacing, drilling, equipping, operation or production of a geothermal resources well in such a manner that causes or tends to cause the unnecessary or excessive surface loss or destruction of geothermal resources obtained or released from the reservoir. See Arizona Laws 27-651
• Well: includes any hole drilled or spudded in for the purpose, with the intention or under the representation of penetrating oil or gas bearing strata or of penetrating any strata in search of stratigraphic data pertinent to the location of oil or gas bearing strata, whether or not in either case oil or gas is actually discovered, any hole used in connection with the underground storage of hydrocarbon substances, whether liquid or gaseous, any hole used in connection with a process to inject any substance for purposes of disposal or to increase recovery, any hole used for the purpose of secondary or tertiary recovery and any hole used for the purpose of pressure maintenance. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• Well: means any well drilled in search of geothermal resources or any development well on lands in areas proved to be underlain by one or more formations containing geothermal resources or reasonably presumed to contain geothermal resources or any well drilled for information purposes, or any producing well or reentered abandoned well used for the injection of fluids into the geothermal formation or disposition of fluids into nongeothermal formations, or any well drilled for the purpose of stimulating the heat of a formation or for the creation of heat in a formation by nuclear or any other form of energy. See Arizona Laws 27-651