Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 27 > Chapter 4 > Article 1 - Production and Conservation

• Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• 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.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• 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
• 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
• 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.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• 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.
• developed unit: means a drainage unit having a completed well capable of producing oil or gas in paying quantities. See Arizona Laws 27-501
• 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
• 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
• 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.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Process: means a citation, writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• 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
• Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Registered mail: includes certified mail. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• 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).
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Waste: includes :

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

• 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
• Writing: includes printing. See Arizona Laws 1-215