As used in this chapter:

Terms Used In North Dakota Code 57-51-01

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • 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.
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • population: means the number of inhabitants as determined by the last preceding state or federal census. See North Dakota Code 1-01-47
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • year: means twelve consecutive months. See North Dakota Code 1-01-33

1.    “Barrel of oil” means forty-two United States gallons of two hundred thirty-one cubic inches per gallon computed at a temperature of sixty degrees Fahrenheit [158.99 liters computed at a temperature of 15.56 degrees Celsius].

2.    “Commissioner” means the state tax commissioner.

3.    “Field” means the geographic area underlaid by one or more pools, as defined by the industrial commission.

4.    “Gas” means natural gas and casinghead gas.

5.    “Hub city” means a city with a population of twelve thousand five hundred or more, according to the last official decennial federal census, which is located in a county that has oil and gas gross production tax or oil extraction tax revenue collections attributed to it, as reported by the tax commissioner in certifications made to the state treasurer, in any three consecutive months during the twenty-four month period preceding September first of the most recent odd-numbered year.

6.    “Hub city school district” means the school district with the highest student enrollment within the city limits of a hub city.

7.    “Oil” means petroleum, crude oil, mineral oil, and casinghead gasoline.

8. “Person” includes partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, fiduciary, trustee, and any combination of individuals.

9.    “Posted price” means the price specified in publicly available posted price bulletins or other public notices, net of any adjustments for quality and location.

10.    “Shallow gas” means gas produced from a gas well completed in or producing from a shallow gas zone, as certified to the tax commissioner by the industrial commission.

11.    “Shallow gas zone” means a strata or formation, including lignite or coal strata or seam, located above the depth of five thousand feet [1524 meters] below the surface, or located more than five thousand feet [1524 meters] below the surface but above the top of the Rierdon formation, from which gas is or may be produced.

12.    “Transportation costs” means the costs incurred for transporting oil established in accordance with the first applicable of the following methods:

a.    Actual costs incurred under the arm’s-length contract between the producer and the transporter of oil.

b.    An applicable common carrier rate established and filed with the North Dakota public service commission, or the appropriate federal jurisdictional agency.

c.    When no common carrier rate would be applicable, the transportation costs are those reasonable costs associated with the actual operating and maintenance expenses, overhead costs directly attributable and allocable to the operation and maintenance, and either depreciation and a return on undepreciated capital investment, or a cost equal to a return on the investment in the transportation system, as determined by the commissioner.