As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:

“Abandonment of a well” or “cessation of well operations” means the time at which (i) a gas or oil operator has ceased operation of a well and has not properly plugged the well and reclaimed the site as required by this chapter, (ii) a gas or oil operator has allowed the well to become incapable of production or conversion to another well type, or (iii) the Director revokes a permit or forfeits a bond covering a gas or oil operation.

“Associated facility” means any facility utilized for gas or oil operations in the Commonwealth, other than a well or a well site.

“Barrel” means 42 U.S. gallons of liquids, including slurries, at a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Board” means the Virginia Gas and Oil Board.

“Coalbed methane gas” means occluded natural gas produced from coalbeds and rock strata associated with it.

“Coalbed methane gas well” means a well capable of producing coalbed methane gas.

“Coalbed methane gas well operator” means any person who operates or has been designated to operate a coalbed methane gas well.

“Coal claimant” means a person identified as possessing an interest in production royalties when a drilling unit is force-pooled or who asserts or possesses a claim to funds that are held in escrow, for a force-pooled coalbed methane gas well, or in suspense, for a voluntarily pooled coalbed methane gas well, by virtue of owning an interest in the coal estate contained within the drilling unit subject to the pooling order or agreement.

“Coal operator” means any person who operates or has the right to operate a coal mine.

“Coal owner” means any person who owns, leases, mines and produces, or has the right to mine and produce a coal seam.

“Coal seam” means any stratum of coal 20 inches or more in thickness. “Coal seam” includes a stratum of less than 20 inches in thickness if it (i) is being commercially worked or (ii) in the judgment of the Department could foreseeably be commercially worked and will require protection if a well is drilled through it.

“Correlative right” means the right of each gas or oil owner having an interest in a single pool to have a fair and reasonable opportunity to obtain and produce his just and equitable share of production of the gas or oil in such pool or its equivalent without being required to drill unnecessary wells or incur other unnecessary expenses to recover or receive the gas or oil or its equivalent.

“Cubic foot of gas” means the volume of gas contained in one cubic foot of space at a standard pressure base of 14.73 pounds per square foot and a standard temperature base of 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

“DEQ” means the Department of Environmental Quality.

“Disposal well” means any well drilled or converted for the disposal of drilling fluids, produced waters, or other wastes associated with gas or oil operations.

“Drilling unit” means the acreage on which one gas or oil well may be drilled.

“Enhanced recovery” means (i) any activity involving injection of any air, gas, water, or other fluid into the productive strata; (ii) the application of pressure, heat, or other means for the reduction of viscosity of the hydrocarbons; or (iii) the supplying of additional motive force other than normal pumping to increase the production of gas or oil from any well or pool.

“Evidence of a proceeding or agreement” means written evidence that the coal claimant has (i) filed and has pending a judicial or arbitration proceeding against the gas claimant to determine the ownership of the coalbed methane gas and the right to the funds held in escrow or suspense or (ii) reached an agreement with the gas claimant to apportion the funds between them.

“Exploratory well” means any well drilled to (i) find and produce gas or oil in an unproven area, (ii) find a new reservoir in a field previously found to be productive of gas or oil in another reservoir, or (iii) extend the limits of a known gas or oil reservoir.

“Field rules” means rules established by order of the Board that define a pool, drilling units, production allowables, or other requirements for gas or oil operations within an identifiable area.

“First point of sale” means, for oil, the point at which the oil is (i) sold, exchanged, or transferred for value from one person to another person or (ii) when used by the original owner of the oil, transported off the permitted site and delivered to another facility for use by the original owner. “First point of sale” means, for gas, the point at which the gas is (a) sold, exchanged, or transferred for value to any interstate or intrastate pipeline, local distribution company, or person for use by such person or (b) when used by the owner of the gas for a purpose other than the production or transportation of the gas, delivered to a facility for use.

“Gas” or “natural gas” means all natural gas, whether hydrocarbon, nonhydrocarbon, or any combination or mixture thereof, including hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulfide, helium, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, casing head gas, and all other fluids not defined as oil pursuant to this section.

“Gas claimant” means a person who is identified as possessing an interest in production royalties when a drilling unit is forced-pooled or who asserts or possesses a claim to funds that are held in escrow, for a force-pooled coalbed methane gas well, or in suspense, for a voluntarily pooled coalbed methane gas well, by virtue of owning an interest in the gas estate contained within the drilling unit subject to the pooling order or agreement.

“Gas or oil operations” means any (i) activity relating to drilling, redrilling, deepening, stimulating, production, enhanced recovery, converting from one type of a well to another, combining or physically changing to allow the migration of fluid from one formation to another, or plugging or replugging any well; (ii) ground-disturbing activity relating to the development, construction, operation, or abandonment of a gathering pipeline; (iii) development, operation, maintenance, or restoration of any site involved with gas or oil operations; or (iv) work undertaken at a facility used for gas or oil operations. “Gas or oil operations” embraces all of the land or property that is used for or that contributes directly or indirectly to a gas or oil operation, including all roads.

“Gas or oil operator” means any person who operates or has been designated to operate any gas or oil well or gathering pipeline.

“Gas or oil owner” means any person who owns, leases, has an interest in, or has the right to explore for, drill, or operate a gas or oil well as principal or lessee. If the gas is owned separately from the oil, this definition shall apply separately to the gas owner or oil owner.

“Gas title conflicts” means conflicting ownership claims between gas claimants. “Gas title conflicts” does not include conflicting ownership claims between a gas claimant and a coal claimant.

“Gathering pipeline” means a pipeline that is used or intended for use in the transportation of gas or oil from the well to (i) a transmission pipeline regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation or the State Corporation Commission or (ii) an offsite storage, marketing, or other facility where the gas or oil is sold.

“Geophysical operator” means a person who has the right to explore for gas or oil using ground-disturbing geophysical exploration.

“Gob” means the de-stressed zone associated with any full-seam extraction of coal that extends above and below the mined-out coal seam.

“Ground-disturbing” means any changing of land that could result in soil erosion from water or wind and the movement of sediments into state waters, including clearing, grading, excavating, drilling, and transporting and filling of land.

“Ground-disturbing geophysical exploration” or “geophysical operation” means any activity in search of gas or oil that breaks or disturbs the surface of the earth, including road construction or core drilling. The term does not include the conduct of (i) a gravity, magnetic, radiometric, or similar geophysical survey or (ii) a vibroseis or similar seismic survey.

“Injection well” means any well used to inject or otherwise place any substance associated with gas or oil operations into the earth or underground strata for disposal, storage, or enhanced recovery.

“Inspector” means the Virginia Gas and Oil Inspector appointed by the Director pursuant to § 45.2-1604 or such other public officer, employee, or other authority who in an emergency acts instead of, or by law is assigned the duties of, the Virginia Gas and Oil Inspector.

“Log” means the written record progressively describing all strata, water, oil, or gas encountered in drilling, depth and thickness of each bed or seam of coal drilled through, quantity of oil, volume of gas, pressures, rate of fill-up, freshwater-bearing and saltwater-bearing horizons and depths, cavings strata, casing records, and other information usually recorded in the normal procedure of drilling. “Log” includes electrical survey records or electrical survey logs.

“Mine” means an underground or surface excavation or development with or without shafts, slopes, drifts, or tunnels for the extraction of coal, minerals, or nonmetallic materials, commonly designated as mineral resources, and the hoisting or haulage equipment or appliances, if any, for the extraction of the mineral resources. “Mine” includes all of the land or property of the mining plant, including both the surface and subsurface, that is used in or contributes directly or indirectly to the mining, concentration, or handling of the mineral resources, including all roads.

“Mineral” means the same as that term is defined in § 45.2-1200.

“Mineral operator” means any person who operates or has the right to operate a mineral mine.

“Mineral owner” means any person who owns minerals, leases minerals, mines and produces minerals, or has the right to mine and produce minerals and to appropriate such minerals that he produces from it, either for himself or for himself and others.

“Nonparticipating operator” means a gas or oil owner of a tract that is included in a drilling unit who elects to share in the operation of the well on a carried basis by agreeing to have his proportionate share of the costs allocable to his interest charged against his share of production from the well.

“Offsite disturbance” means any soil erosion, water pollution, or escape of gas, oil, or waste from gas, oil, or geophysical operations off a permitted site that results from activity conducted on a permitted site.

“Oil” means natural crude oil or petroleum and other hydrocarbons, regardless of gravity, that are produced at the well in liquid form by ordinary production methods and are not the result of condensation of gas after it leaves the underground reservoir.

“Orphaned well” means any well abandoned prior to July 1, 1950, or for which no records exist concerning its drilling, plugging, or abandonment.

“Participating operator” means a gas or oil owner who elects to (i) bear a share of the risks and costs of drilling, completing, equipping, operating, plugging, and abandoning a well on a drilling unit and (ii) receive a share of production from the well equal to the proportion that the acreage in the drilling unit he owns or holds under lease bears to the total acreage of the drilling unit.

“Permittee” means any gas, oil, or geophysical operator holding a permit for gas, oil, or geophysical operations issued under authority of this chapter.

“Person under a disability” means the same as that term is defined in § 8.01-2.

“Pipeline” means any pipe above or below the ground used or to be used to transport gas or oil.

“Plat” or “map” means a map, drawing, or print showing the location of a well, mine, or quarry, or other information required under this chapter.

“Pool” means an underground accumulation of gas or oil in a single and separate natural reservoir. A pool is characterized by a single natural pressure system so that production of gas or oil from one part of the pool tends to or does affect the reservoir pressure throughout its extent. A pool is bounded by geologic barriers in all directions, such as geologic structural conditions, impermeable strata, or water in the formation, so that it is effectively separated from any other pool that may be present in the same geologic structure. A “coalbed methane pool” means an area that is underlain or appears to be underlain by at least one coalbed capable of producing coalbed methane gas.

“Project area” means the well and any gathering pipeline, associated facility, road, and any other disturbed area, all of which are permitted as part of a gas, oil, or geophysical operation.

“Restoration” means all activity required to return a permitted site to other use after gas, oil, or geophysical operations have ended, as approved in the operations plan for the permitted site.

“Royalty owner” means any owner of gas or oil in place, or owner of gas or oil rights, who is eligible to receive payment based on the production of gas or oil.

“State waters” means all water, on the surface and under the ground, that is wholly or partially within or bordering the Commonwealth or within its jurisdiction and that affects the public welfare.

“Stimulation” means any action taken by a gas or oil operator to increase the inherent productivity of a gas or oil well, including fracturing, shooting, or acidizing, but excluding (i) cleaning out, bailing, or workover operations and (ii) the use of surface-tension reducing agents, emulsion breakers, paraffin solvents, or other agents that affect the gas or oil being produced, as distinguished from the producing formation.

“Storage well” means any well used for the underground storage of gas.

“Surface owner” means any person who is the owner of record of the surface of the land.

“Waste” or “escape of resources” means (i) physical waste, as that term is generally understood in the gas and oil industry; (ii) the inefficient, excessive, or improper use or unnecessary dissipation of reservoir energy; (iii) the inefficient storing of gas or oil; (iv) the locating, drilling, equipping, operating, or producing of any gas or oil well in a manner that causes or tends to cause a reduction in the quantity of gas or oil ultimately recoverable from a pool under prudent and proper operations, or that causes or tends to cause unnecessary or excessive surface loss or destruction of gas or oil; (v) the production of gas or oil in excess of transportation or marketing facilities; (vi) the amount reasonably required to be produced in the proper drilling, completing, or testing of the well from which it is produced, except gas produced from an oil well or condensate well pending the time when with reasonable diligence the gas can be sold or otherwise usefully utilized on terms and conditions that are just and reasonable; or (vii) underground or aboveground waste in the production or storage of gas, oil, or condensate, however caused. “Waste” does not include gas vented from a methane drainage borehole or coalbed methane gas well where necessary for safety reasons or for the efficient testing and operation of a coalbed methane gas well, nor does it include the plugging of a coalbed methane gas well for the recovery of the coal estate.

“Waste from gas, oil, or geophysical operations” means any substance other than gas or oil that is produced or generated during or results from (i) the development, drilling, and completion of any well and associated facility or the development and construction of gathering pipelines or (ii) well, pipeline, and associated facility operations, including brines and produced fluids other than gas or oil. “Waste from gas, oil, or geophysical operations” includes all rubbish and debris, including all material generated during or resulting from well plugging, site restoration, or the removal and abandonment of gathering pipelines and associated facilities.

“Water well” means any well drilled, bored, or dug into the earth for the sole purpose of extracting from it potable, fresh, or usable water for household, domestic, industrial, agricultural, or public use.

“Well” means any shaft or hole sunk, drilled, bored, or dug into the earth or into underground strata for the extraction, injection, or placement of any gaseous or liquid substance or any shaft or hole sunk or used in conjunction with such extraction, injection, or placement. “Well” does not include any shaft or hole sunk, drilled, bored, or dug into the earth for the sole purpose of pumping or extracting from it potable, fresh, or usable water for household, domestic, industrial, agricultural, or public use and does not include any water borehole, methane drainage borehole where the methane is vented or flared rather than produced and saved, subsurface borehole drilled from the mine face of an underground coal mine, any other borehole necessary or convenient for the extraction of coal or drilled pursuant to a uranium exploratory program carried out pursuant to the laws of the Commonwealth, or any coal or non-fuel mineral core hole or borehole drilled for the purpose of exploration.

1982, c. 347, § 45.1-288; 1984, c. 590; 1987, c. 452; 1988, c. 160; 1990, c. 92, § 45.1-361.1; 1992, c. 812; 1993, c. 254; 2015, c. 396; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.