As used in this subpart, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) Act means the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 (90 Stat. 303, 42 U.S.C. 6501, et seq.).

(b) Authorized officer means any employee of the Bureau of Land Management who has been delegated the authority to perform the duties of this subpart.

(c) Exploration means activities conducted on the Reserve for the purpose of evaluating petroleum resources which include crude oil, gases of all kinds (natural gas, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, helium, and any others), natural gasoline, and related hydrocarbons (tar sands, asphalt, propane butane, etc.), oil shale and the products of such resources.

(d) Reserve means those lands within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (prior to June 1, 1977, designated Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4) which was established by Executive order of the President, dated February 27, 1923, except for tract Numbered 1 as described in Public Land Order 2344 (the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory—surface estate only) dated April 24, 1961.

(e) Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.

(f) Special areas means areas within the reserve identified by the Secretary of the Interior as having significant subsistence, recreational, fish and wildlife, or historical or scenic value and, therefore, warranting maximum protection of such values to the extent consistent with the requirements of the Act for the exploration of the Reserve.

(g) Use authorization means a written approval of a request for use of land or resources.