As used in Groups 3000 and 3100 of this title, the term:

(a) Gas means any fluid, either combustible or noncombustible, which is produced in a natural state from the earth and which maintains a gaseous or rarefied state at ordinary temperatures and pressure conditions.

(b) Oil means all nongaseous hydrocarbon substances other than those substances leasable as coal, oil shale or gilsonite (including all vein-type solid hydrocarbons).

(c) Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.

(d) Director means the Director of the Bureau of Land Management.

(e) Authorized officer means any employee of the Bureau of Land Management authorized to perform the duties described in Group 3000 and 3100.

(f) Proper BLM office means the Bureau of Land Management office having jurisdiction over the lands subject to the regulations in Groups 3000 and 3100, except that all oil and gas lease offers, and assignments or transfers for lands in Alaska shall be filed in the Alaska State Office, Anchorage, Alaska.

(See §1821-2-1 of this title for office location and area of jurisdiction of Bureau of Land Management offices.)

(g) Public domain lands means lands, including mineral estates, which never left the ownership of the United States, lands which were obtained by the United States in exchange for public domain lands, lands which have reverted to the ownership of the United States through the operation of the public land laws and other lands specifically identified by the Congress as part of the public domain.

(h) Acquired lands means lands which the United States obtained by deed through purchase or gift, or through condemnation proceedings, including lands previously disposed of under the public land laws including the mining laws.

(i) Anniversary date means the same day and month in succeeding years as that on which the lease became effective.

(j) Act means the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended and supplemented (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).

(k) Party in interest means a party who is or will be vested with any interest under the lease as defined in paragraph (l) of this section. No one is a sole party in interest with respect to an application, offer, competitive bid or lease in which any other party has an interest;

(l) Interest means ownership in a lease or prospective lease of all or a portion of the record title, working interest, operating rights, overriding royalty, payments out of production, carried interests, net profit share or similar instrument for participation in the benefit derived from a lease. An interest may be created by direct or indirect ownership, including options. Interest does not mean stock ownership, stockholding or stock control in an application, offer, competitive bid or lease, except for purposes of acreage limitations in §3101.2 of this title and qualifications of lessees in subpart 3102 of this title.

(m) Surface managing agency means any Federal agency outside of the Department of the Interior with jurisdiction over the surface overlying federally-owned minerals.

(n) Service means the Minerals Management Service.

(o) Bureau means the Bureau of Land Management.

[48 FR 33659, July 22, 1983, as amended at 49 FR 2113, Jan. 18, 1984; 53 FR 17351, May 16, 1988; 53 FR 22835, June 17, 1988]