As used in this subpart—

Actual drilling means operations you conduct that are similar to those that a person seriously looking for oil or gas could be expected to conduct in that particular area, given the existing knowledge of geologic and other pertinent facts about the area to be drilled. The term includes the testing, completing, or equipping of the drill hole (casing, tubing, packers, pumps, etc.) so that it is capable of producing oil or gas. Actual drilling operations do not include preparatory or preliminary work such as grading roads and well sites, or moving equipment onto the lease.

Actual production means oil or gas flowing from the wellbore into treatment or sales facilities.

Actual reworking operations means reasonably continuous well-bore operations such as fracturing, acidizing, and tubing repair.

Committed tract means—

(1) A Federal lease where all record title holders and all operating rights owners have agreed to the terms and conditions of a unit agreement, committed their interest to the unit; or

(2) A State lease or private parcel of land where all oil and gas lessees and all operating rights owners or the owners of unleased minerals have agreed to the terms and conditions of a unit agreement.

Constructive drilling means those activities that are necessary to prepare for actual drilling that occur after BLM approves an application to drill, but before you actually drill the well. These include, but are not limited to, activities such as road and well pad construction, and drilling rig and equipment set-up.

Constructive reworking operations means activities that are necessary to prepare for well-bore operations. These may include rig and equipment set-up and pit construction.

Continuing development obligations means a program of development or operations you conduct that, after you complete initial obligations defined in a unit agreement—

(1) Meets or exceeds the rate of non-unit operations in the vicinity of the unit; and

(2) Represents an investment proportionate to the size of the area covered by the unit agreement.

Drainage means the migration of hydrocarbons, inert gases (other than helium), or associated resources caused by production from other wells.

NPR-A lease means any oil and gas lease within the boundaries of the NPR-A, issued and administered by the United States under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976, as amended (42 U.S.C. 6501-6508), that authorizes exploration for and removal of oil and gas.

Operating rights (working interest) means any interest you hold that allows you to explore for, develop, and produce oil and gas.

Participating area means those committed tracts or portions of those committed tracts within the unit area that are proven to be productive by a well meeting the productivity criteria specified in the unit agreement.

Primary target means the principal geologic formation that you intend to develop and produce.

Producible interval means any pool, deposit, zone, or portion thereof capable of producing oil or gas.

Record title means legal ownership of an oil and gas lease recorded in BLM's records.

Tract means land that may be included in an NPR-A oil and gas unit agreement and that may or may not be in a Federal lease.

Unit agreement means a BLM-approved agreement to cooperate in exploring, developing, operating and sharing in production of all or part of an oil or gas pool, field or like area, including at least one NPR-A lease, without regard to lease boundaries and ownership.

Unit area means all tracts committed to a BLM-approved unit. Tracts not committed to the unit, even though they may be within the external unit boundary, are not part of the unit area.

Unit operations are all activities associated with exploration, development drilling, and production operations the unit operator(s) conducts on committed tracts.

[67 FR 17886, Apr. 11, 2002, as amended at 73 FR 6443, Feb. 4, 2008]