Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia
Department 391 - RULES OF GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Chapter 391-3 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Subject 391-3-13 - OIL AND GAS AND DEEP DRILLING
Rule 391-3-13-.02 - Definitions

(a) "Abandonment" means, for purposes of compliance with requirements herein, that a well has not been used for six (6) consecutive months and cannot be operated, whether because it was drilled as a dry hole or has ceased to produce, or that operations have not been conducted thereon. "Shut-in" wells, shall not be considered to be abandoned. "Abandonment" shall not be construed to require the plugging of a well that has been approved by the Division for future utilization.

(b) "Blow-out" means any uncontrolled flow of well fluids and/or formation fluids from the wellbore to the surface or into lower pressured subsurface zones.

(c) "Blow-out preventer" means equipment installed on the wellhead assemblies to contain wellbore fluids either in the annular space between the casing and the tubulars, or in an open hole during drilling, completion, and testing operations.

(d) "Blowout preventer control system" means the assembly of pumps, valves, lines, accumulators, and other items necessary to open and close the blowout preventer equipment.

(e) "Circulation" means the passing of fluid (typically drilling mud) down through the drill stem and up to the surface in the process of rotary drilling or down the casing and up to the surface in the setting of casing.

(f) "Common source of supply" means the reservoir strata or pool separated from any other reservoir strata or pool that contain, or from competent evidence appears to contain, a common accumulation of oil or gas or both.

(g) "Completion" means development of a well in an attempt to produce oil and/or gas or final placement of cement plugs in a nonproducing well, whichever occurs last. Completion is the last act as determined by the Director on a well which result in such well being capable of producing oil and/or gas through permanent well head equipment after production tubing has been run, or final placement to cement plug(s) in a nonproducing well.

(h) "Condensate" means the liquid hydrocarbons produced by the condensation of natural gas, either after it leaves the reservoir or while it remains in the reservoir.

(i) "Conservation" means conserving, preserving, guarding, or protecting the oil and gas resources of the State by obtaining the maximum efficiency with a maximum efficiency with a minimum waste in the production, transportation, processing, refining, treating, and marketing of the unrenewable oil and gas resources of the State.

(j) "Drill site" means the exact location of the well bore.

(k) "Drill site tract" means the land area devoted to the well, mud pits, and other ancillary operations.

(l) "Operator" means any person who is in charge of the development of a lease, the drilling of a well, or the operation of a producing well, and in addition, for the purpose of assigning responsibility, may also be the person indicated as operator by the most current records of the Division.

(m) "Re-enter" means to bring a rig back onto a boring after having moved off location in order to re-establish contact with the borehole. "Re-enter" shall not be construed to mean bringing a rig back onto a location simply to facilitate downhole geophysical logging; rather "re-enter" applies when "completion" or "drilling" operations are performed.

(n) "Shut-in" means a well where the wellhead valves are closed thereby shutting off production. A "shut-in" well is capable of producing either oil or gas.

(o) "Well Completion Report" means a form prescribed by the Division with accompanying illustrations and narrative providing descriptive as-constructed well information. The "Well Completion Report" generally consists of all well records including well logs, test locations and intervals, sampling locations and intervals, test results, casing installed, plugs installed, perforated intervals and other descriptive information.

(p) Words other than those defined in (a)-(o) above are given their usual customary and accepted meaning; all words of a technical nature or a nature peculiar to the oil and gas industry are given that meaning defined in the Handbook of Oil Industry Terms and Phrases or that which is generally accepted within the oil and gas industry.