Glossary
Browse the IADC Lexicon alphabetically or by category. Get comprehensive definitions of drilling industry terms.
Reported Production
Definition(s)
Reported Production
Production of oil or gas, excluding production attributable to well tests, accurately reported to the Commission or its delegate on Form PR, Monthly Production Report. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsRelated Piping
Definition(s)
Related Piping
The surface piping and subsurface piping that is less than three feet beneath the ground surface between pieces of equipment located at any collection or treatment facility. Such piping would include piping between and among headers, manifolds, separators, storage tanks, gun barrels, heater treaters, dehydrators, and any other equipment located at a collection or treatment facility. The term is not intended to refer to lines, such as flowlines, gathering lines, and injection lines that lead up to and away from any such collection or treatment facility. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsOperator Designation Form
Definition(s)
Operator Designation Form
A certificate of compliance and transportation authority or an application to drill, deepen, recomplete, plug back, or reenter that has been completed, signed, and filed with the Commission or its delegate. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsOperator Designation Form
A certificate of compliance and transportation authority or an application to drill, recomplete, and reenter that has been approved by the Commission or its delegate. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsGroundwater Conservation District
Definition(s)
Groundwater Conservation District
Any district or authority created under §52, Article III, or §59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, that has the authority to regulate the spacing of water wells, the production from water wells, or both. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsFunnel Viscosity
Definition(s)
Funnel Viscosity
Viscosity as measured by the Marsh funnel, based on the number of seconds required for 1,000 cubic centimeters of fluid to flow through the funnel. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsApproved Cementer
Definition(s)
Approved Cementer
A cementing company, service company, or operator approved by the Commission or its delegate to mix and pump cement for the purpose of plugging a well in accordance with the provisions of this section. The term shall also apply to a cementing company, service company, or operator authorized by the Commission or its delegate to use an alternate material other than cement to plug a well. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsProtection Depth
Definition(s)
Protection Depth
Depth to which usable-quality water must be protected, as determined by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) or its successor agencies, which may include zones that contain brackish or saltwater if such zones are correlative and/or hydrologically connected to zones that contain usable-quality water. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsZone Of Critical Cement
Definition(s)
Zone Of Critical Cement
For surface casing strings shall be the bottom 20% of the casing string, but shall be no more than 1,000 feet nor less than 300 feet. The zone of critical cement extends to the land surface for surface casing strings of 300 feet or less. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsStand Under Pressure
Definition(s)
Stand Under Pressure
To leave the hydrostatic column pressure in the well acting as the natural force without adding any external pump pressure. The provisions are complied with if a float collar is used and found to be holding at the completion of the cement job. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsDistilled Water
Definition(s)
Distilled Water
Water that has been purified by being heated to a vapor form and then condensed into another container as liquid water that is essentially free of all solutes. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. Regulations100-Year Flood Plain
Definition(s)
100-Year Flood Plain
An area that is inundated by a 100-year flood, which is a flood that has a one percent or greater chance of occurring in any given year, as determined from maps or other data from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), or, if not mapped by FEMA, from the United States Department of Agriculture soil maps. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsRecyclable Product
Definition(s)
Recyclable Product
A reusable material as defined in §4.204(12) of this title (relating to Definitions). Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsTreated Fluid
Definition(s)
Treated Fluid
Fluid that has been treated using water treatment technologies to remove impurities such that the treated fluid can be reused or recycled. Treated fluid is not a waste but may become a waste if it is abandoned or disposed of rather than reused or recycled. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsRecycle
Definition(s)
Recycle
To process and/or use or re-use oil and gas wastes as a product for which there is a legitimate commercial use and the actual use of the recyclable product. 'Recycle,' as defined in this subsection, does not include injection pursuant to a permit issued under §3.46 of this title. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsRecycle
To beneficially use, reuse, or reclaim hazardous waste. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsRecycle
Pit used in conjunction with one or more oil or gas leases or units that is constructed, maintained, and operated by the operator of record of the lease or unit and is located on an existing commission-designated lease or drilling unit associated with a commission-issued drilling permit, or upon land leased or owned by the operator for the purposes of operation of a non-commercial disposal well operated pursuant to a permit issued under §3.9 of this title or a non-commercial injection well operated pursuant to a permit issued under §3.46 of this title, for the storage of fluid for the purpose of non-commercial fluid recycling or for the storage of treated fluid. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsNon-Commercial Fluid Recycling Pit
Definition(s)
Non-Commercial Fluid Recycling Pit
Pit used in conjunction with one or more oil or gas leases or units that is constructed, maintained, and operated by the operator of record of the lease or unit and is located on an existing commission-designated lease or drilling unit associated with a commission-issued drilling permit, or upon land leased or owned by the operator for the purposes of operation of a non-commercial disposal well operated pursuant to a permit issued under §3.9 of this title or a non-commercial injection well operated pursuant to a permit issued under §3.46 of this title, for the storage of fluid for the purpose of non-commercial fluid recycling or for the storage of treated fluid. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsNon-Commercial Fluid Recycling
Definition(s)
Non-Commercial Fluid Recycling
The recycling of fluid produced from an oil or gas well, including produced formation fluid, workover fluid, and completion fluid, including fluids produced from the hydraulic fracturing process on an existing commission-designated lease or drilling unit associated with a commission-issued drilling permit or upon land leased or owned by the operator for the purposes of operation of a non-commercial disposal well operated pursuant to a permit issued under §3.9 of this title (relating to Disposal Wells) or a non-commercial injection well operated pursuant to a permit issued under §3.46 of this title (relating to Fluid Injection into Productive Reservoirs), where the operator of the lease, or drilling unit, or non-commercial disposal or injection well treats or contracts with a person for the treatment of the fluid, and may accept such fluid from other leases and or operators. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsPracticable
Definition(s)
Practicable
Available and capable of being done after taking into consideration existing technology, cost, and logistics in light of the overall purpose of the activity. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsPracticable
“Practicable” means possible, given current knowledge, technology and invention. Source: Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Occupational Health & Safety Requirements, Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, Canada, December 2000. RegulationsCoastal Natural Resource Area (CNRA)
Definition(s)
Coastal Natural Resource Area (CNRA)
One of the following areas defined in Texas Natural Resources Code, §33.203: coastal barriers, coastal historic areas, coastal preserves, coastal shore areas, coastal wetlands, critical dune areas, critical erosion areas, gulf beaches, hard substrate reefs, oyster reefs, submerged land, special hazard areas, submerged aquatic vegetation, tidal sand or mud flats, water in the open Gulf of Mexico, and water under tidal influence. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsCoastal Management Program (CMP) Rules
Definition(s)
Coastal Management Program (CMP) Rules
The enforceable rules of the Texas Coastal Management Program codified at Title 31, Texas Administrative Code, Chapters 501, 505, and 506. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsInert Wastes
Definition(s)
Inert Wastes
Nonreactive, nontoxic, and essentially insoluble oil and gas wastes, including, but not limited to, concrete, glass, wood, metal, wire, plastic, fiberglass, and trash. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsFresh Mining Water Pit
Definition(s)
Fresh Mining Water Pit
Pit used in conjunction with a brine mining injection well for storage of water used for solution mining of brine. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsBrine Mining Pit
Definition(s)
Brine Mining Pit
Pit, other than a fresh mining water pit, used in connection with activities associated with the solution mining of brine. Most brine mining pits are used to store mined brine. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsMined Brine
Definition(s)
Mined Brine
Brine produced from a brine mining injection well by solution of subsurface salt formations. The term "mined brine" does not include saltwater produced incidentally to the exploration, development, and production of oil or gas or geothermal resources. Source: Oil and Gas Division, Texas Administrative Code, Title 16, Chapter 3, February 2013. RegulationsActivities Associated With The Exploration, Development, And Production Of Oil Or Gas Or Geothermal Resources
Definition(s)
Activities Associated With The Exploration, Development, And Production Of Oil Or Gas Or Geothermal Resources
Activities associated with: (A) the drilling of exploratory wells, oil wells, gas wells, or geothermal resource wells; (B) the production of oil or gas or geothermal resources, including:- activities associated with the drilling of injection water source wells that penetrate the base of usable quality water;
- activities associated with the drilling of cathodic protection holes associated with the cathodic protection of wells and pipelines subject to the jurisdiction of the commission to regulate the production of oil or gas or geothermal resources;
- activities associated with gasoline plants, natural gas or natural gas liquids processing plants, pressure maintenance plants, or repressurizing plants;
- activities associated with any underground natural gas storage facility, provided the terms "natural gas" and "storage facility" shall have the meanings set out in the Texas Natural Resources Code, §91.173;
- activities associated with any underground hydrocarbon storage facility, provided the terms "hydrocarbons" and "underground hydrocarbon storage facility" shall have the meanings set out in the Texas Natural Resources Code, §91.201; and
- activities associated with the storage, handling, reclamation, gathering, transportation, or distribution of oil or gas prior to the refining of such oil or prior to the use of such gas in any manufacturing process or as a residential or industrial fuel;
Activities Associated With The Exploration, Development, And Production Of Oil Or Gas Or Geothermal Resources
Activities associated with: (A) the drilling of exploratory wells, oil wells, gas wells, or geothermal resource wells; (B) the production of oil, gas, or geothermal resources, including:- activities associated with the drilling of injection water source wells that penetrate the base of usable quality water;
- activities associated with the drilling of cathodic protection holes associated with the cathodic protection of wells and pipelines subject to the jurisdiction of the commission to regulate the production of oil, gas, or geothermal resources;
- activities associated with natural gas or natural gas liquids processing plants or reservoir pressure maintenance or repressurizing plants;
- activities associated with any underground natural gas storage facility, provided the terms "natural gas" and "storage facility" shall have the meanings set out in Texas Natural Resources Code, §91.173;
- activities associated with any underground hydrocarbon storage facility, provided the terms "hydrocarbons" and "underground hydrocarbon storage facility" shall have the meanings set out in Texas Natural Resources Code, §91.201; and
- activities associated with the storage, handling, reclamation, gathering, transportation, or distribution of oil or gas prior to the refining of such oil or prior to the use of such gas in any manufacturing process or as a residential or industrial fuel;