§3301 Definitions

Summary

Defines the main words used in this chapter about natural gas. Natural gas is raw natural gas or any mix of natural and manufactured gas. Well is any well used to find or produce natural gas, crude oil, or both. New well is a well whose surface drilling began on or after February 19, 1977, or whose depth was increased by drilling on or after that date to a completion at least 1,000 feet deeper than its deepest completion before February 19, 1977. Old well is any well that is not a new well. Marker well is a well that produced gas commercially after January 1, 1970 and before April 20, 1977; marker well does not include new wells drilled on or after February 19, 1977 but does include wells deepened after that date if they meet the production test. Reservoir is any underground pool of producible gas or oil that is sealed by rock or water or other barriers so it behaves as a single pressure system. Completion location is any underground spot that is or has been producing gas commercially, and for marker wells it means those spots that produced between January 1, 1970 and April 20, 1977. Proration unit is the part of a reservoir treated as being drained by a single well, as set by state or federal regulators or by local customary unit agreements. New lease (Outer Continental Shelf) is a lease of submerged acreage made on or after April 20, 1977; old lease is any other OCS lease. New contract is a first-sale contract made on or after November 9, 1978 for gas not already under an existing contract. Rollover contract is a first-sale contract made on or after November 9, 1978 for gas that had been under an existing contract that expired at the end of its fixed term. Existing contract is a first-sale contract in effect on November 8, 1978. Successor to an existing contract is any contract (other than a rollover) made on or after November 9, 1978 for gas that was under an existing contract. Interstate pipeline is a person that transports gas subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction under the Natural Gas Act. Intrastate pipeline is a person that transports gas inside a state (not gathering) and is not under the Commission’s jurisdiction under the Natural Gas Act (except where the only reason for nonjurisdiction is section 1(c) of that Act). Local distribution company is anyone, other than interstate or intrastate pipelines, who transports or locally distributes gas and sells it for final use. Committed or dedicated to interstate commerce covers gas from the Outer Continental Shelf and gas that must be sold in interstate commerce by contract, certificate, or the Natural Gas Act, but it excludes certain sales and situations listed in the law, including specific emergency, limited-certificate, abandonment, and May 31, 1978 exceptions. Certificated natural gas is gas moved by an interstate pipeline through a facility that has a section 7(c) certificate under the Natural Gas Act, but it does not include gas sold to a user by the producer and moved under a 7(c) certificate for that user unless the gas is used to generate electricity. Sale means any sale, exchange, or other transfer for value. First sale is the initial sale of gas to pipelines, local distributors, or users, or any earlier sale the Commission treats as a first sale to stop price circumvention; sales by pipelines or local distributors do not count as first sales unless they are for gas produced by them or their affiliates. Deliver for a first sale means physical delivery from the seller, except that selling proven reserves in place to a pipeline, local distributor, or user means transferring title to those reserves. Certificate means a certificate of public convenience and necessity under the Natural Gas Act. Commission means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Federal agency has the meaning given in section 105 of title 5. Person includes the United States, any State, and their political subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities. Affiliate is a person that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another person. Electric utility is anyone who generates electricity and sells it, directly or indirectly, to the public. Mcf is 1,000 cubic feet of gas measured at 14.73 pounds per square inch (absolute) and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Btu is British thermal unit. Month is a calendar month. Mile is a statute mile of 5,280 feet. United States means the several States and includes the Outer Continental Shelf. State means each of the several States and the District of Columbia. Outer Continental Shelf has the same meaning as in section 1331(a) of title 43. Prudhoe Bay Unit of Alaska means the area covered by the voluntary unit agreement approved June 2, 1977 and called the “affected area” in Conservation Order No. 145 as that order was in effect on June 1, 1977, ignoring any later map adjustments allowed by that order. Federal antitrust laws are the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12, 13, 14–19, 20, 21, 22–27), the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.), sections 73 and 74 of the Wilson Tariff Act (15 U.S.C. 8–9), and the Act of June 19, 1936, chapter 592 (15 U.S.C. 13, 13a, 13b, and 21a).