DEFINITIONS.

(a) In this chapter:

(1) "Well" means a hole drilled for the purpose of:

(A) producing oil or gas;

(B) injecting fluid or gas in the ground in connection with the exploration or production of oil and gas;

(C) obtaining geological information by taking cores or through seismic operations; or

(D) producing geothermal energy and associated resources that are subject to the jurisdiction of the Railroad Commission of Texas.

(2) "Operator" means a person who assumes responsibility for the physical operation and control of a well as shown by a form the person files with the commission and the commission approves. The commission may not require a person to assume responsibility for a well as a condition to being permitted to assume responsibility for another well. In the event of a sale or conveyance of an unplugged well or the right to operate an unplugged well, a person ceases being the operator for the purpose of Section 89.011 only if the well was in compliance with commission rules relating to safety or the prevention or control of pollution at the time of sale or conveyance and once the person who acquires the well or right to operate the well:

(A) specifically identifies the well as a well for which the person assumes plugging responsibility on forms required and approved by the commission;

(B) has a commission-approved organization report as required by Section 91.142;

(C) has a commission-approved bond, letter of credit, or cash deposit under Sections 91.103-91.107 covering the well; and

(D) places the well in compliance with commission rules.

(3) "Nonoperator" means a person who owns a working interest in a well at the time the well is required to be plugged pursuant to commission rules and is not an operator as defined in Subdivision (2) of this subsection.

(4) "Commission" means the Railroad Commission of Texas.

(5) "Well-site equipment" means any production-related equipment or materials specific to the well being plugged, including motors, pumps, pump jacks, tanks, tank batteries, separators, compressors, casing, tubing, and rods.

(6) "Lease" means the lease on which a well made the subject of a plugging contract is located.

(7) "Delinquent inactive well" means an inactive well for which, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, the commission has not extended the plugging deadline.

(8) "Plugging" includes replugging.

(9) "Cost calculation for plugging an inactive well" means the commission's calculated cost for each foot of well depth plugged based on average actual plugging costs for wells reported by the commission for the preceding state fiscal year for the commission oil and gas division district in which the inactive well is located.

(10) "Enhanced oil recovery project":

(A) means:

(i) a commission-approved project that uses any process for the displacement of oil or other hydrocarbons from a reservoir other than primary recovery and includes the use of an immiscible, miscible, chemical, thermal, or biological process;

(ii) a certified project described by Section 202.054, Tax Code; or

(iii) any other project approved by the commission for enhanced oil recovery; and

(B) does not include a water disposal project.

(11) "Good faith claim" means a factually supported claim based on a recognized legal theory to a continuing possessory right in a mineral estate, such as evidence of a currently valid oil and gas lease or a recorded deed conveying a fee interest in the mineral estate.

(12) "Inactive well" means an unplugged well that has had no reported production, disposal, injection, or other permitted activity for a period of greater than 12 months.

(13) "Physically terminated electric service to the well's production site" means that electric service to an inactive well site has been disconnected at a point on the electric service lines most distant from the production site toward the main supply line in a manner that will not interfere with electrical supply to adjacent operations, including cathodic protection units.

(b) The terms operator and nonoperator as defined in this section do not mean a royalty interest owner or an overriding royalty interest owner.