Oklahoma § 52-802 - Definitions

§ 52-802. Definitions

As used in the Exploration Rights Act of 2011:

1. “Act” means the Exploration Rights Act of 2011;

2. “Minerals” means oil, natural gas and other minerals of

similar type or character that may be produced or associated with

the oil or natural gas, regardless of whether title to, or ownership

of, the minerals is severed from the fee simple or absolute fee as

defined by Section 23 of Title 60 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 52. Oil and Gas

3. “Mineral estate” means, as to any lands within the State of

Oklahoma, the minerals underlying a tract of real property, or the

right to capture the minerals underlying a tract of real property,

together with the right to make reasonable use of the surface

estate, including the right of ingress and egress therefor, for the

purpose of exploring, severing, capturing and producing the

minerals, as such rights both have been historically articulated at

common law and also included within the surface damage statutes,

regardless of whether title to, or ownership of, the minerals is

severed from the fee simple or absolute fee as defined by Section 23

of Title 60 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

4. “Mineral owner” means a person owning the mineral estate or

a right to explore, sever, capture and produce the minerals, whether

such right is derived from ownership of the mineral estate, from an

oil and gas lease or from a force pooling order issued by the

Corporation Commission, and includes the operator;

5. “Surface damages statutes” means Sections 318.2 through

318.9 of Title 52 of the Oklahoma Statutes, as the same now exists

or may hereafter be amended;

6. “Oil and gas operations” means, for purposes of this act

only, (a) conducting drilling, completion and operation of a well or

wells for the purpose of exploring, severing, capturing and

producing minerals, or (b) conducting seismic exploration;

7. “Operator” means a person engaged in the exploration,

severance, capture or production of the minerals for that person

alone, for other persons only, or for that person and others;

8. “Person” means any individual, executor, administrator,

estate, agent, trust, trustee, institution, receiver, business

trust, firm, corporation, partnership, limited liability company,

cooperative, joint venture, governmental entity or agency,

association or any other group or combination acting as a unit;

9. “Surface estate” means, as to any lands within the State of

Oklahoma, the fee simple or absolute fee ownership of a tract of

real property, as defined by Sections 5 and 23 of Title 60 of the

Oklahoma Statutes, less and excluding the mineral estate;

10. “Wind energy developer” means a person who is developing or

constructing, pursuant to rights granted by a wind or solar energy

agreement, a wind energy facility, or has constructed and is now

operating a wind energy facility;

11. “Wind energy facility” means an electrical generation

facility consisting of one or more wind turbines, substations,

meteorological data towers, aboveground and underground electrical

transmission lines, transformers, control systems, and other

buildings or facilities under common ownership or operating control

used to support the operation of the facility, and whose primary

purpose is to supply electricity to an off-site customer or

customers. Wind energy facility shall not include either:

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 52. Oil and Gas

a.

a wind energy facility located entirely on property

held in fee simple absolute estate by the owner of the

wind energy facility, or

b.

substations, transmission lines, transformers, and

control systems which:

(i) are owned and operated by an electric utility

regulated by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission,

the Grand River Dam Authority, the Oklahoma

Municipal Power Authority or an Oklahoma rural

electric cooperative, and

(ii) which are not constructed or placed pursuant to

rights granted through a wind or solar energy

agreement; and

12. “Wind or solar energy agreement” means the same as defined

in Section 820.1 of Title 60 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

Added by Laws 2011, c. 197, § 4.