SECTION 3 — For the purposes of this law and its implementing instruments, the following definitions shall apply:

- Authorized official: any official who can grant an administrative deed in his sphere of competence for the enforcement of the current law and its implementation. - Exploitation permit: administrative act whereby an oil company or a group of oil companies is granted the right to produce or develop hydrocarbons; - Flaring permit: administrative act whereby the operator is specially allowed to flare associated gas; - Oil contract: production sharing or concession contract as defined by the Petroleum Code; - Carbon credit: tradable credit to emit or reduce one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent; - Ecosystem: a dynamic complex community of plants, animals, micro-organisms and their living environment which, by interacting, form a functional unit; - Associated gas: gas found in the form of solutions in crude oil and separated from it during extraction; - Greenhouse gases: atmospheric gaseous components, which are natural or due to human activities, and which absorb infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface; - Hydrocarbons: liquid and gaseous components existing in their natural state, otherwise known as crude oil or natural gas as the case may be, and all related products and substances extracted in association with the said components; - Installation: any facility or any fixed or mobile unit used in associated gas production; - Flaring standard: all rules with which the operator must comply during useful flaring or in case of special flaring permit; - Operator: oil company, that is a permit holder or co-holder entrusted with conducting petroleum operations in accordance with the oil contract provisions; - Exchange rate regime: terms and conditions governing local currency exchange; - Release: dissemination into the atmosphere of the gas that escapes from hydrocarbons exploitation; - Upstream oil sector: sector bearing exploration and exploitation activities of raw liquid and gas hydrocarbons; - Downstream oil sector: sector bearing activities of processing, transporting, distributing, stocking, importing, exporting, selling liquid and gas hydrocarbons. - Exploitation site: location where the operator conducts hydrocarbons exploitation activities; - Government monitoring: check by the Government of the operator’s activities; - Third party: natural or legal person not party to the oil contract, but having concluded with the operator an agreement for exploitation of associated gas in lieu of the operator; - Flaring: any operation consisting in burning gas from oil production.