Glossary

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 Unbranded fuel

Retail fuel not sold under a major brand name. Typically sold by an independent marketer under the marketers private label or with no name attached.

 unconfined aquifer

an aquifer in which there are no confining beds between the capillary fringe and land surface, and where the top of the saturated zone (the water table) is at atmospheric pressure.

 Underlying Ground Lease

While the 3 year oil company is typically treated as a long term lease, because of the provisions in the PMPA, if the oil company does not own the land, a buyer must look to who owns the land and what the terms of the underlying ground lease are. The oil company may have only 5 years left on their land and therefore, have no obligation to the dealer beyond that 5 years.

 unsaturated

the characteristic of a carbon atom in a hydrocarbon molecule that shares a double bond with another carbon atom.

 unsaturated zone

the zone between land surface and the capillary fringe within which the moisture content is less than saturation and pressure is less than atmospheric. Soil pore spaces also typically contain air or other gases. The capillary fringe is not included in the unsaturated zone.

 Upgrade

An option that allows the lessee to add equipment to an existing piece of leased equipment in order to increase its capacity or improve its efficiency.

 upgradient

it the direction of increasing potentiometric (piezometric) head.

 Upstream Operations

Operations concerned with oil exploration and production

 UST

Underground Storage Tanks. Term is frequently used in environmental protection.

 USURY

Interest which exceeds the legal rate charged to a borrower for the use of money.