Trying to figure out and gather opinions as to why a company would need access to a property after the expiration of the lease. The clause I speak of could give access for up to 10 year according to the attorney.

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Don't know all of the details, but generally I would tend to tell them to stick it.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that once they don't have production the rights then revert back to the owner thus allowing them to sell the rights to another company. Maybe they want to have access to make sure that until that potential time period expires you don't sell/lease the rights before their respected time is up. Basically if there is no production for 10 years you get back the rights but in the mean time of that 10 year stretch they don't want you selling/leasing the rights from under them. It's just a guess.
Cooter,

You need to be careful. Sometimes the lease gives access to adjoining sections.
parker, do you mean that they may build a road across your land to get access to production you won't get paid for? Nasty. Shows why you want to throw out the standard lease form and only grant them a very limited set of rights.
Have you signed the lease? I'd be tempted to strike out anything the least bit weird and see if they squawk. I think many of the things are just "let's see if he's stupid enough to give us this for free" items. Some are just "standard" terms that haven't been adjusted to the particulars of your lease. If they insist on certain things, that may tell you which items profit them the most.

I wonder if asking the landman might help. They may have a good reason, or it may be something they don't care about.
no haven't signed...
Could you post the clause. It would keep us from suposing all day long and getting nowhere.
Cooter:

Echoing others, yes, posting the actual clause would be helpful.

Companies very commonly will want access to the property in order to restore the surface of the property to its original condition (or as best as practicable) and time to rehabilitate the property in compliance with state and federal regulations, environmental and otherwise. Lessor should allow for a reasonable amount of time and access to do so, which may be in excess of the other lease provisions (e.g., continuous operations provisions, etc.).

Ten years is just a tad lengthy for this purpose, however.

Please post the clause. There will probably be a few people here to help you with the revisions and markup.
It was either one of these or these in tandem.

"Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, for the good and valuable consideration paid for this lease, Lessor hereby specifically grants unto Lessee the right to a drilling right-of-way and personal servitude of use through the subsurface of the lands subject hereto for the purpose of drilling a directional well(s) with the bottom hole location of such well(s) being situated either on the Lessor’s lands as covered hereby or on lands in the general vicinity thereof and not owned by Lessor, including the right to install and/or remove pipe, casing or other equipment necessary to produce oil, gas and associated hydrocarbons from any zone, horizon or interval in which such well(s) may be completed, with Lessee further having the right to drill, rework, plug back, sidetrack or alter such directionally drilled well(s) and the right to re-enter such well(s) and/or re-penetrate any stratum or strata found in said well(s), and to generally conduct all other such operations as may be necessary or incidental to the directional drilling contemplated herein. The rights herein granted with respect to Lessee’s use of the subsurface of the lands covered hereby will remain in full force and effect during the Primary Term of this lease and for so long thereafter a s oil and/or gas is produced in paying quantities from any such well with no cessation of actual production or reworking operations associated therewith for more than One Hundred Eighty (180) consecutive days or for so long thereafter as this lease is being otherwise maintained."

AND

"Lessee shall have the exclusive right to explore the land herein described by geological, geophysical or other methods, whether similar to those herein specified or not and whether now known or not, including the drilling of holes, use of torsion balance, seismograph explosions, magnetometer, or other geophysical or geological instruments, test or procedures, for
the purpose of securing geological and geophysical information. All information obtained by Lessee as a result of such activity shall be the exclusive property of Lessee, and Lessee may disseminate or sell such information without Lessor's consent. In exploring for, developing, producing and marketing oil, gas and other substances covered hereby on the leased premises or lands pooled or unitized therewith, in primary and/or enhanced recovery, Lessee shall have the right of ingress and egress along with the right to conduct such operations on the leased premises, or on any adjacent or adjoining lands, as may be reasonably necessary for such purpose, including but not limited to the drilling of wells, construction and use of roads, canals, pipelines, tanks, water wells, disposal wells, injection wells, pits, electric and telephone lines, power stations, and other facilities deemed necessary by Lessee to discover, produce, store, treat and/or transport oil, gas and other substances. Lessee shall have free use of oil, gas, casinghead gas, condensate, and water from said land, except water from Lessor's wells, for all operations hereunder, including repressuring, pressure maintenance and recycling, and the royalty shall be computed after deducting any so used. Lessee shall have the right at any time during or after the expiration of this lease to remove all property and fixtures placed by Lessee on said land, including the right to draw and remove all casing. When required by Lessor, Lessee will bury all pipe lines below ordinary plow depth, and no well shall be drilled within two hundred feet of any residence or barn now on said land without Lessor consent. In the event a well or wells, producing oil, gas, casinghead gas or condensate in paying quantities should be brought in on adjacent lands not owned by the Lessor and within one hundred fifty feet of and draining the leased premises, Lessee agrees to drill such offset well or wells as a reasonably prudent operator would drill under the same or similar circumstances.
"
I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Maybe I need some more coffee.
The first clause gives them the right to do whatever they want (pretty much) during the primary term or as long as their is production under the lease.

The second gives them the right to access the land and again, do whatever they want basically. The part about removing property at the expiration of the lease means they can remove anything that belongs to them. I.E. Well casings, compressors, pipeline casings, etc.

I see nothing about 10 years, was that something somebody said, or something you read?
My understanding is that a personal servitude under LA Law runs for 10 years...

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