Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on October 2, 2023 at 9:16

Dixie, wellbore easements are pretty rare these days.  I assume that your minerals are not leased.  If so, this becomes a question of the fair market value of the easements but also whether these wells will in any way inhibit when it comes time for your section to be developed.  I think that what you need is an experienced O&G law firm that can advise you.  I think that would be money wisely spent.

Permalink Reply by Dixie on October 2, 2023 at 9:49

Skip, Thanks for your reply. Our minerals are leased. The person that called did not call it a wellbore easement. After doing some research, that is what I called it.  The caller only said they wanted a subsurface easement and it would be the feet and depth as stated in my original post. Am I wrong in calling it a wellbore easement? Since they are within the 330 feet from the section line, on our side of the line, will it still possibly impact drilling in our section. They are in the southwest corner of Sec 15 and we are in the northwest corner of section 22.Thanks again.

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on October 2, 2023 at 9:57

Dixie, the reason that we see few requests for subsurface easements these days is because most sections within the Haynesville Shale fairway are under lease and as such an operator wishing to drill from an off unit surface location in a section/unit they do not operate will get permission from the lessee/operator of that section/unit, not the mineral lessor.  I think you might want to contact the company that does operate your section/unit and see what they think.  Even though the requested  lateral slot is within the 330' unit boundary set back,  well spacing is critical and operators with wells in close proximity one to the other need to communicate and cooperate to avoid frack hits which can be a problem.  You can ask whomever is contacting you about this if they have contacted your unit operator.

Permalink Reply by Dixie on October 2, 2023 at 10:50

I will do that, thank you very much for your input.