They trespassed on our property and have been very difficult to work with. Some of the staff that we had direct contact with looked us in the eye and lied.
When they trespass, call the police and have them arrested then call a tow truck and have their vehicles towed.
Already done when we were not there.
Look at this article-- it lists the Statutes and Govt Agencies that regulate the industry. You should file a report with the Sherrif's office that they trespassed.
http://www.caddolakeinstitute.us/docs/ramsar/WWD/what_landowners_should_know08lawclinic.pdf
Dear Ms. Causen,
Seitel generally does things by the book -- which means that they will have a mineral permit or permission under an oil and gas lease to enter the property and conduct testing. That is all they need to enter. Industry courtesy insists that the surface owner be permitted as well. But that is not a requirement to enter. It is just good and smart business. Since Ms. Clausen property is in Texas, my comments are limited to the vagrancies of Texas law.
Do what you will -- and all of you do the same -- BUT, the big but, is that if you stand in the way and stack a seismic crew without cause, then you could absolutely be liable for stacking costs, which some years back, ran about $17,000 per hour. Without cause means that they had the absolute right to be there and you chased them off. The right to be there includes a mineral permit signed by any person who owns any interest in the mineral estate, a seismic data license granted by the same or operations under the terms of any oil and gas lease covering the properties in question.
Ms. Clausen, with all just and due respect to you, I really think that there is more to your story than the "They trespassed on our property and have been very difficult to work with. Some of the staff that we had direct contact with looked us in the eye and lied."
If you don't agree with my assessment, please don't shoot the messenger. But, if they did in fact trespass, that would be a matter of fact to be determined by a jury. So, if you feel as if that is the case, my business recommendation is to hire an attorney and protect your rights.
They did not have an agreement - thus the issue. They had one with the prior owner - but not from us who owned the property when they entered. They knew about the ownership change - and were told not to come on our property. They said they wouldn't - until we had an agreement. We go out - they have electrical cords and probes all over the property. We went to their local office and we told them not to come on our property again - until we had an agreement. Several weeks later they call to tell us the thumper truck is there. We reminded them of the above. Several weeks later, the cords and probes were gone - which means they came on our property again without permission. During this time our cows were spooky - including jumping the fence onto the highway.
Did the agreement they had with the previous owner transfer on to you once you acquired the property? And do they have the legal right to be on your property? I know you may not want them there, but do they have the legal right to be there?
I am assuming that the agreement didn't transfer since we didn't know anything about it until AFTER they came on the property. They thought the previous owner was still the owner.
The lease with the former owner may still be good-- it will be in the County Clerk's office-- go read it. Our property was acquired in 1981 and there is still an active lease on our land. Seitel was very respectful to us and paid us $3K to shoot seismic.
We got nothing but spooked cattle.
Dear Ms. Clausen,
Now we are getting somewhere. What was the nature of the agreement? Was it an oil and gas lease, a mineral permit or a surface permit? Each one of those agreements give various privileges. The next question is whether the agreement placed of record. If it was, then you were likely bound by that agreement, whether you knew anything about it or not.
These are all items that your attorney would need to know. An oil company or seismic company does not generally owe for normal use. However, if a cow jumped a fence and needed to be destroyed, then you have a good claim against either the Operator of the lease or the seismic contractor.
Having said that Seitel generally does things by the book does not mean that mistakes are not made.
By the same token, many landowners do not really know their rights or lack thereof.
Best,
Buddy Cotten