I have been asked to sign a subsurface easement that will allow the lessee to go underneath my property to final well location which is also on my property. My question is should I expect compensation for granting of easement?
This may depend on where your surface is located - state and county. Are you also a mineral owner and will you be receiving royalties under a lease? Or only the surface owner?
Thanks for the reply. I am in Fayette county Texas. I am Surface and mineral owner and will be receiving royalties.
Yes, but more importantly have a Texas attorney review the terms. You may be able to obtain an overriding royalty interest.
Thanks. Here is a little more info. I leased minerals in July of 2017 to lessee who is also drilling two wells near me with no surface rights. They will be coming under a county road and into my property where the permitted well is. Drill pad was just completed and now all of a sudden they are asking for a subsurface easement. So I was just interested to know what is the common, as to whether or not they should compensate me.
If the subsurface minerals are not included in the unit, or if it is an allocation well and there will be no take-points on that subsurface where the wellbore is, then you should have an agreement and receive a payment. Sometimes the wellbore will loop backwards under an adjoining tract of land that this not in the unit and then turn back into the unit acreage. This enables the operator to get the first take-point closer to the lease line and have more horizontal takepoints for full mineral development under the unit. In this case, the operator needs the permission of the surface owner above the loop. So I am guessing here that part of your minerals are in the unit and part of the surface/minerals are not in this particular well unit.
All of my minerals are in the unit, I comprise about 1/4 of the unit.
I am a large mineral owner in the area. I would never to anything to deter near term royalties to be accrued. I would not do anything to give reason for an operator to drill somewhere else over me. The Lessor Lessee relationship is that of a partnership. They are investing large amounts of capital which in turn makes the mineral owners capital. People tend to be fixated on lease bonuses and up front payments, I for one would rather give a landowner friendly lease for free and see a competent operator develop it immediately than contemplate pennies. Royalties are where it is at, especially if it is in the near term. If you must need a payment, in exchange for the subsurface easement, use the fact that your surface is also being used, and request the appraisal value of your property per acre for the padsite usage per acre used, if you are not already due that. The answer will always be yes. If you have already have that. Just sign the easement and get them on to drilling. Even if you weren’t in the unit, if they make a good well, that increases the value of your land. Your minerals are now proven.