Lease My Land

How to attract leasing interest from an oil company

There are lots of reasonable people around who’d like to lease their land to an oil or gas company for drilling.  You may be one of them.  Let’s assume so.  Here are a few suggestions on how you can be proactive in leasing your land.

Drop By the Courthouse

Knowledge is power.  This old saying is certainly applicable in oil and gas leasing. Drop by the local courthouse where the land (real property) records are kept.  That’s where you’ll find the landmen hanging out.  They’re doing research to find out who owns the mineral rights underneath the area in which their bosses (the oil companies) are interested in drilling.  As a general rule landmen are a friendly lot, so take time to chat them up a bit.  Tell them where you own mineral rights, asking them about their areas of interest.  Talk to several of them.  Take them out for lunch.  Chat with the office staff (as they are available), they’re usually up to date on the latest buzz.

More is Better

In the same way as befriending landmen, talk to your neighbors.  Find out if they’ve been contacted about leasing, and by whom.  Share information freely.  Let it be known that you’d be interested in

leasing your land for oil and gas.  While landmen are usually given an outline of where to lease land, this can sometimes be expanded or shifted if conditions warrant.

Drilling Plays are Dynamic

Drilling plays live, breathe, and die based on science and economics.  Pressures, flow rates, rock mechanics, oil prices, natural gas prices, steel costs, land acquisition costs – all these and more are continually influencing oil and gas development. Remember, it takes two to tango – both oil companies and mineral owners joining together.  Typically an oil company, also known as Operators will determine their area of interest, and then proactively find the mineral owners.  However, it is getting easier in this day of email and the internet to contact oil companies and let them know about your desire to lease your land.

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