Seismic testing on your property?

[Anonymous-0]

I was approached about having some 3D seismic testing done on my land. I don't have to allow it but I'm wondering if it will cause water issues or other problems? Apparently compensation is negotiable but after a forest fire went through the property a couple years ago, I got a lot flooding because I think when they were digging up hot spots they opened up an underground stream. The property has a fairly high water table. Thanks in advance for any insight. I want to know as much as possible before I consider it.

 

[Roger in Iowa]

Don"t allow dynamite. They should use "thumpers" instead. In the contract state $100 or such for gates left open. $300 for cows out because of open gate.

From indications and experience in Kansas they seem to be a pretty good group there. Most of intrusion is by walking or 4 wheel ATV. If you can, don"t allow pickup trucks. Thumper will need access but electronics vehicle may be able to collect data via radio from a distance.

 

[Tx Jim]

As Roger stated you need to have things "spelled out" in your contract. Some of my neighbors(more than one) land was thumped during a rainy season and their land was left in a MESS. One has to love progress before natural gas exploration/drilling my area had no measurable earth quakes and now the quakes occur frequently. Don't get me started about the 18 wheeler salt water truck disposal drivers that must have gotten their drivers licence out of a box of Cracker Jacks.

 

[cannonball]

they collapsed the casing on my father's 380 ft well

 

[Ray]

I had it done twice on my farm.One time the corn was 6ft tall.They cut a two foot path by hand through the corn for the machine.They were
supposed to tie the cut corn to the standing stalks as they went along.They did this for about 50 feet so it looked good then just cut it down and left it on the ground.The second time was after harvest.I never got paid for that one.I would suggest cash in advance.

 

[Texasmark1]

They came on my property from the back and were dragging cables and all; thunpers were on the road out front making whirring noises. Found the boss and asked what he was doing and we talked through that.

He said that the company would send me a check for the work but never came. I called the company and they asked "what team are you talking about?" Nobody every mentioned team when they were here. They were here and gone in an hour.

The guy at the company said we can't pay unless we know what team did the work. So much for that fortune 500 company!

Mark

 

[Dr. Ed]

GET PAID IN ADVANCE -- ALWAYS!! Contract is no good because they are GONE. If they are on your property without your permission or signed agreement, tell them to get off NOW, just roll up the wire and leave until you get a written agreement in place -- ORAL MEANS NOTHING, it just lets them finish and then they are GONE. Call the Sheriff if necessary. If you have a lease with a gas or oil company you cannot keep them off, but you can negotiate damages and get paid up front. They are tough, thick skinned and do not care about you or your property. You must behave like an A*****e and be ashamed of yourself but that is the only way that they understand. Ask for plenty because the agent HAS to get your permission one way or the other, just never say NO, but always suggest solution in your favor.

Good Luck!

 

[the tractor vet]

Couple years ago them yaho's wanted to come on the farm and do the same thing as they wanted to drill holes and place charges in them and set them off and take reading . well lets see here you want to set off charges and drill holes . Ah what about tile lines ????? ah what about soft spots that might be created ??? Welll ha ya see ah well we will fix any problems . Ya sure you will as you will be out of here as fast as you came , So the answer is NO , but but you have to let us AH NO WE DON't . For weeks this yaho kept coming and kept getting the same answer NO your NOT drilling holes and setting off charges . We were not the only ones as everybody said the same thing NO Then they showed up again and just wanted to place the seismographs across the farm and they would just go shake the road , They asurred us that it would not be a problem , Yea wright . They waited till everybody was getting into the fields THEN they showed up . Wires and probes everywhere . PLUS lots of people nosen around as i came in the back way one morning and found four looking around in the barn. We had to call and wait for them to come and move there toys so we could get field work done and we still munched up a half dozen Neighor got 8 John Boy got something like 23 of them three haybines destroyed because you could not see them in the hay fields and it is somuch fun cutting all them wires out of a disc. THEY get really upset over this . Eugene and i had it out with one of the bosses and it almost came to a down right fight . The crews around here had only one ENGLISH speaking person pre crew . Yea it was fun only cost us about a week of messen around while we were tryen to get the corn in and first cutting hay down.Once they left then came the land guys wanting wright a way leases for pipe lines . They all got sent down the road . A few signed up and now are sorry they did . They are not concerned about you and will lie cheat and steal. Don't let the all mighty buck cloud your judgment There are things that will cost you down the road . Say they put a pipe line thru your place and run it close to your home or buildings You insurance will be canceled Your taxes will go up . all ya have to do is listen to the GREEDY ones that wanted the MONEY and now hear them belly achen and the lawsuits that are in play. Ya need a lawyer that is well versed on the Oil and gas laws and one that will really work for you.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

They go up and down my road about every 3 years or so. Not really sure if you have a leg to stand on if they are in the right of way. Yes you own the right of way, but you can't keep people of it.

There are farmers who farm within 3 ft of road. Once again, they can cut corn down that is in the right of way.

If oil or gas is found on your property and all your neighbors, you have more than 40 acres, again they can go through the courts, you can't keep them off and get your oil, eminent domain.

There are plans to drill for oil under the city, Terre Haute.

They give us a small amount for mineral rights. Lease last for 3 years. So far, just test wells. They are looking for shale gas. There are oil wells within 2 miles.

And Good luck proving things was damaged and good luck collecting if it is.

George Carlan coined the term NIMBY, Not in My Back Yard. We all use oil so, Guess the bigger question is do we want to be a country of energy independence or import?

George

 

[rustred]

dont do it., they did testing on my farm years ago and the well now has a gas smell. in other words spoiled the well. once the formation is fractured the gas will go where it wants.

 

[retired farmer]

I wouldn't let them close to my property. They ruined my sister's well and didn't offer to drill another one. Another oil company wanted to lay a pipeline thru my best hay field for nine thousand dollars. Told the contact guy in no uncertain terms, where him and his company could put their pipeline. He was so mad when he left he couldn't even talk. Neighbors let them come across their fields. Sorry now that they did.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I can absolutely refuse them entry and there is nothing they can do about it! Actually a Gov't. website say's that not even a court order can force you to allow them on your property. They have to have the landowners consent. It is not negotiable at all!

A guy from the company doing the testing sent me a map of where they want to make their lines. I have 80 acres and they want to do 4 lines North and South and 4 lines East and West. I originally though only a couple cut lines. They will bring in a mulcher for the bush and the N/S lines will be 10' wide and the E/W lines will be 6' wide. They aren't using buggies, they are drilling 9M(30') holes and using .5kg charges. The guy said to bring in buggies for just a 1/4 section(small portion) of their project would be too costly.

In the e-mail I was sent it states they pay $1200/mile for the N/S cut lines and $600/mile for the E/W cut lines. In the limited research I've been able to find, the amounts paid to the landowner are negotiable, you don't have to accept what they offer. I have an MX track/business on the property and quite a bit brush that would have to be cut so I think I should receive more compensation than say an empty field with no tree's that isn't being used for anything. I have a high water table and after the fire, I had way more flooding problems after they were finished digging up hot spots, etc. My neighbor thinks they tapped into an underground spring in the crown land beside me. I did tell the seismic guy that drilling all these holes is BIG problem if it causes water problems. They put Bentonite(sp)in the hole after they are done which is supposed to plug it but he's going to look into the possible water problems. He seems pretty aggressive. He sent satellite pictures of the property and where the lines would be last night and called at 9:30 this morning asking if I had looked at them. This is all new to me and I want to do as much research into it as possible before I make a decision. It isn't the best piece of land and may be hard to sell if I decide to in the future. If they do find gas/oil and put a well on it, might make it easier to sell since the land owner would get something for it being there. I guess I'll have to make some calls to find out more about what I should be asking.

 

[Bill in Colo]

Cash up front,and a clause to allow you to negotiate other damages later.
Oil a gas leases don't always have a surface occupancy agreement in them.
If you are leasing minerals the old 1/8 landowner does not cut it,don't settle for less than 15%,we have 17% on ours.
Back in the 70's Dept of Energy ran a line with thumpers from a well a Ouray Ut. to a well Gillette wy and tied to logs of all wells in a 1/2 mile on the line. The info help with a lot of new production
If anyone would like to visit about dealing with oil co or pipeline co I have two FERC lines on our ranch feel free to email me for my phone #

 

[Anonymous-0]

Up here in western Canada this goes on all the time. I had some done on land I was renting this summer. It was dry when they came through so the only damage was to the crop which they paid for promptly. There are not many water wells in this area so you seldom hear about water problems.

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 14:07:52 11/16/13) Cash up front,and a clause to allow you to negotiate other damages later.
Oil a gas leases don't always have a surface occupancy agreement in them.
If you are leasing minerals the old 1/8 landowner does not cut it,don't settle for less than 15%,we have 17% on ours.
Back in the 70's Dept of Energy ran a line with thumpers from a well a Ouray Ut. to a well Gillette wy and tied to logs of all wells in a 1/2 mile on the line. The info help with a lot of new production
If anyone would like to visit about dealing with oil co or pipeline co I have two FERC lines on our ranch feel free to email me for my phone #

any years ago, they paid me $50 per hole. Set sensors, dropped tube of ammonium nitrate & fuel oil in the hole, set it off, bentonite in hole, rolled up lines & left. Never any ill effects, no problems at all. There are not all bad. In many cases, it is rumor & fear of the unknown.

 

[steve in OR]

I worked for Western Geophysical for several years
in the late 80s & early 90s as assistant crew
manager.
Realize as the land owner you have the right to
tell them exactly what you will allow and the
amount of compensation usually calculated per
mile.
Learn the name crew chief, and crew number of the
crew working the survey, the company they are
working for and the name of the field rep for the
energy company contracting the crew to due the
survey. This rep is called "the bird dog" for the
energy company
Learn some of the terminology of the business.
Thumpers are called vibrators. At each shot point
the trucks/buggies will put a pad on the ground
that raises the truck (mostly) off of ground. The
shots are set off by a series of radio tones sent
to the instruments in the vibrators. Each shot
consists of a "sweep" of vibrating energy
frequencies, find out the frequency range often 10
to 80 hertz. The lower frequencies really shake
the ground and are more likely to damage things
like pipelines and wells. On our crews we would
take a standard skip of 150 to 500 feet when
shaking near them. You can set those skips with
the permit agents of the seismic crew. On 3D
surveys the goal is to lay out a grid to maximize
the amount and precision of the information
gathered. On the comment above about differing
widths of permitted line the 10" wide swaths will
be the shot (energy source) lines and the 6"
swaths will be the receiver line where the cables
and geophones will be laid out.
Successful surveys relies on complete information.
The energy transferred by the shot into the ground
travels down through the soil and then rock
formations, when different densities of rock are
encountered the speed the waves travel through the
earth changes causing reflection and refraction of
the energy waves. bouncing back to the receivers
geophones revealing after much computer
machinations "stacks" of data are accumulated.
This data can then be tied to sonic surveys
conducted on previously completed drill holes to
trace desired or marker layers through sapce
within the subsurface.
Questions to ask before granting access shot point
interval (distance between energy source points)
Make the company show you a map. Know whats in the
subsurface of your property get skips and offsets
set in the contract between you and the seismic
contractor. Offset shots can be used if the
energy source line parallels, a pipeline even a
creek bed anything you don"t want want the energy
to be set off too near to. In an offset shot
points will be surveyed off the line parallel to
the shot lines.
My crew were sometimes authorized up to $2000 per
mile of shot or receiver lines (that was back in
1990-ish).
Talk to your neighbors, search on line for info on
both the seismic crew and the energy company
contracting them. Learn about any previous
grievances or problems from either entity.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Stick welding
The department in charge of drilling oil wells in Indiana told us, if there is oil or gas found around your propetry, on your neighbors, if you have more than 40 acres, it's determined there is oil under your property, and the oil company wants your mineral rights bad enough, then there is absolutely no way you can stop them, eminent domain.

It's hard to say how hard the oil company wants to fight you, but if they do, you lose.

If you have less than 20 acres, you can stop them from putting a well on your property. They can suck it out from a well not on your peoperty. They will then pay you a %, even if you don't sign over your mineral rights

You can't stop them from using thumper on the road and setting up sensors on the right of way.

George

 

[Janicholson]

If (and i mean if) you own the mineral rights, and "if" you are assurred in writing that they will not do angle drilling into your minerals, and provide understandable visual data based on that survey, then doing it could alert you to the materials/welth that are under your property. If not, why help them go after it. Jim

 

[Anonymous-0]

First I don't live in Indiana and second, they aren't using thumpers on the road or the right of way. They want to come on MY property and drill holes and set charges off. According to the Alberta Gov't. if I say no, there is absolutely nothing they can do to get access.

 

[Thomas(AB)]

Stick Welding,
Im North East of edmonton, about 35minutes away. 2 years ago company wanted to do seismic testing, we have 150 acres, where they wanted to go, was all in the fields. they waited until the crops were off, took one day, nearest neighbour has a well, had no issues with it, his well is still good,he co-signed the agreement. the only thing that was found was gravel, and we have since been approached about a 5 year removal of the gravel, which wont be happening.

 

[RayP(MI)]

In many cases, they"re just looking for data to be stored for later resale if some one wants to belly up and pay for it. Data may well be stored for years before some industry wants it. Came through here a few years back, I failed to respond for their requests for access... they simply worked around me.
Saw several different companies in action. Most often, they stayed on roadway right of ways. Some used thumping machines (big bruisers, them.) Others used explosive charges. In most all cases, they left a few tractor tracks in right of ways, a
few holes in the ground that filled themselves in in a matter of weeks. In short, no big deal.

 

[AlinArk]

well then super dave what are you getting all stinky about???? the man was offering you some advice and you gotta act like this?? if you know so much about all the answers why do you bother to post the questions? you are about the biggest trouble maker on this forum.