Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Markus on February 7, 2014 at 9:31am

I do not know anything about them but have to presume that this is good for western Washington County. Has there been much leasing in that area?  I only know of the DUX debacle from last year in the Watertown area....

Permalink Reply by Eric on February 10, 2014 at 6:22am

none so far in western washington county

Permalink Reply by Steve Wagner on February 7, 2014 at 10:26am

I know he and some of his neighbors are signed with PDC

Permalink Reply by Dee A on February 12, 2014 at 4:02am

Hi Steve...long time. :-)  I got a letter from TGS wanting to seismic test my property in Waterford a day or so ago. However, I called SEOLA and they said I shouldn't allow it. Not sure why not but hope they get back to me with some additional info. Did you read the article by Bob Chase on SEOLA's news page? Very interesting, I think stuff is going to really start happening in Wash. Co. ;-)   http://seohiolandowners.org/Press.aspx

Permalink Reply by Dee A on February 15, 2014 at 11:20am

I did get additional info from SEOLA. They said two reasons not to do this, first being it has no end date so they basically reserve the right to test forever. And also that the small amount they offer covers them for any damages, so if they cause damage they don't have to pay for it. I sure hope folks don't allow this.

Permalink Reply by Terry F. Offenberger on February 15, 2014 at 8:08am

Steve,

We received the same request from TGS.  Several neighbors have as well.

We signed a while back with PDC...and I've not revisited the lease, however, I presume that PDC has the right to do this sort of testing if they want.  

I'm inclined to ignore these folks...especially when I read their agreement, however, I'm wondering if there is any reason to let TGS (with a reasonable agreement) or someone else do this sort of testing?

Been a long time since I've seen you...hope you & your family are well.

Terry

Permalink Reply by Indiana Smith on February 17, 2014 at 11:15am

We went through the seismic testing in 2012 up here in Columbiana County.  My advice:  do not sign their document.  There are many issues that are not addressed and it is all in their favor.  A landowner group in our area had their attorney draw up an agreement that was better, but still not perfect.  You can download a copy at the following link:  http://www.alov.us/images/Landowner_Survey_Permission_Agreement_11N...

You definitely want to put a time limit on when the survey is to be done.  When they first arrived in our area (Oct. 2011), the agents told us that they would be done with the testing by planting time.  That was far from the truth and they actually did not finish until August 2012.  You need to make sure to put some type of penalty for going past the time limit and interfering with your farm activities.

You also want to be notified 24 hours in advance of any activity on your property.  Again, you need to put a penalty for violating this.  There were many landowners that had this provision violated and they did not have any recourse.  The sheriff and judges simply told them:  "do not do it again" (a slap on the wrist).

They placed a lot of sensors in fields that were forgotten after the testing was done.  These sensors caused damage to hay mowers, combines, choppers, balers, ect.  When we tried to make first cutting hay, the company had to be called and  asked to remove them.  Then they put them back.  Then they had to be moved again for 2nd cutting.  They had to be moved for wheat harvest.  They had to be moved for planting.  It was a huge inconvenience to call and wait each time.

There are many other issues:  strange people on your property, helicopters scaring your animals, gates left open, damages to water wells, damage to buildings, damage to crops, damage to tile,  failure to pay for damages,  ect.

The truth about TGS is that they are an independent company that collects data and sells it to many different companies.  They make huge profits from doing this.  And they pay very little of it to the landowner.  The agents make it sound like they are doing the landowner a favor by doing this testing.  But this is not true.  It is an inconvenience.  The results can devalue your minerals (if they find a fault under your property, they will not drill there and you will not receive bonus money or royalties... and there is a significant chance that the fault might not even exist.... the data is not perfect).

In summary, do some research before signing anything.