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Buying land with abandoned above ground storage tanks

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    Buying land with abandoned above ground storage tanks

    How does one go about getting rid of abandoned oilfield storage tanks/ pump jacks? Is the company that put them there responsible for removal? Again these are not in use. Anyone have any experience in dealing with this sort of thing?

    #2
    No experience but I will take a guess that it is going to be complicated

    Will you be getting mineral rights with property?
    I would guess this might make things a little easier

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      #3
      Scrap metal is HIGH right now...

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        #4
        I know plenty people that have dealt with this and still do. You can find service companies that will come take them down. If you can, look up the last operator of the equipment/wells and they should be able to point you in the right direction. They are usually the ones responsible for the equipment still being there as they were the owners at some point

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          #5
          Check with Texas Railroad Comission as I believe they control oil/gas drilling as silly as that sounds. I think companies are supposed to reclaim land when wells are abandoned..?

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            #6
            I think they have a time period and then also I have to cap the well

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              #7
              Ain’t gonna happen…. Or we have never been able to get anyone to do the right thing. They can pay some type of cheap permit fee and keep them there forever. I know of dozens they have tried, and to date nobody has had anything accomplished in my area. Good luck though, be nice if someone made the t right

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                #8
                Originally posted by TKRanch View Post
                Check with Texas Railroad Comission as I believe they control oil/gas drilling as silly as that sounds. I think companies are supposed to reclaim land when wells are abandoned..?
                I think thats a DATED Requirement...like from this day forward...

                what i heard But I bet the RRC can clarify..

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                  #9
                  The oil company owns the tanks and it's their responsibility to remove them when they are declared out of service. This can be a while as long as the company keeps the well permitted they do not have to do anything with the tanks.

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                    #10
                    Thanks for the responses. Looks like I’ve got some research to do.

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                      #11
                      It is going to be a PIA getting them removed. Been there & have the t shirt & junk is still on land, even after I sold the place.

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                        #12
                        You might also consider having a Phase II environmental site assessment conducted. Old oilfield equipment likely means historic spills, which could mean liability for contamination clean up. May not be a big deal if there aren’t any creeks or other water bodies nearby. A Phase II ESA will protect you from liability, but it must be done prior to closing on the property.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by Dale Moser View Post
                          Scrap metal is HIGH right now...
                          I took a trailer full of crap to the yard the other day thinking id be happy with $ 40 and walked out with $116

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                            #14
                            mineral estate is the dominant estate over surface estate in Texas. If you own no minerals the mineral owners have a right to use the property to extract the minerals as they see fit, and likely have a lease that is between mineral owners and OG operator.

                            most landowners who only have surface right really get bent over on mineral leases when you truly dive into it. They think they are expiration periods on the leases and clearly define where/when OG companies can drill, but pooling rights and HBP rights (held by production) allows these O&G guys to combine individuals leases with others resulting in massive tranches of land effectively being "active production" even if they only have 1 active well.....the surface rights that the mineral leasee has are allow more muddy than many people realize. Maybe they can drill in one spot but what about roads/pipelines/electric lines etc.

                            Your radar should be way up if you are trying to purchase property with OG tanks/wells/pump jacks/equipment on it.

                            Title company is just going to tell you what leases affect the property, not what they mean/say. You have to have an O&G atty look at it for you and break down what lease says/mean. Well worth the $1-1.5k if you are under contract on the property.

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                              #15
                              After cessation of production for a certain number of days RRC can force owners of company to return to production or plug wells and clean up. If company is out of business it then falls to RRC and state plugging to plug wells and can be years before this happens.
                              Write down RRC lease number, name of company, name of operator and contact RRC in your district to see status of lease and if any actions are being planned for lease.
                              You may have to visit a district office in person to get answers about lease status. If this is on your property you should be able to get an answer from RRC and possibly file a complaint against operator.
                              PM me if you have questions I might be able to answer.

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