Land owners / pipeline construction

[gekko man]

Anyone have any experience with a pipeline being constructed on your place?

Yes and it was not a good experience for me.

They tried to go cheap on me, refused to pay what I felt was fair compensation for the damage and trees they took out.

We went to a 3 party arbitration, I was awarded more than they wanted to pay. They sued me in Tarrant County for fraud. After two years of defending myself in court, my lawyer found a ruling that forced them back to arbitration and I was awarded the amount of money I was awarded in the 3 party arbitration process. Plus my $50k attorney fees.

I had a lawsuit in place in Erath County against this large gas gathering company and the lawsuit got pitched out 8 years later. My lawyer was working on a contingency. In hind sight, I would have hired a lawyer who was paid an hourly fee like my other attorney. I am not a rich man but I have time.

That was with Enbridge! They don’t like me and I don’t like them!

[JMKro]

We're dealing with it right now. So far, what's gone on hasn't inspired confidence.

Back in April/May my Dad went out there during the week to find a survey crew on our property. He asked what was going on and they said they were gathering information for a pipeline that was scheduled to come through. He was never notified that anyone was going to be on the property. Come to find out, everyone (meaning everyone besides us) was under the impression that the property was still part of a previously, larger existing tract of land. The original larger tract had been busted up and parts of it had been sold (our property) a year before the surveying crew went out there. Fast forward to a month or two ago, and we finally received a legitimate drawing showing the proposed "final" route. Survey crew goes out there to stake-off/mark the route... what they staked-off didn't match the route on the drawing. Then this week, we received another drawing showing both route options, and are to decide on which one we prefer. My Dad got a pipeline attorney involved about a month ago. Too many things you can potentially get screwed on in the contract.

[Baygall]

Some good information, thanks.

[gonehuntin]

If you need an attorney, Wes, The Crippler on here is a great attorney on Oil & Gas issues.

[Burnadell]

Type, "pipeline" in the subject search window in Campfire Section, and you will find lots of threads on it.

[buzzbait]

https://agrilifecdn.tamu.edu/texasaglaw/files/2016/08/Texas-Pipeline-Easement-Negotiation-Checklist.pdf

This is a good start

[Palmetto]

I have 2 lines on my place.

Let them survey it, but don't let them track your place up. Most surveyors use buggies these days, but if your place is boggy then make them walk. Months after the survey, a landman may contact you. I have been surveyed in the past, and never contacted by a landman. Maybe the job was canceled?

On the ones that did go through, I didn't use a lawyer. But my dad was in oil & gas for allot of years. A few things to consider when they bring the first offer to you.
1. width of ROW. Hold them to the smallest that you can. We held KM down to 30', but the Gray Oak line wouldn't budge off the proposed 50'.
2. make sure the verbiage says "exclusive" to this one line. You don't want them buying a 75' ROW from you, and having the ability to stuff it full with anything they want.
3. make sure they have provisions for returning the land to way it was before they got there. reseeding, fixing low spots/settling, fences, etc.
4. make sure its atleast 3' deep. This may be a DOT reg. I don't know.
5. Try to get them to define what the size of the line is before you sign the contract. Sometimes they will put "not to exceed" a certain size.

As far as deals go....This is how my last negotiation went down. They came to me with an offer of about $30/ft, with no size defined, and not exclusive. I counter offered with $65/ft, and all of the above listed. Two more times we met with the landman, and they finally got to $57/ft ($940/rod), 50' ROW, & exlusive to (1) line less than 20" OD. They ended up installing a 12" line.

On another note, once you sign they have 2 years to install the line. There are times when they pay you, and the job gets cancelled. I negotiated 4 times with DCP in 2017 for a line they wanted to install, and then they cancelled the job. I had 3 chances to sign with them, but was holding out. I should have signed the last offer......oh well....hindsight I guess.