An oil company drills a well on your land. The well should produce for 10 or more years, yet after one or two years (or sometimes less) the well dies and your royalty checks terminate. We have studied these occurrences and have found that these premature and preventable deaths are almost always caused by oil company failures when the well was drilled. A cement foundation within a well is required to ensure a long and healthy life of your royalty checks the same way as a good cement foundation is required to maintain the stability and structural integrity of your home. Oil and gas wells must be cemented properly to prevent water from entering and fatally drowning the oil and gas producing zones.
The industry organization American Petroleum Institute has repeatedly warned oil companies not to take shortcuts when performing this vital cementing operation. Many have ignored their own industry advisers because following that advice cost money. These are the occurrences we have studied that cause your royalty checks to prematurely terminate and we have identified and know what they look like when we see them.
At Veron Bice, LLC, we can help. Our experienced attorneys can rapidly determine if the oil company has violated acceptable industry construction practices of your oil or gas well. If they have, you are eligible to be compensated by that oil company.
Nothing Grows Where The Oil Companies Go. You’re No Longer On Your Own.
Drilling and producing oil and gas wells make oil companies a lot of money. Cleaning up the mess they leave does not generate income and cost the oil companies money. In most circumstances, oil companies have the right to drill wells on your land. The implementation of that right should not have a visible effect on more than one acre per well during the life of the well nor should result in any substantial remaining impact after the well has been plugged. We have also studied the residual impact after the oil companies have used the land and moved on. Our studies have found that oil companies, large and small, do not always clean up their messes.
The Louisiana regulators are understaffed and do not have sufficient inspectors to monitor even 1 percent of oil and gas operations. Oil companies know there is not an oil and gas cop on every corner and, therefore, there is no regulatory impediment to prevent them from contaminating your land. When caught in the act, we have found that some oil companies prefer to hire and rerun the same expensive experts to justify their contamination of your and your neighbor’s land instead of using the money to clean up their mess. We have found one instance where the oil company said it only contaminated a small portion of the land and, therefore, the landowner has free use of the remainder, where’s the beef?
Contact Our Louisiana Law Firm For A Free Consultation
If you see an oil company treating your property any different than the president of that oil company is probably treating his or her own backyard, contact our Louisiana lawyers for a free initial consultation to discuss the details of your case.
