The oil and gas industry relies on thousands of hardworking, experienced professionals to ensure that pre-drilling and exploration activities go off with minimal interruption. While many observers are familiar with the role of the landman, the duties that other land professionals fulfill may be less widely recognized and celebrated. For aspiring land professionals and those who have business with the oil and gas industry, it's crucial to understand the day-to-day responsibilities of these employees.
What Do People in the Land Business Do?
"Land professionals" fill all sorts of roles. In addition to negotiating land rights and creating a strong legal framework for exploration, drilling and extraction activities, land professionals provide ongoing support and expert opinions on matters related to mineral leases, land titles and surveys. The roles that these professionals perform can be broken into several distinct categories. The most broad of these is also the best-known: the role of the Landman.
Common Landmen Roles
Although the archetypal image of a roving, landman is one who visits with landowners and negotiates complex leases on the spot isn't inaccurate, there's much more variation in the role than casual observers might expect.
For starters, many landmen don't work for private companies. Instead, they hold positions of responsibility in municipal, county or state government offices and work tirelessly to balance the rights of local landowners with the profit motives of outside firms. On the other hand, many landmen are directly employed by energy exploration and extraction firms. Depending on their performance and seniority, many of these professionals can earn six-figure salaries and enjoy executive-level perks. Still other landmen operate as independent contractors who work on defined projects for small and medium-sized energy companies. A Field-Landman is typically the landman who performs the courthouse research.
Where Do Land Technicians Come In?
Generally speaking, land technicians are subordinate to landmen. In fact, this is often the sector's only position for which previous experience is optional. Land technicians perform much of the "grunt work" of researching pertinent titles, updating records to reflect ownership changes or transfers and organizing a landman's portfolio of lease agreements. Although this is a tough job that often demands irregular work shifts, it can be a great learning experience.
Oil and Gas Attorneys
As resident legal professionals, oil and gas attorneys often serve as the final arbiters of internal disagreements over the validity or status of titles, agreements and other land-related documents. In the event that disputes arise with landowners, contractors or other parties, oil and gas attorneys may also be expected to defend the interests of their employers. Some oil and gas attorneys still do stand-up title opinions out of the courthouse and are work independently.
Leasing Agents and Lease Analysts
Leasing agents can work as independent contractors or direct employees. They're required to negotiate directly with individual landowners and leaseholders to arrive at equitable arrangements for their clients or employers. As such, they must be intimately familiar with all aspects of oil and gas lease terms, the mineral extraction process as well as the legalities that surround land ownership and leasing.
Meanwhile, lease analysts serve as "insurance policies" for drilling and extraction firms. They regularly pore over new and existing leases to ensure that these agreements stand up to strict legal scrutiny.
Brokers and Land Managers
Land managers effectively serve as "foremen" for a leasing operation. While the chain of command may vary from company to company, land managers generally supervise brokers, landmen, lease analysts, leasing agents, land imagers and land technicians. Some attorneys may fall under their purview as well. Simply put, they're responsible for ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks.
Final Thoughts and Cautions
Like the energy industry that it serves, the land business is a fast-changing environment that offers challenges and opportunities for its workers. While this article has made every effort to touch on the roles performed by major categories of land professional, the evolving nature of the business all but guarantees future disruptions and innovations. Aspiring professionals and interested parties should take note.
* Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
