Oil wells on my property

[karinsas]

i have 2 oil wells on my property which are serviced and run by a local oil company. I do not own the mineral rights to my property. (about 50 acres) How do i find out what exactly the easements are for the oil company and what restrictions might be in place regarding the space around the oil rigs? The oil company travels to the oil rigs on roads that cross through my property. However, I do not have access to drive up the roads because the oil lease company put in a gate and they do not give me the access code.
I have heard other people in my area receive a small amount of money yearly because the oil rigs are on their property in a similar situation. however, the oil company assures me that they never pay anything to the property owners… I appreciate any help and enlightenment! karin

[M_Barnes]

Usually, the operations have to stay 200’ away from homes and barns. The language is usually in the surface use agreement that should have been signed before drilling. That is when the surface owner negotiates for any payments. The CA Oil & Gas Commission should have rules for the easements.

[Jean_M_Pledger]

In California, oil companies are not required to have a surface use agreement with the surface owner. This is due to the fact that mineral owners in California own a profit aprendre, which means that they don’t actually own the minerals in the ground, just the right to use the surface to extract them. Thus, the oil company is correct to some extent that they typically do no pay the surface owner for use of the surface. If, however, they are using the surface more than what they can/should for extraction of other properties (and not just the minerals under your surface parcel), then they may be required to pay something to you. Such determination would require a review of the lease as well as any potential unitization or pooling agreements. Concerning your access, they might be improperly impeding access to your property or over your property, Again, this is something that would need to be reviewed. Hope this helps.