Gas industry legal fieldwork
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Locate a pipeline route
Stake a well
Staking a well is generally done as part of an oil and gas well survey. A survey accomplishes:
- Finding where the section and quarter corners, also called aliquot corners, are located in the section where the well is to be located.
- From this information, determining where the section, quarter and sixteenth-section lines are located. These are the aliquot lines.
- Determining the drilling windows, that is the areas within a section where a will can be drilled. Drilling windows are based on the aliquot lines.
A surveyor will place a stake where the well is to be drilled. The actual stake may consist of a nail in the ground with a piece of lathe beside it, or a rebar in the ground with a T-fence post next to it depending on ground use. Usually both a representative of the oil & gas company and the landowner meet with the surveyor to collaborate on selecting the best location.
Typically, the surveyor measures the distance from the wellhead within a 200 foot radius to any visible improvements or surface use of the land as well as the longitude, latitude and elevation of the well location. The latter information is required as part of the permitting process. The surveyor also takes photos of the well location in each of the four cardinal directions.
All of the above information is encapsulated in the surveyor's Well Location Exhibit. He also prepares a Vicinity Map showing all of the aliquot lines, location of the well in the section, road names, bodies of water and nearby towns and cities. A Visible Improvements exhibit shows any improvements within 200 feet of the well such as ditches or fences, underground or above-ground utilities, water diversion structures and irrigation pivots. It may also show the direction and distance from the wellhead to any property lines.
