Oil & Gas Agreements: Surface Use in the 21st Century

  • Westminster, Colorado
  • May 17-18, 2017

Supporting Organization:


The 13th in the Foundation’s highly successful Oil and Gas Agreements series, this Special Institute will focus on the laws and conventions surrounding surface use of lands for oil & gas activities, including horizontal drilling, conflicting multiple uses, pipelines, and ongoing facility operations, as well as how to avoid conflicts, delays and trespass claims related to surface (and subsurface) uses.

Last explored in our 2008 Special Institute on Surface Use for Mineral Development in the New West–Finding Good Ground, today we look for common ground, as 21st-century technical innovations in oil and gas operations require new thinking by landmen, lawyers, rights-of-way agents, and governmental affairs teams. Existing regulations at the local, state, and federal level often do not adequately address the issues arising with surface owners, as well as other stakeholders and other land users, whether in rural, urban, or protected settings. Horizontal drilling is now commonplace—most often with multiple wells on a single pad and long subsurface laterals. There are also new impacts related to hydraulic fracturing, water use, well completions, and ongoing facility operations. This Special Institute will explore the legal underpinnings of surface use in several key regions across the U.S. and provide practitioners a wealth of information on how to comply with sometimes conflicting laws, while drafting surface use agreements that facilitate operations to the benefit of all interested parties.

Continuing Education Credit

Approximately 12.5 hours of instruction, including 1 hour of ethics. CLE and other credits are available.

Earlybird Discount

Cutoff date for discounted registration fees:  April 19, 2017