HAPL

Remembering George D. Artusy, III - HAPL Scholarship Fund

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 19:00:00 GMT

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE MISSED

By John L. Hunt, CPL, Paul F. Nielsen, CPL,

Mary Helen Halfacre, CPL, and Christopher D. Artusy, Land Manager

A year has come and gone in industry haste since our Great Friend passed from among us, his obit read in part:

“GEORGE DANIEL ARTUSY, III completed his journey on May 2, 2007 surrounded by his loved ones. He was born in Houston, Texas to the most devoted parents, George and Edith Artusy. After three months of suffering a massive stroke he finally got his last wish to come home for just a few short days in the wonderful hands of caregivers. Danny was a Certified Petroleum Landman for over 30 years and a member of HAPL for many years. He not only enjoyed his work, yet had a tendency to take co-workers under his wing and share his wealth of knowledge in their profession. He especially loved to fish with his son and oldest grandson and spend time with his family.”

Comments left by friends and family in his Houston Chronicle Guest Book read:

“Rest in peace kind friend. Dear Artusy Family, Your Dad, Grandfather, is in the arms of the loving Father. On earth he was a dear friend to all and never met a stranger. He was generous and always there to help even a stranger. He was truly a gentle, kind man. It was a pleasure to know him and work around him. May God bless each of you at this time and always, Mary Helen Halfacre, Spring, TX.”, AND,

“Family: I will be with you at visitation and for the funeral to celebrate the life of a wonderful Christian man who thoughtfully served others and gave of himself in so many ways. I share in your loss. Danny was a brother to me, not just a casual friend. Love, Paul” F. Nielsen, Houston, TX, AND,

“Danny made Houston a home for me and my Family; he showed me all the back roads and local restaurants around the inner city; he kindly extended membership in the greater Artusy Family thru Christmas gifting and many gatherings, fishing at the lakehouse and mentoring my young son, Adam John; we had some fun bringing Chris into the landman profession too; I second the thoughts of Paul N. and Mary Helen H.; Dan was everyone's friend and I am proud to say that he was my brother too. Houston will never be the same without him, nor the Land Profession nor the many groups to which he contributed so much. Goodbye Dear Friend! John Hunt and Family, Houston-Denver.”, AND,

“Grandaddy - I miss you already....and I am even going to name my next big fish after you.
Thank you Aunt Betty, Uncle Wayne, and Daddy for all that you did to take such great care of my granddaddy. I know we are going to miss him forever, but forever he will be in our memories. Dylan Artusy, Conroe, TX.”

It seems redundant to add anything else to these and the other tributes to Danny, as we all knew him, except, after a year, if it can be said, that your passing is the measure of our loss, that we all miss you and the great gifts that you shared, then missing is a positive measure of the great contributions you made in life to our lives. What greater tribute than that your life amounted to a great gift to all who knew you, Family, Friends, Workmates, even strangers.

Danny was light on his feet, a great racquetball player in college and late in life! I wouldn’t say he would jump for joy at the prospect of a new venture, but his eyes would light up and he’d say, “Why not? Let’s do it!” And, off to the races we would go! I enjoyed working with him on many a weary project; he would keep the crew in stitches and lighten the mood around 3:30 pm in anticipation of streaking for the door at 5:00 pm on the way to a Rockets game or an Astros game of a run over to the stateline for a game of chance. He was extremely loyal to his friends and Family and very forgiving to those unfortunates not his friend. As time goes on, the oil business has a way of revealing the truth of a given situation. As time passes since our Friend, like so many others, has passed on, his memory will sharpen in the hearts and minds of us left behind, and it will become even more clear, that he is and was a man who would be missed, John Hunt.

There are so many fond memories that it's not easy to isolate one thing that made Danny such a special person. I never saw him without a smile on his face or a quick-witted comment ready to break the tension during a high powered Due Diligence project. He could make me laugh by just giving me that crazy look he could put on his face. He was such a "gentile soul". He had a way of letting you know that everything would turn out right in the end. And, it always did, Mary Helen Halfacre.

Danny was so happy just to be a landman and to help others learning the business. He didn’t care for the office work aspect of the job so many of us have as company landmen, so he gravitated to the contract field landman role. He never lacked something to do, even in slow times, and built relationships of trust and competence. He never neglected his family even if he was busy, and found joy in the success of his children Chris (now a local landman) and Wendy, as they both found happiness in marriage and beginning families of their own. Danny was the child who so faithfully attended to his mom Edith after Danny’s father George died, then fought the sorrow of later losing his sister Debbie in a tragic traffic accident. Danny helped out many down and out people in life with whom no one else wanted to associate, but he never thought he was doing anything noteworthy in simply doing what was morally right in each circumstance. He always had time for his family and friends, and accepted each of them for what they were and had the potential to become. He was a devout Christian who organized his life to do what he was called to do, and talked to close friends about life’s trials and staying the course. He persevered and won his heavenly crown as the proverbial good and faithful servant honored by his Lord and Savior. John Hunt and Mary Hellen Halfacre and I are called to honor Danny’s memory in this scholarship project, working with son Chris and the family, Paul F. Nielsen.

My Dad, Dan, was a dedicated landman and loved his profession. He trained and mentored dozens and dozens of landman during his 33 years in the land business. When his name is mentioned in most circles in the industry, many times someone will pop up and say I know him, “I remember back many years ago, when I first started in the business. Dan helped train me”. One of Dan’s proudest moments was when I, his son, became a landman. He felt much pleasure and joy working together with his son for the last 12 years of his career. We, together with Jim Byrd, helped build Byrd Land Services, Inc. into one of the premiere field land service companies in today’s industry. Dan, thanks for passing your decades of knowledge and inspiration to our industry; we miss you Dad, Chris D. Artusy!

John, Paul, Mary Helen and Chris are each making a contribution to the HAPL Scholarship Fund as a Memorial to G. Daniel (Dan) Artusy, III. If you feel so inclined, please consider making a contribution of any amount to honor our friend, who was the first AAPL Scholarship recipient at the great University Of Texas, PLM Program, sadly no longer with us either! Mark your donation as being in Danny’s memory, and we will share what we have been able to raise in his honor. Thank you, John, Paul Mary Helen and Chris!

For contributions or questions please contact the HAPL office at 713 622-6868.

2-Jun-08 2:00 PM

New Texas Notary Public Law as to Record Keeping

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 14:00:00 GMT

The following information was recently contributed by Monita Cebell of Moncrief Oil via Paul Nielsen's LandNews:

A Notary’s record book is public information that is subject to the Open Records Act. As a result if an individual’s social security or driver’s license number is recorded in the book it could be used by a requestor to steal a person’s identity. In response to this potential problem, the Office of the Secretary of State adopted §87.60 of the Texas Administrative Code which took effect April 22, 2007. The new rule prohibits a Texas Notary from recording any identification number that was assigned by the governmental agency or by the United States in their notary record books. This includes numbers found on a Social Security card, Driver’s License, identification card, or passport or any other number that could be used to identify the signer, grantor or maker of the document. Therefore, you should immediately stop your current procedure of recording DL numbers in your book. The rule does not, however, prohibit a notary from using numbers related to the individual’s residence or allege residence as listed in Section 406.014(a) (4) – (7) of the Texas Government Code.

Here is the language of the new law:
Administrative Code Rule §87.60 Prohibition Against Recording Personal Information:

(a) A notary public (other than a court clerk notarizing instruments for the court) that notarizes a document or instrument on behalf of a signer, grantor or maker that is identified to the notary by an identification card issued by a governmental agency or a passport issued by the United States may not record in the notary's book of record:

(1) the identification number that was assigned by the governmental agency or by the United States to the signer, grantor or maker and that is set forth on the identification card or passport; or

(2) any other number that could be used to identify the signer, grantor or maker of the document.

(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a notary from recording a number related to the residence or alleged residence of the signer, grantor or maker of the document or the instrument.

Section 406.014(a) (4) – (7) of the Texas Government Code:

(4) the signer's, grantor's, or maker's residence or alleged residence;

(5) whether the signer, grantor, or maker is personally known by the notary public, was identified by an identification card issued by a governmental agency or a passport issued by the United States, or was introduced to the notary public and, if introduced, the name and residence or alleged residence of the individual introducing the signer, grantor, or maker;

(6) if the instrument is proved by a witness, the residence of the witness, whether the witness is personally known by the notary public or was introduced to the notary public and, if introduced, the name and residence of the individual introducing the witness;

(7) the name and residence of the grantee

30-Sep-07 9:00 AM

"Know Thyself", and Don't Trip

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 22:00:00 GMT

The following article appeared in the September issue of AAPG Explorer magazine. It was written with geologists in mind, but it is certainly applicable to petroleum land professionals as well. The article is written by David Brown, AAPG Explorer correspondent, to whom we thank for permitting us to share this article.

"Know Thyself" - and Don't Trip

Stepping Out? Step Out Smartly

By David Brown

You’ve finally decided to go independent, to start your own business. And the best thing is, you have a great idea.

That could be your first mistake.

“Evidence pretty strongly suggests that entrepreneurs will spot an idea and fail to test that idea. An idea is not the same as an opportunity,” said R. Duane Ireland.

“That can really be an issue when an industry is doing well,” he noted, “such as the oil and gas industry is today.”
Ireland serves as professor and head of the Department of Management in the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.

In addition to writing numerous papers and books on management and business start-ups, Ireland is co-author of the textbook Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures (second edition, 2007; Prentice Hall).
Maybe your company is going to be built around a new technology.

Start-ups can become infatuated with a specific technology but lose sight of profitable results.

“At the end of the day, technology is nice – but it’s only important to the degree it can create value,” Ireland warned.

An entrepreneur will do better to monitor emerging technologies, choosing those that benefit the bottom line – and watching out for those that could threaten it, he advised.

“What are the new technologies out there that will impact my business? What can help me or what can hurt me?” Ireland said.

While investment money might be bountiful today, the oil industry is famous for its highly leveraged operations. Companies may take on far too much debt or financial obligation in good times, then struggle or fail in a downturn.

“The more leveraged you become, the more constrained the firm is. That can be a huge, gargantuan risk that can drag down a venture,” Ireland said.

It’s also one more pressure on a new business owner or operator, who might panic with a load of debt hanging overhead.

“Too much leverage representing too much risk,” he said, “can cause entrepreneurs to make decisions too quickly.”

First, Look in a Mirror…

G. Warfield “Skip” Hobbs is managing partner of Ammonite Resources in New Canaan, Conn. His company contracts with about 25 independent geologists and other consultants. Hobbs said the consulting geologist should start with the saying, “Know thyself.”

“Step one is, examine your skill set. What are you good at? What are you not good at? Do you want to be a consultant, or do you want to be an independent who generates prospects?

“The other important thing is to prepare a business plan,” he said. ‘What is my timeline here?’ It takes much longer to establish yourself than most people anticipate.”

A geologist going independent should have the full support of his or her family and at least two years of working capital in the bank, Hobbs advised.

It also helps to have a specialty.

“You have to be an expert in something until you get established,” he said.

“Identify where the trends are and put yourself there,” he added. “Be on the leading edge. That’s what the market is looking for, not old ideas in old areas.”

Hobbs, an AAPG member and former president of the Division of Professional Affairs, said he decided to start his own business in 1980, a boom time for the industry. He teamed up with Gareth Roberts, now president of Denbury Resources Inc.

But two years later their funding dried up, oil prices crashed and Hobbs had to find a new direction. He began advising institutional investors with billions tied up in problematic oil and gas portfolios.

“In the 1980s I developed a tremendous business in workouts with these institutions,” he said. “I found a niche where there was nobody in the Northeast, from Boston to Washington, offering that kind of geotechnical-financial expertise.

“The message is, ‘Research the market. Find a niche,’” he noted.
Working with other experts can open new business opportunities: “If you have multi-talents, fine. If you don’t, team up,” Hobbs said. Teaming up with consultants in Houston has helped him stay centered in the oil patch, all the way from Connecticut.

“You can do it from anywhere,” Hobbs observed. “I have a virtual company. There are three of us working on a project right now. One of us is in Calgary, one of us is in Houston and I’m here. And the client is somewhere else.”

Virtual and Reality

The idea of “core competency” leads many start-ups to outsource all other functions. It’s possible to build a virtual oil company – but be careful, Ireland cautioned.

“The more we outsource, the less is in our control,” he said. “That’s a real risk. The more control we lose, the greater our dependency on those to whom we have given that control.

“Your firm never wants to outsource to another firm what it can do exceptionally well,” he added. “Sometimes entrepreneurial firms don’t understand what it is they do well.”

Ireland said three problems for the entrepreneur account for the failure of many new businesses:
• Not fully understanding the market’s needs.
• Not recognizing the difference between cash flow and sales/income.
• Not being able to cope with the sheer magnitude of stress involved.

That stress shows up in a number of different ways and comes from several different directions. One challenge is the
number of roles a new business owner must fill.

“One second I’m talking to a banker about capital,” Ireland said, “the next minute I’m talking to someone in the field who has a serious production problem.”

Also, moving from management in a large company to ownership in a start-up means giving up the company support network – even the support that used to come from above.

“There is no one else to turn to,” Ireland noted. “I’m the boss. It’s me.”

Great Expectations

Edward A. “Ted” Beaumont started a business as a consulting geologist – “It was something I always wanted to do,” he said – then watched the price of oil dip toward $8 a barrel in 1996.

“I kept going but I was thinking, ‘What am I doing? Am I crazy?’” Beaumont recalled.
“A lot of guys who were like me who were consultants are no longer consultants. There are a few who have hung in there anyway,” he added.

Beaumont, recently elected AAPG secretary, said things are “incredibly better” today. But it’s still not easy for an independent.

“We’re in an upswing, not a boom. People are still discriminating on what they want to take and what they’ll drill. They don’t want to drill wildcats,” he said.

To get established, a consulting geologist has to develop a reputation for specialized expertise, Beaumont noted. That can be in a geographical area or a technical area.

“If it’s seismic interpretation, that’s good. If it’s log interpretation, it’s good. Find an area you can be a specialist in,” he said.

The solo geologist also needs the patience and determination to see a project to completion, according to Beaumont.

“It’s not like there’s a smooth transition from when you get an idea to when the well is drilled. It sort of goes in spurts,” he observed.

“The bottom line is, you’ve got to get a well drilled. All those other things don’t matter until you can get the well drilled,” he said.

Ireland compared the operational choices for an entrepreneur to the difference between exploration and exploitation.
Some exploration has to get done in order for exploitation to take place down the line. And the entrepreneur must deal with “that constant tension between doing things today to produce profit, yet knowing the things I’m doing today are not what I will need to be doing tomorrow,” he said.

In addition to the stress of operations, an entrepreneur has to secure the money and the people to make a company successful. That can be a problem in the oil industry today, when capable and experienced people are in short supply.

“I would make certain that I have commitments from the human capital that’s needed to make the business work,” Ireland said.

Staying Alive

In choosing a business path, an entrepreneur should play to his or her own strengths, Ireland agreed.

“The probability of entrepreneurial success increases when you are engaging in a business that’s grounded in a skill set in which you are deeply involved,” he said.

And an entrepreneur has to be prepared for the two most traumatic things that can happen to a business.

The first is failure.

The second is a great deal of success.

The challenge of success, of managing a rapidly growing company, has confounded more than its share of aspiring entrepreneurs.

“There are so many entrepreneurs that can grow the business to a certain level, but lack the skills to take it to the next level,” Ireland said.

Finally, the independent geologist has to be prepared to go on for many years when success seems just out of reach. In three words: Hang in there.

“It takes persistence. My kids laugh at me for my sayings, but ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,’” Hobbs said.

“Some people get lucky right off the bat. That could happen,” Beaumont commented, “but most people I’ve talked to were doing it for a long time before the luck hit.”

16-Sep-07 5:00 PM

Cables Are Munchies for Critters

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 14:00:00 GMT

Cables are Munchies for Critters

By DAVID BROWN
AAPG EXPLORER Correspondent

Ask any number of professionals in the oil and gas industry the following question: “What is the biggest challenge facing on-land seismic acquisition today?” And you are bound to get the same answer: “Cows eating the seismic cable.”
Wait. Don’t leave.
Cattle actually have been known to chew up any unburied or exposed cable left on the ground. It’s a real and serious problem for the seismic acquisition sector.
Okay, a real problem.

Input/Output Inc., a Houston-based seismic company, estimates that up to50 percent of seismic acquisition time is spent on cable troubleshooting and repair. AAPG member Charles Wickstrom, managing partner of Spyglass Energy in Tulsa, said his company conducts seismic acquisition operations through Alliance Geophysical. “We run approximately 500channels of live lines, of cable on the ground, which means we have 1,500 geophones on the ground at any onetime,” Wickstrom said. “When we’re working in areas where cattle are present, we have a tremendous problem with the cattle eating the cable and the geophones,” he added.

Rodents have been a long-time problem for geophysical companies because they are widespread on land and tend to gnaw into any cable they encounter. Several kinds of rodent-proofing for seismic cable have been tried through the years. “Depending on where you shoot in Texas and Louisiana, you have rats that are just unbelievable in how much damage they can cause,” said Joe Broussard, regional manager for Dawson Geophysical Co. in Oklahoma City. Broussard said his company also has encountered problems from cattle damaging or destroying cable and geophones. He explained that a number of olfactory irritants, including heavy pine scent and hot red pepper mixtures, have been tried to discourage critters from chomping on the cable. “There was even somebody who came up with a spray that has lion’s urine in it, but nothing I have ever seen is really effective,” he said. Deer and even wild pigs can chew through seismic cable put down in forested areas, Wickstrom said. In the arctic, seismic crews have to protect cable from the arctic fox, which seems to have a special appetite for the lines.

During a seismic project on Canada’s Banks Islands, the crew doused the cable with diesel fuel to discourage gnawing by caribou. Arctic foxes still caused up to five breaks per day. The prospect of cattle eating through seismic cable brings up a number of technical questions. For instance, what kind do they like? Do they prefer the traditional Crunchy Coaxial? Or is there a move to trendier tastes, like Mocha Fine Filament? Do cattle see a string of seismic cable and think: “Buffet!”?

(Don’t) Give Me a Home …

In the seismic business, the common and correct term for cable that connects the geophone sensors to the seismic recording truck is “cable.” It’s also called geophone cable or geophone line. A jughand, jug hustler or juggie is a
person on a seismic crew who positions the geophones. (*You will need this information later.) Wickstrom said Alliance Geophysical can have 20 miles of electrical cable spread over three square miles at one time. “There might be 15-18 cables destroyed on any given day,” he said. “We have several full-time employees who do nothing but repair cable.” The longer a cable has to stay on the ground in cattle country, the more likely it is to get chomped. “With this wide-azimuth 3-D, you can have cable on the ground for 10 days to two weeks,” Broussard noted. He said seismic cable typically will stay on the ground for an average of even days during a shoot. Cattle have been a threat to seismic recorders left in place for a long period to measure earthquake waves, according to an Australian scientist. “We have to be careful with cattle and sheep,” he said. “Cattle will often destroy a recorder. Sheep you can normally keep at bay by surrounding the recorder with fallen timber.”(Sheep are easily tricked.)

Range Rovers
The attraction that cable and geophones hold for cattle can be explained in a number of ways. First, people almost never use the word “smart” and the word “cattle” in the same sentence, except for this one: “Cattle ain’t too smart. ”Also, cattle will get into anything within chewing reach, including (a personal memory) a box of fencing nails. “They eat everything,” Wickstrom said. “They’ll eat the wire off the trucks, if you let them get to it.” Insulation on the cable has been thought to attract gnawing animals. Wickstrom said “they might be attracted to the sweat on the palms of the jughands.” (*Told you.) On the theory that salt from sweat attracted the animals, Alliance set out salt blocks in the seismic shoot area, trying to lure the cattle away from the cable, he said.

At other times, farmers have been asked to remove their cattle from the shoot area and pasture them elsewhere. “We have actually made a plow that makes a trench, and you bury the cable and the geophones at the same time,” Broussard said. However, land owners aren’t always willing to give permission to bury the cable, he said. And cattle have proven remarkably persistent at chewing up the lines. “In our shooting in Osage County (Oklahoma), it became such a problem that we hired cowboys to work on our crew,” Wickstrom said.

These seismic cowboys move the herd away from the cables and pasture them down at night to protect operations, he explained. Despite the best efforts of the industry, cable loss because of livestock and other animals is a continuing problem. Finding breaks and repairing or replacing cables can be a time consuming process, delaying acquisition projects and adding significant expense. “Some companies have even gone to charging the clients for lost cables, ”Wickstrom noted. Until someone comes up with a better deterrent, seismic cable and geophones will be susceptible to damage by cattle, rats, mice, deer, pigs, foxes and other gnawing creatures. In response to the growing concern, a survey of well-informed petroleum geologists came up with this question: What about goats? “Fortunately, we haven’t gotten any goats yet,” Wickstrom said. “Thank goodness.”

(Thank you to AAPG Correspondent David Brown and the AAPG for allowing this reprint of David's article originally found in the June 2007 issue of the AAPG Explorer)

16-Jun-07 9:00 AM

HAPL Officer's Forum - Mike Shaw

Tue, 15 May 2007 19:00:00 GMT

Integrity, Influence and Impact
by Mike Shaw, CPL

The theme of this year’s HAPL officer’s columns is “Integrity, Influence, and Impact”…the three “I’s”. When you think about it, this theme is so very applicable to every facet of what we do, whether we are running title, buying a lease, or working in house.

Usually, it is up to the field landman to correctly identify and gain the trust of the lessor. Then he/she must try to persuade the lessor that he/she is dealing with the best company to get a well drilled and to get the lessor signed up in a timely fashion... The three I’s at work. As the saying goes, “No lease, no grease”.

The oil and gas industry may be one the last surviving main line industries in America. By and large we are a no non sense, rough and tumble bunch who like to drill wells with big rigs and, hopefully, make a lot of money doing it. We work in one of the riskiest industries and one that requires an enormous amount of investment capital to run it. The main disciplines that work in the industry (land, geoscientists, and engineers) are highly educated, trained professionals. An idea is captured, planned out, and executed. An outsider might be tempted to make the observation that we are a well integrated, highly efficient industry, prudently rationalizing our business.

Why then is there so much disconnect between the disciplines? How can professionals work side by side with each other for over twenty years and still not understand, or care, what the other professional component is doing? Yet wells are drilled and big money is made. How is that? Again, the three “I’s” in play…

As Land professionals in this industry, we have to prove ourselves each and every day to our professional peers. While trying to keep the peace inside, we are trying to negotiate contracts that are agreeable with our counterparts, while fielding demands from our Lessors. Ultimately, a well gets drilled and so the cycle goes.

Consider the alternative if just one “I” is missing from the formula, whether you are a field landman, broker, or in house--if you have ever had that experience, you know first hand what a train wreck it is. We are all responsible to each other and to the Lessor. Sometimes a train wreck does happen, but if you have prosecuted your business with the three “I’s” in place, there should be no regrets.

15-May-07 2:00 PM

MORE AND MORE ONLINE IN TEXAS! by Alan H. Morgan, CPL

Mon, 14 May 2007 22:00:00 GMT

MORE AND MORE ONLINE IN TEXAS!

By: Alan H. Morgan, CPL
Access Exploration Corp.
amorgan1@flash.net

There are now over 100 Texas Counties online through the individual County Clerks’ websites, but mostly from private providers. As I have admonished you before, not all websites are equal. Since most of records come through private providers, you cannot rely solely on a particular website, but should index your runsheet in the County Clerk’s office.
I recently had the opportunity to visit with Jason Smith with http://texasfile.com/ regarding the counties his website has online. http://texasfile.com/ currently has 47 Texas Counties online. They have several new counties such as Aransas, Bell, Bosque, Freestone, Lubbock, Matagorda, Navarro, Refugio, San Patricio and Wood Counties, Texas. I am pleased to finally find Freestone and Refugio Counties online.

Check http://www.taxnetusa.com/ for Aransas, Bell, Matagorda and San Patricio Counties, Texas as well as numerous other counties.

http://www.titlex.com/ has recently added Johnson and Liberty Counties, Texas which are not found anywhere else.
http://www.countyrecords.com/ has other counties not found elsewhere such as Camp, Shelby, Concho, Edwards, Kimble, Limestone, Real, Runnels, San Augustine and San Saba Counties, Texas. Is West Texas finally opening up?
http://etitlesearch.com/ has many South Texas counties online. Dewitt County should be online by the time you read this.
http://courthousedirect.com/ now has document images in 63 counties.
http://www.edoctecinc.com/ has Houston and Mitchell Counties that are not found elsewhere.
There are over 20 Texas County Clerks themselves online with access to instruments.
Every time I go online I find new and improved websites giving Landmen more and more access to records across the country.

If your company has all or part of any well documented, high quality prospects that it is selling, give me a call at (713) 621-2777.

Please email or call if you find any websites that would be beneficial to Landmen.

I am available to come in-house and tutor companies and individuals on different websites that will make their work more efficient, less costly and timelier. I can be reached at (281) 980-6455 or amorgan1@flash.net.

14-May-07 5:00 PM

Flat Files Futures is Now by John L. Hunt, CPL

noemail@hapl.org — Fri, 04 May 2007 13:00:00 GMT

Fellow landman John L. Hunt, CPL, has given us permission to share three articles he has written on the subject of Microsoft Excel as a productivity tool for landmen. Below, in three parts, are his articles:

Part 1 – Excel Standard Format vs Word for Flat File Spreadsheets

Part 2 – More on the Efficacy of the lowly Flat File et al

Part 3 – Preferential Rights, Valuations Schedules – the Ultimate Flat File

John Hunt is a tech savvy landman residing in Denver, Colorado. In the past, John held the position of HAPL IT Committee Chairman and has won AAPL awards for his work in our profession. He can be reached at John L. Hunt, CPL & Associates, jlh-as@houston.rr.com.

4-May-07 8:00 AM

Let's Go To The Barnet Shale Again by Alan Morgan

noemail@hapl.org — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 10:00:00 GMT

LET’S GO TO THE BARNET SHALE AGAIN!

By: Alan H. Morgan, CPL
Access Exploration Corp.
amorgan1@flash.net

I give talks to groups in cycles. I go to Dallas three times in April to speak to various professional groups. Perhaps it is time to revisit the Barnet Shale.

A great source of surface information is found through appraisal district websites. http://www.taxnetusa.com/ covers many counties in the Barnet Shale including Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hood, Jack, Johnson, Kaufman, Montague, Parker and Wise Counties. http://www.txcountydata.com covers Bosque, Hamilton and Denton Counties. Tarrant County is served through its own website at http://www.tad.org/. Two years ago, using http://www.tad.org/ and the Tarrant County Clerk’s Website, http://ccanthem.co.tarrant.tx.us/, I did a lease check on every tract over 40 acres in 30 days without leaving my office. You can check for individual county appraisal districts by “Googling” the county name + appraisal district.

Most of the County Clerks’ Records in the Barnet Shale have multiple websites to use. http://www.titlex.com covers Collin, Denton, Hood, Johnson, Kaufman, Palo Pinto, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant and Wise Counties. http://www.courthousedirect.com/ covers Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant and Wise Counties. https://texaslandrecords.com covers Denton, Grayson, Kaufman Rockwall and Wise Counties. Collin, http://countyclerkrecords.co.collin.tx.us/webinquiry/; Dallas, http://www.realestate.countyclerk.dallascounty.org/; Parker, http://www.parker.tx.us.landata.com/; and Tarrant County Clerks, http://ccanthem.co.tarrant.tx.us/ have their own websites.

www.etitlesearch.com is expanding its coverage to include Starr and Victoria Counties. www.etitlesearch.com will soon have Dewitt County, Texas online, the first time anywhere.

I went to London APPEX in March (it sure beats Zapata and Rio Grande City for a road trip!) as part of a team to search for prospects for my company, Access Exploration Corp. I had no trouble accessing the websites I needed in London. I further went to Prague in the Czech Republic and again had to trouble accessing the websites I needed. Since I was using hotel and public access computers, you must convert Windows from the local language, Czech to English and off you go. If your company has all or part of any well documented, high quality prospects that it is selling, give me a call at (713) 621-2777.

Please email or call if you find any websites that would be beneficial to Landmen.

18-Apr-07 5:00 AM