Split estate ballot initiative proposed

The Associated Press

A group of Wyoming landowners is petitioning for a statewide vote on increasing their bargaining powers during negotiations over oil and gas development.

The landowners submitted an application with Wyoming Secretary of State Joe Meyer on April 26 to place a split estate initiative on the 2006 general election ballot. He has 14 days to review the request.

According to the group, at least 11.6 million acres in Wyoming are under divided ownership or split estate, in which a surface owner does not own the underlying minerals. Landowners like Daniel, Wyo., rancher John Andrikopoulos argue that oil and gas companies are not compelled to truly negotiate with them in good faith because the mineral estate is dominate over the surface estate under Wyoming law.

They believe changes to state statutes are needed.

“I am from a longtime oil and gas family in Wyoming and I support the oil industry in our state, but I don’t believe they should be able to operate on my land without fully compensating me for all the damages they cause,” Andrikopoulos said.

Mineral owners can post bond if no agreement reached

“Voluntary measures worked a long time. They worked for me,” Pavillion, Wyo., landowner Bill Garland said. “But the industry in Wyoming has changed. The top three producers are all foreign-owned, none in the top 10 producers have headquarters here in Wyoming anymore, and most of them just have a field office.

“They’re mostly publicly held, so their first responsibility is to their shareholders, not the Wyoming landowners. That’s different from how it used to be, and now we realize the laws must be different also.”

With the Bureau of Land Management prepared to permit thousands of new wells in coming years, landowners argued it’s critical they be given more power in development negotiations soon.

“(More wells) can have an overwhelming impact on the character and quality of our surface lands and aquifers,” Gillette, Wyo., resident Eric Barlow said.