Deputies accompany seismic crews in Wyo.

Sheriff’s deputies have been accompanying crews while they explore for oil beneath two residential subdivisions east of Cheyenne.

The Laramie County deputies are going along to prevent any misunderstandings between the crews and homeowners, sheriff’s spokesman Gerry Luce said Feb. 3.

“We have not had any issues that I’m aware of at this time,” Luce said.

Wyoming law allows geophysical crews to access private property to explore for oil and gas with or without the landowner’s permission. The situation crops up because of the “split estate” that exists across much of the West, where landowners often don’t own the minerals beneath their property.

The mineral rights often belong to someone else who retains the right to access the land to explore for oil, gas or other minerals.

Deputies have been accompanying crews in the Durham Estates and Triple Crown Estates subdivisions, about seven miles from the Cheyenne city limits, Luce said. Each subdivision covers about a square mile and consists of lots of about five to 10 acres each.

The geophysical crews use special trucks to shake the ground. The crews record echoes from the vibrations to create images of the underlying geology.

Some homeowners around Cheyenne have opposed oil exploration in their neighborhoods while crews study the potential of the Niobrara Shale formation to yield oil in profitable quantities.

The Niobrara oil 5,000 feet or more below the surface has been a target of increased exploration over the past few years. Companies have obtained dozens of drilling permits in Laramie County but have drilled relatively few new oil wells.

—Associated Press