For this project over the Eagle Ford shale play in Karnes County, Texas, SAM was originally tasked to stake three well drilling sites and provide permit-to-drill plats to meet the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) requirements. Despite strict deadlines due to a demanding rig schedule, the firm was able to complete all work on time. As a result, SAM was assigned several more well staking projects by the same client, ultimately staking over 325 wells on more than 80 drill sites within Karnes and Live Oak Counties. SAM surveyed over 60 drilling units, each requiring mineral surveys and rectified boundaries in order to complete the plats and metes and bounds descriptions. The firm also amended multiple drilling units due to discoveries and discrepancies in the title research provided by the client.
For each of the wells our field crews first provided soft-staking for location, which was then reviewed by the client and landowners for constructability. Once approved, hard-staking was performed and T-posts were set at the pad corners and surface locations. This data was then processed by technicians to provide the client with surface use plats. The firm then completed the permit-to-drill plats for the Texas RRC. Subsequently, wells were drilled and SAM utilized downhole data to complete the as-drilled permit plats. Once drilling was complete on a site and the rigs had moved, SAM returned and surveyed the as-built extents of the pads and roads, then provided the client with plats for damages to the landowner. In addition to the drilling projects, SAM’s involvement in the area also included other upstream projects such as gathering lines, facility sites, fracking pits, water wells and water line surveys.
