NEXUS - CAPLA · 2 NEXUS w August 2007 Board Development Committee What do we do?T he Board Development Committee (Commit-tee) was formed in conjunction with the Board of Directors

VOLUNTEERDEVELOPMENT

BOARDDEVELOPMENT

COMMITTEE

MEMBERSHIPRENEWALCHANGES

NEXUS

RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO1600, 144 – 4 Avenue S.W. Calgary, AB T2P 3N4Office email: [email protected]

PM 40825561

August 2007

ALSO IN THIS ISSUEw CAPLA Corporate Fee

Title Committeew Leased Fee Guidelinesw CAPLA Management &

Supervisory Summit

YOUR GUIDETO RECENT

CAPLA NEWS

Science broadcaster and writer Jay Ingram is co-host of Discovery Channel’s Daily

Planet – the first daily, hour-long primetime science and nature news broadcast.

He also hosted CBC Radio’s Quirks and Quarks from 1979 to 1992 which earned

him two ACTRA Awards, including one for best host. Along with eight other books

(three of which have won Canadian Science Writer’s Awards), Mr. Ingram has

most recently written the book Theatre of the Mind to tremendous reviews.

Join us October 1, 2007 at CAPLA’s Annual Management Night to hear Mr. Ingram speak on his latest work and let your “consciousness” be awakened.

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CAPLA Management Night October 1, 2007 Registration opens soon!

“Doesn’t consciousness seem like the most amazing thing ever? For one thing, everything that goes on in there: music, thoughts, plans,

emotions, dreams, memories – is somehow created inside the brain. How on earth can that possibly be done by mere physics and chemistry?

Scientists can’t answer that yet, but they have shown that consciousness is much less than it seems.”

CAPLA Office Aimée Cranston Office Manager

Michael Williamson Systems Analyst

Melody Kokai Administrative Assistant

1600, 144 – 4 Avenue S.W.

Calgary, AB T2P 3N4

Ph: (403) 571-0640 Fax: (403) 571-0644

Website: www.caplacanada.org

Office Email: [email protected]

Board of Directors President Gordon Dainard

Past President Ty Hansen

Vice-President Deb Waterhouse

Secretary/Treasurer Donald Bartier

External Relations Director Sherry Batke

Education Director Brandy Brhelle

Operations Director Jeff Bryksa

Volunteer Development Coordinator Laura Garaycochea

Certification Chair Kevin McFarlane

Board Development – Standing Chair Michelle Sportak

Certification – Standing Chair Kevin MacFarlane

CAPLA NEXUS is a publication of CAPLA

Produced by the NEXUS Committee

Director Jeff Bryksa

Editor/Chair Wendy Walker

Assistant Editor Nadine Ukueku

Editorial Team Susan Bayly, Trisha Gray,

Sally Jackson, Hannah Krtolica,

Shelbey Poirier, Shane Raman,

Melissa Sadal

Design Folio Publication Design

Printing McAra Printing

Publication Schedule Article Submission Deadline Mailout November NEXUS October 11, 2007 November 23, 2007

February NEXUS January 10, 2008 February 15, 2008

Effective July 1, 2007 CAPLA’s membership was 2487.

All articles printed under an author’s name represent the views of the author.Publication neither implies approval of the opinions expressed nor accuracy of the facts stated.

IN THIS ISSUE

NEXUS August 2007

Board Development Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Volunteer Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

CAPLA Membership Renewal System Changes . . . . . . . . 6

Message From The President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

CAPLA Corporate Fee Title Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

External Relations Portfolio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

CAPLA Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Holdings: What I Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

You Wanted To Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Centre for Energy Asset Management Studies (CEAMS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Did You Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

2007 P&NG Tenure Information Exchange . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Leased Fee Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Upcoming CAPLA Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

CAPL Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

A Winner’s Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

CAPLA Management & Supervisory Summit . . . . . . . . . 30

Road Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

CAPLA information at a glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

NEXUS w August 20072

Board Development CommitteeWhat do we do?

T he Board Development Committee (Commit-tee) was formed in conjunction with the Board of Directors (The Board) as they began the process of

evolving from a working board to a board of governance. The Committee is a standing board committee and reports directly to The Board.

The Committee’s purpose involves:w The responsibility of maintaining the health and

sustainability of The Board.

w Developing a skill set matrix for assessing each of the Director’s portfolios.

w Acting as the Nominating Committee, and as such no active member of the Committee is eligible to run for a Director’s portfolio.

w Initiating the formation of short-term Subcommittees and/or Task Forces at the request of The Board.

w The annual review of: w Bylawsw Board Policiesw Board Charterw Board Governance

and, if required, bringing forth any recommendations to The Board.

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3NEXUS w August 2007

The Committee plays a crucial advisory role to The Board, and only acts upon request and with approval from The Board. To maintain this close working relation-ship, it is imperative to keep communication between The Board and the Committee flowing. Therefore, the President and/or Vice President of The Board attend the monthly Committee meetings and the Committee Chair also attends The Board meetings and planning sessions upon invitation.

As a committee, it is exciting to be an integral part of this organization. Through providing support and sustainability to The Board, the Committee contributes to the active growth and development of CAPLA in its transition to a governance structure. W

Michelle SportakBoard Development Committee Chair

Volunteer Development

A little more than a year prior to the last AGM, the CAPLA Board looked at the need to have a portfolio dedicated to making volunteer

experiences within CAPLA engaging and fulfill-ing. Rather than each Board Director attempting to manage the volunteer aspects of their portfolio themselves, a separate portfolio was established to deal with needs assessment, recruitment, orientation, recognition, retention … all of the aspects of volun-teer management. What was evident at that time and even more so today, is that with each Director of the

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Board also serving as a volunteer, the demands on their time were rapidly increasing. It made sense to reallo-cate certain responsibilities and step into a new phase in CAPLA’s growth by having Volunteer Development as a separate portfolio.

Consider the construc-tion of a new building. It takes some time for the building to go up. The site excavation to put in the moorings and foundation comes first. There seems to be some activity going on but not a lot is visible. Then one day you drive by and the building has gone up almost by magic. It would seem as if in a blink of an eye it stands gleaming in the sun with occupants coming and going in a steady stream. Similarly, the Board is now involved in the stages of the development of the moor-ings and foundation of Volunteer Development. By the end of the summer we are hopeful that our foundation will be laid and our program will go up, floor by floor.

In the last few months, as I have worked with the Board reviewing a vision that will lead to a develop-ment of a five-year plan for volunteerism, it has become apparent that CAPLA is positioned on the leading edge as a professional association. From a continuous vision of its former leaders and expanding forward with its present leaders, both the uniqueness of our Association as well as the ways in which volunteers contribute to the objectives of CAPLA will be demonstrated in the coming months.

The trends in volunteerism as a whole have moved beyond the traditional long-term volunteers

to volunteering experiences such as episodic volun-teers, employee volunteerism, virtual volunteerism, voluntourism, family volunteerism, job sharing … each with their potential benefits to enrich the fabric

of our Association. We are poised to avail ourselves of the unique contribution of each type of volunteer experience. In subsequent articles in the NEXUS or on the website, discussion of these types of experi-ences will be presented.

Since taking on the position as the Director of Volunteer Development, I have spent time liais-ing with various groups. Meetings have been under-taken with members in the Associate category, Membership Services, and others to obtain a sense of

what the needs and concerns are to establish a direction for Volunteer Development. As part of the objective of this article, I solicit from you the reader your thoughts or opinions as well.

Research is ongoing regarding legal requirements we may need to put into place in our recruitment and recognition processes to ensure our practices meet Human Rights Legislation, meet the objectives of our Mission Statement and demonstrate sound human resource methodology. Additionally, we are review-ing job description preparation, orientation/training needs, developing equitable and meaningful volunteer recognition, as well as making the management of volunteers a seamless system. Above all, is our interest in ensuring that the experience of the volunteer is a positive one.

From a continuous vision of its former leaders and expanding

forward with its present leaders, both the uniqueness of our Association as well as the ways in which volunteers

contribute to the objectives of CAPLA will be demonstrated

in the coming months.


There is need for hundreds more volunteers covering a broad range of skill sets and a wide variety of excit-ing assignments as we look at the projects the Board wishes to undertake over the next five years. The Board has made a sound commitment that each volunteer in CAPLA will reap real benefits from the precious time they dedicate to CAPLA. Those “real benefits” may take the form of contributions they receive professionally and personally; to their families if they volunteer as a family; to their workplace if they contribute in employee volunteerism; along with significant investments to both the community of the petroleum industry as well as our city.

The Board enthusi-astically encourages you to contact the Office at 303-3363 to speak with the Volunteer Co-ordinator to discuss your interests as a CAPLA member.

w What have you always wanted to do that perhaps your career does not pres-ently encompass?

w What professional development, through volunteer experiences, can CAPLA provide for you to take steps forward in your career?

w What aspirations might you have that CAPLA can assist with to expand your opportunities through experiences or networking?

w What skills and expertise are you rich in?

w Where do you want to develop personally?

w Where can we create the win-win for you?

w What kinds of people do you want to surround your-self with that you can learn from or share with?

These questions are designed to help us match volunteer-ism to truly valuable experi-ences for each volunteer. By not only focusing on, but investing in each and every “one” of our volunteers indi-vidually, we become an even more vibrant organization and a viable sphere of influ-ence in the community.

It seems an appropri-ate moment to say “thank you” to all of the volunteers past and present that have contributed as architects in designing where we are now. In addition, we also add to that the dedication and support the Office Staff have made toward helping

the volunteers successfully complete their projects. It is a moment to pause for applause for countless

contributions daily, whether small or monumental … certainly all are significant. Many hands will be behind the metaphorical scissors cutting the ribbon as the Volunteer Development Program takes its shape on the horizon of CAPLA’s history. W

Laura GaraycocheaVolunteer Development Coordinator

Those “real benefits” may take the form of contributions

they receive professionally and personally; to their

families if they volunteer as a family; to their workplace if they contribute in employee

volunteerism; along with significant investments to both

the community of the petroleum industry as well as our city.


CAPLA Membership Renewal System Changes

For 2007 there have been some changes to our membership renewal methodology. The following is a summary of the changes with a review of exist-

ing policy. If you have any questions or require clarifica-tion on any points, please contact the CAPLA Office by e-mail or phone 571-0640.

Membership Renewal/Extension Logic w With the old system, all CAPLA memberships

expired as of January 1st for each new year, notwith-standing the date they were paid for. With the new system, the function of a “renewal” is essentially an extension of membership validity for a period of twelve (12) months.

w If an account is valid from, for example, May of 2006 until May of 2007, and the membership is renewed in January 2007 (as part of a group renewal) then the membership term will be extended to May of 2008.

Membership Validity w Unchanged is the fact that memberships have a 30-day

grace period after expiry before members are not able to login to the website.




Keeping You Informed w If your membership expires and you are into your

30-day grace period, you will receive a one-time reminder with a link to the renewal area.

w During the online renewal process, validity dates are available to prevent accidental/unintended double or early renewals.

w The Office will be distributing 1-month ‘reminder’ e-mails on the last day of each month, letting you know that you have a renewal upcoming.

w You can view your membership validity term at any time by logging into your account on the website and clicking ‘Edit Profile’.

Important Change To The CAPLA RosterEffective May 1, 2007, the CAPLA Board set a mini-mum standard for the website Roster and all member names must now appear. The Board decision to have all names appear was based on calls from individual members and member companies inquiring about members whose names did not appear on the Roster. It was decided to include all names and, if there were extenuating circumstances why a member’s name should not appear, the member could request the Board to review and waive the minimum requirement on a case-by-case basis.

The CAPLA Office will send an email notice to all members whose name currently do not appear in the Roster. If posting your name on the Roster is a concern for you and you wish your name not to be included, CAPLA will review your request. If you do not advise Aimée at the CAPLA Office otherwise, by September 30, 2007, your name will be included in the CAPLA Roster. W

Member Services

GROUP BENEFITS REMINDER

EVERYONE BENEFITS!

CAPLA has arranged for its members to be eligible to

belong to a comprehensive benefits program, including:

Group LifeDependant Life

Accidental Death & DismembermentLong & Short Term Disability

Extended Healthcare (Major Medical & Prescription Drugs)

Vision CareDental

Health Spending Account

These benefits are available to you as a CAPLA Member, and in addition to the benefits listed

above, CAPLA members can feel free to contact Dann Kepford for quotations for personal/

corporate life insurance, disability and critical illness quotations. Dann is a broker and can

obtain quotes for the entire insurance market.

Please contact: Dann Kepford @ (403) 264-6690


Message From The President

T he 2007 nomination, election and appoint-ment process has resulted in changes to the Board of Directors, which is part of the ongo-

ing growth and transition of the CAPLA Board to a Policy Governance Model. The work done by previ-ous Board members and volunteers is greatly appreci-ated as they have provided us with the opportunity to focus on the growth and professional nature of our business and Association.

The new Board attended the CAPLA Summit and held several planning sessions in regards to the direction it will take to align with our Vision, Mission Statement and Values. The Board will also be holding a full-day strategic planning session in September.

CAPLA Office and New CAPLA Education CentreThe current lease for the Office at Sunlife Plaza has been renewed and additional space acquired to enhance the professional operations of CAPLA. The CAPLA Office is moving to a new and improved space on the 26th Floor of Sunlife Plaza and the current office space on the 12th floor is being converted to the new CAPLA Education Centre. Watch for further updates on this exciting initiative.

Growth of CAPLADuring the transition from an Administrative Board to a Policy Board we began the process of evaluating the requirements to sustain and grow the organiza-tion and to further develop CAPLA as a professional association. The one recurring theme that has been identified is evaluating the requirements to recruit an

Executive Director (ED). The Board will be using the services of CentrePoint Non-Profit Management to assist the Association in determining the needs and requirements for an ED, developing the job descrip-tion, conducting the search, and providing follow-up support for the ED and the Association. A Board Committee will be formed to manage the process and input will be sought from members during the assess-ment process.

CAPLA membership has grown from 2326 members to over 2500 members since July 2006.

Volunteer DevelopmentAs part of the transition to a Policy Governance Board, a new portfolio was created and Laura Garaycochea was appointed as the Director follow-ing the April 11, 2007 AGM. Laura has met with several committees and members to determine the requirements for this new portfolio. In order to


maintain the health of CAPLA, the training and mentoring of volunteers has been identified as a critical step in meeting our Mission Statement.

In conjunction with the Board Planning Session and the work that Laura has initially completed, it became apparent to the Board that the work required to meet our targets would place undue strain on our volunteers. To this end the Board decided to hire a consultant on a short-term contract to assist the Association. Laura subsequently resigned as a Director and accepted the offer to assist on a full-time basis. Laura will continue to handle the require-ments of the Volunteer Development Portfolio and to update the Board Governance Manual, including related policies/processes along with any other tasks to assist the Board.

Board Development CommitteeA standing committee was formed in late 2006 to assist in the development and sustainability of the Board of Directors. The Board welcomes Michelle Sportak to the newly created Standing Chair position for the Board Development Committee.

Feedback from MembersAs your new President, I am very impressed with the dedication and compe-tency of the Board of Directors, Committee Chairs, and the many volunteers that continue to make CAPLA a very unique professional Association.

We are at a point of change and change always brings new innovative ideas along with some resistance. We are hoping to effect the necessary changes in a spirit of

collaboration while still keeping the best parts of the traditions of this fine Association.

As we move to enhance the professionalism and value of CAPLA to Industry, your feedback is crucial to our ongoing success. I will be working with the Technology Committee to develop an online method for providing your comments, ideas and concerns to me through the CAPLA website. In the meantime, please contact me by email at [email protected]. and I will be very pleased to respond.

I look forward to meeting you at one of the CAPLA events. I will generally be near the entrance so please stop and introduce yourself to me or to any of the Board members. W

Gordon DainardPresident

We are at a point of change and change always brings

new innovative ideas along with some resistance. We are hoping to effect the necessary changes in a spirit of collaboration

while still keeping the best parts of the traditions of

this fine Association.


CAPLA Corporate Fee Title Committee

Fee title are mineral interests that include freehold, mineral title, fee simple, mineral fee, P&NG fee, and other descriptions. Basically, it is the way

that ownership of mineral rights are categorized when they are not owned by the Crown. These rights are often developed by the fee title owner who may grant a Head-lease to a Lessee who in turn may grant a Sublease to a Sublessee and so on.

In the spring of 2006, the Canadian Association of Professional Land Administration (CAPLA) established a Corporate Fee Title Committee. The goal of the Committee was to review fee title and freehold business practices amongst the oil and gas companies in Calgary and to develop best prac-tice guidelines which would be recommended to Industry. Since spring 2006, the Corporate Fee Title Committee has been meeting on the first Thursday of every month at locations which are rotated amongst the participating committee member compa-nies. These companies include Talisman Energy, Northrock Resources, BP Canada Energy, Dominion Resources, Rife Resources, Canadian Natural Resources Limited, ConocoPhillips, Devon Canada, EnCana and Husky Energy, as well as others.

The purpose of the Corporate Fee Title Committee includes the creation of standardized documents, training, education, systems, processes, administration, leasing, subleasing, communication and royalties relat-ing to fee title interests. The object of the Corporate


Fee Title Committee is to look at fee title and corpo-rate fee title leasing from the standpoint of the oil and gas company as opposed to the interests of the indi-vidual freehold interest owner. While these interests often coincide, there are specifics that may be unique or of special interest to oil and gas company corporate fee title owners. It is the intention of the members of the Corporate Fee Title Committee to address issues of importance to oil and gas companies respecting the administration and maintenance of the corporate fee title book of business.

The Committee has been busy in 2006-2007. We have firmed up our Terms of Reference, looked closely at how the member companies record fee title data, and created a Corporate Fee Title Comparison Chart broken down into Corporate Leased Fee and Unleased Fee Charts. Subcommittees have also been struck for the purpose of establishing Leased Fee Guidelines (included in this issue of NEXUS on page 23), and to look at and review offset practices currently in use by the member companies. These documents will be posted on the CAPLA website and will be available under the Fee Title Committee link with your password.

There are good reasons for oil and gas compa-nies to meet to review the administration of their fee

title, both in terms of practice and systems. Freehold interests can be difficult to evaluate. Companies with freehold own the minerals fee simple while other oil and gas companies merely lease fee simple interests, often for only a period of time. This means that the fee simple owner’s mineral rights are not limited by time. In many cases, freehold valuation, drilling and abandoning a well on your section of land does not mean that you will never find oil or gas, especially if

the wellbore was not drilled deep enough to evaluate all potentially productive geologi-cal zones. One of the results is that freehold interests are difficult to evaluate making sales little more than guess-ing games.

Understanding the way that companies manage and categorize their freehold interests can lead to better stan-dards by which freehold interests are managed and developed. From a practical standpoint, all evaluations of unde-veloped mineral rights involve elements of risk and chance, and maybe

some “crystal balling”. But while many, if not most eval-uations of mineral rights are somewhat uncertain, from a practical standpoint evaluations of freehold mineral interests are inherently even more uncertain than evalua-tions of lessee interests of mineral companies.

Most Canadian lease properties are evaluated on a regular basis as a result of oil and gas company

In many cases, freehold valuation, drilling and abandoning a

well on your section of land does not mean that you will

never find oil or gas, especially if the wellbore was not drilled deep enough to evaluate all

potentially productive geological zones. One of the results is that

freehold interests are difficult to evaluate making sales little

more than guessing games.


External Relations Portfolio

H ighlighting the past several months since coming into the Director’s position has presented me with several challenges.

A whirlwind of catching up with the several Commit-tee initiatives, learning the current issues that are being wrestled with, becoming familiar with the Governance Model and, of course, meeting the people that make it all happen.

As we move into the next quarter, this Portfolio will be focusing on the edges that are still requiring atten-tion and we will be moving toward managing emerging issues that present to our Association. We are reaching new heights of membership, our profile must meet certain expectations, including participating in confer-ence sponsorship and public presentation, recruitment, educational institution recommendations, attracting new graduates, communicating and delivering on our promotions and credibility. Recognition for our skills as they become more attractive to an industry flooded with challenges including technology, regulatory, politi-cal, economic and social expectations, must be backed up by a strong Association that can move quickly to identify and manage the new expectations as they begin to take shape, and in some cases, anticipating them before they become a reality. Your Association must filter and make sense of those demands, be connected as a community and have the framework to skillfully transform these new items and awaken-ings into manageable pieces for application into your business process models. These models affect your

mergers and acquisitions or speculation and to satisfy the reporting requirements of various securities regu-lators. Often oil companies use professional evalua-tors to assess and provide independent evaluations. These valuators can often use sophisticated modeling of discounted gross and net profits, combined with estimated reserves in place on a probable versus possible recoverable basis. If wells capable of production exist, valuations are typically based on estimates of the volume of oil and gas in place, estimates of recoverable oil and gas, estimates of future costs to produce and estimates of future oil and gas prices and possible taxes and royalties.

If no wells capable of production have been drilled, most evaluators will base their valuations on prices paid for comparable Crown leases and properties in the immediate area. However, estimated values for leased Canadian oil and gas property often vary widely. All of this does not bode well for either the proper valuation of or development of freehold properties owned by oil and gas companies in Canada.

It is our intention to renew our fee-related activi-ties and the Fee Title Committee in October, 2007 and pursue our agenda as defined in our Committee Terms of Reference for the 2007-2008 year. We welcome all interested members to consider becom-ing involved in either this or any other Committees that may be created. It is through our understanding and evaluation of current and best practices that our industry can grow and continue to develop our petro-leum-related natural resources. W

Glen L. NazarukOn behalf of the Fee Title Committee


company’s bottom line and in turn help everyone from government to business to teams and individuals manage the demands.

It was a wonderful treat for me to watch our Government Relations Chair, Linda Westbury, at the table of the Alberta Crown PNG Tenure Joint Association Meeting in May. To see the extent of the admiration the Crown has for our organization and in turn be a part of their success was a highlight for me and, as I left the meeting, I was proud to be a CAPLA member. Please join me in congratulating the Alberta Crown PNG Tenure Team for receiving the Pinnacle Award from the Department of Energy for the E-Bidding Application.

As the changes in BC are a significant impact to the industry, Chair Barb Nielsen, on behalf of the BC Advisory Committee, wanted to ensure our membership was officially advised, so we are going to highlight recent information for you here … “Effective and pursuant to Royal Assent March 29, 2007 the Government of British Columbia, Ministry of Energy and Mines has enacted Zone Specific Retention, reference to Information Letter Titles-07-06, and Amendments to the Petroleum and Natural Gas are listed under BILL 12-2007, Miscellaneous Statues Amendment Act under Sections 59 and 67.” A copy can be found at: http://www.leg.bc.ca/38th3rd/3rd_read/gov12-3-.htm.

Industry Relations has been hard at work and Kathryn Payne, Industry Relations Chair, has been kept busy reorganizing to meet the Saskatchewan ISC Advisory Committee developments. As the Province moves into changes to their Mines and Minerals Act, the ISC developments are meeting the increased activity in that Province, Saskatchewan really has welcomed our Association to the table and CAPLA has met the demand with eager enthusiasm and success. As they move into testing from all different aspects of industry for their title system, Linda Kriff has agreed to represent our Association as an end user

and her Committee will be involved with feedback to ensure the system meets the demands we will be placing on it.

I also was invited to the Surface Land Administration Advisory Committee, Chair Senga Wakefield, and my expectations were exceeded. This Committee is on a roll frontlining the issues through a dynamic group of very experienced Surface Land Administrators and Managers. Again, I was awed by the knowledge, collaboration and organization they have in their plans of attack to evaluate and lay out the process for the betterment of their community. If you are look-ing for an opportunity to be on the cutting edge of advising industry or your own team at work, studying new regulations and being the first to really know the impacts and the direction Surface is headed, you need to hook up with these leaders.

I wanted to take this time to bring you along with me on my trip so far as a Director. I am relying on the communication channels set up through the previous Board for reporting to the members and, in there, you will find the experts that are advising governments, peers, disciplines. Make a call – volunteer to help – the dividends are amazing. This Board has faced some real challenges to move our burgeoning membership into the Governance Model; the biggest challenge of all is managing an experienced and energetic volunteer force. I am grateful for the lessons so far and I hope you embrace and participate in the vision we have for our membership under the guidance of our experi-enced members, our new and past Board, and with that energy, we continue to manage the challenges that the industry, government and businesses have come to expect of us, as we emerge into a new arena of growth for all our members. W

Sherry BatkeDirector


Across 4. Type of well drilled to extend the boundary of an existing

pool or in search of new reserves.

5. Written statement sworn or affirmed before one who is

authorized to administer an oath.

7. For this type of Royalty, production is not free of costs.

8. Under the Dower Act this is the parcel of land on which the

primary dwelling of the owner or occupant resides.

10. Type of agreement where one party agrees to perform work

on lands held by the other party, in exchange for an interest

in those lands.

11. A tax applied to monies paid to a non-resident of Canada.

13. A right acquired by one party from another party permitting

use of the others land without profit.

14. A well that is no longer capable of production.

Down 1. Failure to fulfill a duty or obligation under a lease or

contract.

2. Area designated by the AEUB within a spacing unit in which

a well must penetrate the producing zone (2 words).

3. This certificate is issued under the EPEA certifying the land

has been satisfactorily reclaimed.

6. If a person is deprived of land because of the operation of

the Land Titles Office, they may seek compensation from

this fund.

9. Often done to a well when there is a lack of market or it has

yet to be connected to a pipeline (2 words).

12. Government agency responsible for issuing drilling licences

and spacing orders. W

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CAPLA Crossword


Holdings: What I KnowWhy a Holding?

A Holding allows an oil company (“Lessee”) to have more flexibility in maximizing ultimate recov-ery within an oil pool than the more traditional

downspacing applications (i.e. 80 and 40-acre spacing units). The traditional downspacing provisions are still available but the downside is they require drilling within the “target areas” of the reduced spacing units, including the requirement to drill within 2% of total depth within the target area, to avoid being subject to off-target penal-ties. This may suit the purposes of the Lessee in some cases but if the Lessee needs to be able to drill outside the tradi-tional target area the Lessee should consider a Holding.

The minimum area required for a Holding appli-cation is 160 acres and the EUB (Board) looks at the following 3 issues before approving an application: common ownership within the Holding area, the area of the buffer zone around the Holding area, and the inter-well distance within the Holding area.

Common OwnershipThe Board requires the same registered working interest ownership of the Lessees within the Holding area. The Board takes into consideration the “after-payout” interests such that if the initial working interest of the parties was 50/50 but one of the parties elected to assume a penalty position, as per standard CAPL Operating Procedure provisions for the drilling of a well or other operation, then the test for common ownership would still be satisfied. Contractual arrangements between parties that do not impact the registered lease interests are not taken into account when testing common ownership.

In the previous example, should the party have farmed out a portion of its interest to the other party, then the Holding area may not qualify as common ownership if the registered lease interests are susceptible to change at some point in time.

The Board does not consider encumbrances such as non-convertible overriding royalties as something affect-ing common ownership and looks only at the Lessee and Lessor’s registered ownership. Once a Holding is established, if and when one of the parties within the Holding goes penalty on a well within the Holding, the Holding will be maintained. Should the ownership change by way of farm-out or sale, then the Board could rescind the Holding.

If the parties within the Holding do not meet the common ownership definition and all parties within the Holding area can agree in writing to the Holding then this agreement would satisfy the Board’s requirements.

Where the ownership within the Holding area isn’t the same then 5.130 of the Regulations allows for common ownership if the parties involved “have agreed to pool their interests”. Even if a pooling doesn’t work, as long as all parties within the Holding area agree that they want to have a Holding despite any differences in ownership, the EUB will be satisfied with this agreement amongst the parties. It is imperative to “get it in writing” to not only satisfy the EUB when it sets up the Holding in the first place but also it will make it more difficult for future owners to possibly try to get the Holding rescinded.

The Board also requires the Lessor ownership to be common within the Holding area. If the Holding area is comprised of both Crown and Freehold leases, the applicant would require the written consent of the Freehold Lessors.

Note: the EUB has put the onus on the industry to monitor itself so the EUB will only get involved in a situation where “common ownership” is an issue if a party brings it to their attention. I would expect the EUB to want the complaining party to explain why the situation is an issue and what it affects before they proceed with amending an existing Holding.


Buffer ZoneThe buffer zone for the Holding area should be the same as the buffer zone for the existing spacing unit and therefore the offsetting mineral owners would not have a “reasonable” objection. For example, Target Area 1 for a 160-acre spacing unit requires a buffer of 200m. If the Holding Application for 160 acres requests a buffer of 200m, the offsetting mineral owner cannot object. In Target Area 1, a 40-acre spacing unit requires a buffer of 100m. Therefore, a Holding Application requesting a 100m buffer would prevent the offsetting mineral owner from having grounds for an objection.

Normal target conditions would apply (i.e. well center to be 2% of total depth from the subsurface target area or have a directional survey if inside the 2% distance). If a well was drilled having a bottom-hole loca-tion within the buffer zone, and if the offsetting mineral owner objects, the Board could penalize well production based on normal off-target penalty rules.

Well DensityTo minimize any concerns regarding equity issues the Board may have, the well density (inter-well distance) within a Holding Application should be the same as that currently permitted in the offsetting spacing units. The proposed number of wells to be produced from the Holding area cannot be greater than the number of wells that can be produced by offsetting mineral owners.

Should you wish to apply for a Holding that has a buffer zone which is less than the existing spacing unit or a well density that would provide for more wells than the offsetting lands, then the Board would require justifica-tion from the Lessee and the offsetting landowners may have a cause for objecting.

The Holding ApplicationUpon receipt of the Holding Application, and if the EUB’s requirements are met, the EUB will send a Notice for Objections to the offsetting mineral owners

advising them of the nature of the Application and that if no objections are received within a certain period of time (usually 16 days), the EUB will approve the Application.

Continuation IssueThe Alberta Department of Energy (ADE) does not recognize Holdings when processing Continuations. The ADE looks to the spacing unit prior to the Holding when evaluating a Continuation Application. A Lessee could conceivably lose a portion of their lease within a Holding should a spacing unit not be consid-ered productive.

For ExampleA situation occurred in 2004, where the ADE had put LSDs 1&8 of Section 16-87-8W5M under a Section 18 Notice. The SE of Section 16 was within an existing Holding for the Granite Wash (allowing for 2 wells/ quarter section) and the Holding had superceded a previous Board Order (downspacing which provided for 80-acre spacing with LSDs 1& 8 being a DSU and LSDs 2 & 7 being the second DSU. Storm negotiated a Farmin with the Lessee and because of our Farmin, the ownership within the existing Holding would have been changed (failing the test for common ownership), and the Holding for the SE16 could be rescinded. Since the 80-acre Spacing Order had a target area of LSD 8 we had to apply for a Holding for SE16 to drill a well on LSD 1. The Farmor, who was also the Lessee of LSDs 2 and 7, consented and we drilled a successful Granite Wash well to continue the lands. In this case, the ADE still recog-nized the original Spacing Order of 80 acres.

A quarter section with a Holding allowing for 2 wells/quarter section under a standard CAPL Operating Procedure will allow an Independent Operations Notice to be served for a second well on the quarter (or any additional wells should the well density be reduced to more than 2 wells/quarter) but the 30-day clock will not start until the Holding Application is approved.


The draft 2005 CAPL Operating Procedure contem-plates allowing a party to put the non-participants on Notice for the drilling of a second well in a spacing unit and get a decision from them prior to the Holding being approved; however, the participating party is not required to pay any costs until the Holding is approved. This gives some certainty to the Operator should they wish to drill a second well prior to the Holding being approved. (See the June CAPL Negotiator for an article on this topic).

This discussion briefly touches the surface of Holdings and some relevant complications. If you have other situa-tions that would be informative to the membership, please feel free to contact the undersigned. W

Harry Ediger

Harry Ediger is the Vice President, Land at Storm Exploration and co-teaches the Holdings and Target Areas course for CAPL. Mr. Ediger can be contacted by email: [email protected] or telephone at 515-5554.

You Wanted To KnowEUB Well Spacing Initiative: Spacing Questions and Answers

Question: What is well spacing?Answer: Well spacing regulations define the number of subsurface drainage locations necessary to maximize oil or gas recovery from a specific pool. This is determined from engineering analysis of reservoir rock charac-teristics, fluid properties, and production behavior. Accordingly, the number of subsurface drainage locations varies from pool to pool throughout Alberta.

Question: Why is a well spacing application needed?Answer: Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) regulations define baseline well spacing for oil as one well per quarter section per pool and for gas as one well per section per pool. An application to the EUB is required if additional producing wells beyond the defined baseline are necessary to recover the resource. The application provides an applicant with an oppor-tunity to supply evidence supporting a change from the referenced baseline and permits potentially affected subsurface parties to understand and comment on potential impacts. Question: Why is the well density in the EUB’s spacing orders expressed as a number of wells per pool?Answer: Well spacing is a conservation tool specific to a reservoir pool. Where multiple pools exist in a drill-ing spacing unit (DSU), common industry practice is to commingle and produce multiple pools in one wellbore. This minimizes the number of wells required and reduces surface impact. Question: Does approval of a well spacing application guarantee approval of wells, batteries, pipelines, and other surface-related production facilities?Answer: No. The approval of subsurface drainage loca-tions does not predetermine EUB decisions on well site locations, number of well sites, gathering and production facilities, or access. Question: Why will surface landowners, who do not own mineral rights, continue to receive notification of a well spacing application?Answer: A well spacing application deals only with subsurface reservoir engineering matters. However, landowners noted that early notification of a well spacing


application provided an opportunity to gain insight into potential development and initiate early dialogue. For these reasons, the EUB has retained the requirement for surface owner notification. Question: How will objections from surface landowners to well spacing applications be handled?Answer: A well spacing application does not address nor is it intended to address operational issues or surface-related matters involving pipelines, facilities, surface well site locations, number of wells, or access. If an objection relates to surface concerns, it will be set aside from the spacing application. Site-specific surface concerns in or adjacent to spacing application areas will be forwarded to the EUB’s Facilities Applications Group. The applicant will be required to provide notification to the surface landowner of any applica-tion for a well, pipeline, or facility licence involving proposed activity on lands where the landowner has raised concerns.

The above process does not remove the obligation or expectation of the applicant to engage in mean-ingful dialogue with any stakeholder who has raised concerns. Question: Why is there an additional requirement to notify freehold mineral owners when they have leased their rights?Answer: The EUB believes that all freehold mineral owners within 1 DSU surrounding the area of applica-tion whose rights are leased should receive notification for informational purposes only. This notification would serve to inform freehold mineral owners of potential development and support on-going dialogue between lessees and lessors.

Question: Why was the area east of the 5th Meridian and south of Township 53 chosen for higher baseline well densities?Answer: In large areas of eastern Alberta, shallow and intermediate formations have already been approved for increased gas and oil well densities. Existing develop-ments, coupled with EUB staff team analysis of resource potential based on extensive geological information and historical production data, clearly demonstrate the need for greater well densities to provide for optimum oil and gas resource recovery. Question: Why are you not proposing other areas of the province for regional spacing?Answer: At this time the EUB staff team is not satisfied that there is sufficient geological information and histori-cal production data to support blanket/regional approval of higher well density development in other parts of the province. The EUB will monitor available information and propose future changes as warranted. Question: My development plans are identical to the terms and conditions in the proposed regional area of higher baseline densities. Am I still required to file a well spacing application?Answer: Yes. Until the regulation amendment is in place to facilitate the creation of the regional area of higher baseline well densities, current regulations and processes still apply. Question: How will approval of the regional area affect previously approved well spacing?Answer: The regional area of spacing will apply to those lands that are not subject to previously approved well spacing orders. Once the regulation change is in place, further details will be announced with respect to existing spacing and holdings within the regional area.


Centre for Energy Asset Management Studies (CEAMS)

CEAMS recently held our 2nd Annual General Meeting at which we elected our new Board of Directors; we have nine Directors returning and

three new Directors. For a complete listing of the Direc-tors and the newly elected Officers of CEAMS, please visit www.ceams.org/board.html

As most of you will know by now, on May 25th CEAMS and SAIT announced a partnership to develop the Diploma/Applied Degree in Energy Asset Management (EAM), with the first students anticipated to enter SAIT in the fall of ’08. To read the complete release, please visit http://www.ceams.org/downloads/communica-tions/CEAMS%20Media%20Release%2005-25-07.pdf.

The application to Alberta Advanced Education & Technology (AET) for accreditation of the EAM program is being prepared as you read this and we are hoping to receive approval early in ’08. From the student’s perspective, those taking the AET Accredited Diploma and Applied Degree will be officially recognized for their learnings as well as qualify for student loans.

The 30 volunteers/SMEs who have put their hearts and souls into the task of gathering and collating the content for the program have done amazing work and we really want to thank each of them for all the time and

Question: Do the changes identified in Bulletin 2006-05 apply to coalbed methane (CBM) development?Answer: Yes. CBM is natural gas and is subject to all well spacing requirements. Question: Why are you increasing the information requirements for nonroutine spacing applications?Answer: Complex, innovative, or disputed spacing appli-cations require a higher level of understanding and scru-tiny. The EUB currently requests additional information beyond the requirements of Directive 065: Resources Applications for Conventional Oil and Gas Reservoirs on complex applications in order to have sufficient technical information to ensure its responsibilities for resource conservation and equity are met. The proposed nonroutine application pathway will formalize the EUB’s current practice. Question: What are the minimum provisions for a holding?Answer: All applications for a holding must include a well density and a buffer zone restriction. The need for an interwell distance should also be considered. Question: Does the proposal affect the Department of Energy (DOE) tenure and royalty rules within the regional area?Answer: The EUB staff team held extensive discus-sions with the DOE and understands that there will be no change to the DOE rules for royalty calculations or tenure administration. W

For additional information on the EUB Well Spacing Initiative and for current Bulletins and Directives, go to the EUB website at www.eub.gov.ab.ca. Reprinted with permission.


effort they put in over the past year and the passion they brought to this “not so little” adventure. Click on this link to see who among your friends and associates have developed a passion for CEAMS - http://www.ceams.org/downloads/task_forces/education_task_force_2006.pdf.

SAIT and CEAMS have put together an operating structure which, in addition to maximizing the oppor-tunities and potential benefits of the Partnership, will also ensure the efficient and effective development and delivery of the education program. The structure is made up of a Steering Committee and three Sub-Committees – Program Development, Business Plan, and Stakeholder Relations - with all four committees having equal representation from CEAMS and SAIT. The individual responsibilities are as follows:

Steering Committee is responsible for managing the relationship between SAIT and CEAMS, ensuring transpar-ency of communications between the two groups, oversee-ing the development of the joint energy asset management education offering, facilitating industry, government and other stakeholder engagement, and for providing input and recommendations regarding this initiative to the SAIT President & CEO and the CEAMS Board of Directors.Business Plan Sub-Committee is responsible for the devel-opment and maintenance of a 3-year business plan with the requisite action plans detailing the high level deliverables.Program Development Sub-Committee responsible for all aspects of the curriculum development for the Asset Management Diploma, Applied Degree and potential on-line Certificate. Stakeholder Relations Sub-Committee will develop and execute the plans related to marketing communica-tions – including industry, government and stakeholder engagement, and fundraising.

The EAM program will be a 4-year program; starting with a 2-year Diploma, followed by a further 2 years to receive the Applied Degree:

1. The first 2 years (Diploma) will take a very integrated view of the energy sector focusing initially on the oil and gas industry; specifically the “life-cycle of a well”. This “cradle to grave” approach will ensure that all students will have a complete understanding of all the roles and functions in the business side of the industry. There will be an exit opportunity for those only seeking a Diploma and not wanting to complete the full 4-year program. Should they change their mind they will be able to re-enter the program at a later date; details are still being finalized.

2. The second 2-year (Applied Degree) will be made up of 2 academic semesters, where the student will have selected an area of specialty and 2 work-term (directed field studies) semesters.

3. Also being considered is the development of an accredited 1-year on-line Certificate.

As we have finished most of the preliminary work, we expect things to start moving quickly with the work of actually developing the program itself, particularly given the aggressive start date of Sept. ’08.

Needless to say a program of this scope and scale doesn’t come without cost and in order to raise the funds required CEAMS will be commencing its fundraising drive early this fall. If you think your company will see this dynamic new program as vital to the industry’s future and would be interested in providing financial support; we would be happy to make a presentation to your deci-sion makers at their convenience. Please contact Roger Rowley at 403.244.8175 or by email at [email protected] and he will be happy to make the arrangements.

Stay tuned, we’ll be back to you with updates a few more times over the next 15 months. W

CEAMS Board of Directors


Did You Know…

I recently received an important Customer Notice from Doug Morrison, Executive Director of Land Titles and Personal Property Registry, advising our

Industry that approximately 20 percent of all documents Land Titles receives contain errors. In order to reduce the number of rejections on incoming documents and improve customer service, they need our help.

The following are the most common reasons Land Titles rejects our documents:

1. Incomplete Affidavits of Execution. Failing to complete Clause 2 of the Affidavit of Execution, not completing the Jurat, missing Commissioner information/name, signature of Commissioner not provided, signature of Witness missing.

2. Total absence of Dower compliance, or the Consent of Spouse form is annexed to the instrument but the signature of the spouse does not also appear on the instrument. Also, with respect to Dower, a failure to cross out the portions of Clause 2 that do not apply and failing to show that the same lawyer acted for both parties.

3. Legal description either missing or incorrect.

4. Names or addresses of Transferees not shown on the Transfer of Land.

5. Tenancy not consistent between documents within a package. For example, the transfer does not state any tenancy (Land Titles therefore assumes ‘in common’) but the mortgage states joint tenants.

6. Poor quality documents that are unsuitable for scan-ning or illegible documents.

7. Foreign ownership on land forms are either not included or are improperly completed.

8. Wrong last registered interest shown on DRR. It often happens that an instrument subsequent to the indicated “last instrument registered” was on the Title before submission of the documents, indicating that no final Title check was done before the docu-ments were submitted.

9. No priority of documents specified on DRR.

10. Discharges that are missing the instrument number or have the incorrect instrument number or where the instrument has been previously discharged.

11. The written amount of the mortgage does not agree with the numerical amount. Also, mortgages missing the legal description.

12. Documents missing a corporate seal when there is also no Affidavit of Execution.

13. Affidavits of Value where the consideration is not completed.

Land Titles is asking Industry to take the extra time to double-check our documents before submitting them. Your attention to detail will help make a difference. W

Linda WestburyGovernment Relations Chair


2007 P&NG Tenure Information Exchange

On Thursday, April 26, 2007, CAPL, CAPLA and the Alberta Department of Energy sponsored the 2007 P&NG Tenure Information Exchange. It was held at the Telus Convention Centre from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

In the morning session, 379 participants listened to updates from the Alberta Department of Energy:

w Brenda Curle presented an update on the e-Freehold Mineral Tax Project

w Brenda Allbright provided an update on the Electronic Transfer System and the new ETS Password Rules

w David Pollock presented What You Need to Know About ZDs and DRRZDs

w Grace Matias and Brenda Allbright presented updates on the New and Revised Forms for Crown Equity and Continuations

In the afternoon session, 168 participants listened to updates from Saskatchewan:

w Ed Dancsok presented an update on Oil Sands Regulatory Amendments (Land Tenure and Royalties) and Potash Restricted Drilling Areas

w Bruce Lerner presented an update on Fiscal Regime Applicable to Saskatchewan Oil Sands Projects

w Kim Coppola presented an update on ISC

Also, in the afternoon session British Columbia presented an update:

w Paula Barrett, Executive Director of Oil and Gas Policy Branch for the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources presented the B.C. Energy Plan

CAPLA would like to thank Levonne Louie from CAPL for organizing this year’s event and the dedicated CAPL office staff for handling the registration. Copies of

the presentations are posted on the CAPL website at www.landman.ca. W

Linda WestburyGovernment Relations Chair


Leased Fee Guidelines

T he following are suggestions as to how a company may want to deal with leasing out their fee title land. The Guidelines are a list of clauses and ideas

that your company may want to incorporate into their lease or amend the lease they currently use. The Guide-lines are in no way meant to override any corporate policy or procedures currently within your company.

Note: When leasing your company’s fee land it is a good idea to have a procedure in place that outlines who will be responsible for the leased fee from start to finish. Whether it is the Mineral Administrator for the area, Contract Analyst for the area or one individual who takes care of all leased fee, this should help ensure that double leasing does not occur.

Guidelines

1. Ensure that the lands have not already been leased

w Check land system. w Search titles affected.w Clean/lapse caveats that are no longer valid on title.w Is there a condition or offer letter lease will be derived

from?w Set up lease on land system to ensure that land won’t

be double leased.

2. Negotiations of lease termsw What lease form will be used – CAPL 91, CAPL 99,

company lease?w Primary term Is it negotiable? Is it a standard term – 1 year?

Is there an allowance for an additional primary term extension?

w Bonus/ initial consideration.w What is being leased? P&NG or just NG, or Petroleum

or CBM?w Other terms?w Special permission to inject water.

3. Lands to be leasedw If deal is for a whole section and we own less than the

section (acreage less than 256 ha/sec), acreage should be clearly stated on lease.

w Area proposed to be leased covers several titles – consider all of the above for each title. May provide a lease for each title or lease for the proposed spacing unit.

w What encumbrances are on the lands i.e. Canpar GOR, Computershare, other Royalty Trust Certificates, other overriding royalties that may be company specific?

w Is there a Gas Purchase Contract?

4. Rights to be leasedw We have less than a 100% undivided interest.w We do not own all rights, title excludes certain

commodities, strata to a depth of X.w Not all rights under the same title, separate titles for

PNG and Hydrocarbons.w Are there separate leases for the Natural Gas and

Petroleum?w Are all rights being leased or just a specific zone or to

base of a formation?w Exclude or include CBM? Separate lease for CBM?

5. Continuationsw Extensions and fees.w How will it continue – Lessee applies or Lessor

informs?w Will deep rights reversion apply?


w Will only producing zone be continued?w How long will it continue for? Review every year.w Are there deferred drilling payments, options?

6. Rentalsw Annual rental fee versus “shut-in” royalty.w Will be dependant on lease form used.

7. Royaltiesw Deductions Standard – Crown No Deductions “whatsoever” List what is included.w Taking in Kind Does the clause address this option?w When are the royalties payable – is it a specific date?w Where are they payable from? Specify. Point of measurement, wellhead, plant gate, etc.w What are the penalties if royalties are late? Does the royalty clause address this concern?w Encumbrances on title – who will pay? Incorporated

into percentage? If company has an overriding royalty they are

responsible for, will you pay it from your lessor royalty, will you increase the lessor royalty to incorporate payment, will you have Lessee pay encumbrance?

8. Assignmentw Is it allowed?w How will it be handled?

9. Taxesw Payable by Lessor or Lessee.

10. Offset Wellsw How are they monitored – look to offset group for

suggestions.w Is there a clause to address this issue?

11. Defaultw How is this monitored? Yearly review of lease file –checkwellstatus.

–checkthatrentalandroyaltypaymentshave

beenmade.

–evenifleaseisHBP,putextensiondateofone

yeartoflagfileforreview.

12. Terminationw Lessee advises lease will be terminated or Lessor will

send letter confirming cancellation.w Ensure Lessee removes their caveat.w Once confirmation letter has been issued terminate/

expire leased fee from land system.

13. Additional Clausesw Well information requirements to be provided to

Lessor.w Production information provided to Lessor.w Pooling/ Unitization.

14. Definitionsw Please refer to Fee Title Committee Glossary of Terms

on the CAPLA website. W


Upcoming CAPLA CoursesPlease see the CAPLA website at www.caplacanada.org for details on these courses and to view additional offer-ings as they become available.

2007 Courses

September 11 Calgary/Canmore Course & Field Trip

12 Beyond the Lease: The Land Professional

and Stakeholder Consultation

17 Professionalism and 7 Habits of Highly

Effective People

18 Administration of Indian Oil & Gas

Lands – Mineral

19 Reading Survey Plans Workshop

25 Administration of Indian Oil & Gas

Lands – Surface

26 Administration of EUB Directive 56

October 2 Understanding Team Dynamics

3 Dealing With Difficult People

4 Alberta Crown: P&NG Licence and

Lease Administration

9 & 10 Know What You Own – The ABCs of DOIs

15 Aboriginal Awareness

17 Analyzing Contracts – Novice

24 Rights of First Refusals

30 Administration of Surface Rights in Alberta


CAPL CoursesFor further information or to register, please contact the CAPL office either by phone at 237-6635, email [email protected], or complete and return a regis-tration form by fax to 263-1620. Registration forms and full course descriptions can be found in the 2007 CAPL Course Calendar, which is available online at www.landman.ca.

Production Agreements

September 11, 2007 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This seminar is designed for industry personnel who require a good understanding of agreements commonly used in relation to the production of joint venture oil and gas.

PSL Course: Directive 056: AEUB Energy Development Application & Directive 60: Public Consultation Requirements

September 12 & 13 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This seminar is designed for land agents, land administrators, opera-tions engineers as well as any other personnel who may be responsible for AEUB applications or regulatory compliance issues.

Ethics

September 25, 2007 FULL

Royalty Agreements

September 27, 2007 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

This seminar is intended for landmen, administrators and other senior oil and gas personnel who work closely with royalty agreements.

CAPL Royalty Procedure

September 27, 2007 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This seminar is intended for landmen, administrators, lawyers, and production accounting personnel requiring a senior level review of the CAPL Royalty Procedure. Participants interested in this seminar should have a basic understanding of royalties.

PSL Course: Industry Activity And Mitigation Of Groundwater Effects

October 2, 2007 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

This seminar is intended to help land personnel understand land-owner concerns regarding groundwater-related issues.

Well Spacings And Holdings

October 4, 2007 FULL

November 5 Think & Thrive: Mental Mastery at Work

6 Notice of Assignment – Novice

7 Introduction to Land

13 Freehold Lessor Estates

14 Third Party Surface Agreements

19 Engendering Success: Bridging the Gender

Gap in Communication

20 Analyzing Contracts – Novice

21 Administration of Freehold Mineral Rights

27 Notice of Assignment – Advanced W


Geology

October 9 & 10, 2007 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This seminar is designed for oil and gas personnel that require a general understanding of geological prospect evaluation. Landmen, technologists and other personnel involved in written or oral commu-nication with the geological department will benefit from attending this seminar.

CAPL Operating Procedure Issues

October 11, 2007 FULL

Rights, Privileges, Responsibilities And Obligations Of Seismic Data Ownership

October 15, 2007 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This seminar is of particular interest to technologists, professionals and managers who may not work directly with seismic data but are involved in numerous business situations involving seismic data. Land personnel, geologists, engineers, and even geophysicists will all benefit from the clarity provided about these previously unwritten rules governing seismic data in the industry.

Advanced Surface Rights – New Date!!

October 17, 2007 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This seminar is directed towards members of industry with 5 or more years experience and is intended to summarize and describe all facets of surface rights within the oil and gas business. Registrants should consider taking “Introduction to Surface Rights” or have at least 5 years of field experience as a prerequisite for this course.

Alberta P&NG Regulations

October 18, 2007 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This is intended for land personnel who require an understanding and working knowledge of the Alberta Mines and Minerals Act and associated regulations as it relates to P&NG Tenure.

PSL: Farm And Ranching Practices

October 22, 2007 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This seminar is intended for surface land agents and other industry personnel. It will focus on all aspects of farming and ranching prac-tices. Upon completion of the course, land agents will have a basic understanding of the key aspects of farm and ranching practices.

British Columbia P&NG Regulations

October 23, 2007 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This seminar is intended for land personnel who require an under-standing and working knowledge of the British Columbia Petroleum and Natural Gas Act and associated regulations.

Fundamentals Of Oil And Gas Law

October 24 & 25, 2007 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This seminar is designed for industry personnel who require an understanding of the fundamental concepts of oil and gas law.

Also – Don’t Miss The Opportunity For Learning In Whistler! Sunday, September 16, 2007

Fiduciary Duties

Aboriginal Consultation

CBM – Emerging Issues & Opportunities

* Please note that CAPL will not be launching its online registration in the near future as originally planned. Registration forms can be downloaded at www.landman.ca and faxed to (403) 263-1620. Please contact the CAPL office for more information and stay tuned for further updates later in the year regarding the online registration process. W


A Winner’s Words

I first learned about CAPLA when I was a student in the Petroleum Land Administration Program at SAIT, and it was on the CAPLA website that

I learned about the Myra Drumm Memorial Student Achievement Award.

It seemed the spirit and intention of the Award was to support a recent Program graduate to become more involved with the CAPLA Association. Since I was not employed in the Oil and Gas Industry at the time, I felt that being a recipient of the Award would assist in increasing my knowledge of industry and provide me the opportunity to meet people employed in Land Administration.

I was presented the Award at CAPLA’s Management Night Dinner in October 2006. I had the pleasure of being seated with employees of various companies. It was as a result of attending this event, and through the contacts made that evening, that I received the prospect to apply for a Land position and am now tremendously fortunate to be employed as a Mineral Land Analyst.

The Myra Drumm Memorial Student Achievement Award has many components, one of which is a one-year membership to CAPLA and attendance at the Lunch ‘n’ Learns. The Lunch ‘n’ Learns have excellent speakers, and the large round tables provide an optimum situation for networking with other Land professionals. The Award also provides for a gift certificate toward a CAPLA Course which I look forward to redeeming in the Fall. I have already taken three very good courses through CAPLA this year, all of which have had direct relevance to the work I engage in.


The Myra Drumm Memorial Student Achievement Award has provided me with more than the list of items it boasts on the CAPLA website. It has been the key to opening the door to a career in Land, and through my membership in the CAPLA Association I have the benefit of meet-ing other Land profession-als, being involved at the committee level and gain-ing knowledge through their programs.

I am honored to have been selected as a recipient of the Award for 2006 and thank CAPLA for this opportunity. W

Christina Niedballa Myra Drumm Memorial Student Achievement Award Winner 2006

In honour and memory of Myra Drumm, CAPLA named the Student Achievement Award The Myra Drumm Memorial Student Achievement

Award. Myra Drumm was a charter CAPLA member, a strong supporter of CAPLA initiatives and the founder of the CAPLA Mentoring Program. In April 1999, Myra Drumm passed away and is sadly missed by all who had the privilege of her acquaintance. The Mentoring Program continues to adhere to the original principle of providing mentoring and coach-ing to those entering any one of the components of the Land Administration discipline. Anyone who

knew Myra will remem-ber how supportive she was of those new to the world of Land. She always looked for oppor-tunities to assist someone in their understanding of technology, agreements and processes.

The Myra Drumm Memorial Student Achievement Award is presented annually, to four graduating students, one from each of the following institutions: S.A.I.T., Mount Royal College, Olds College and the University of Calgary. The Award

includes: a one-year CAPLA membership, prepaid registration to regular CAPLA meetings, a one-year subscription to the CAPLA NEXUS newsletter, access to the Mentoring Program, and a gift certificate toward a CAPLA course. Those graduating from a Land Agent, Land Administration or Petroleum Land Management program during the current 2006-2007 academic year are eligible to apply for the Award. More information on how to apply can be found on the CAPLA website. W

The Mentoring Program continues to adhere to the original principle of

providing mentoring and coaching to those entering any one of the components of the Land Administration

discipline. Anyone who knew Myra will remember how

supportive she was of those new to the world of Land.


CAPLA Management & Supervisory Summit

Seventy-seven members of the land administration, joint venture, accounting and other areas of the energy asset management disciplines met for the

second bi-annual CAPLA Management & Supervisory Summit. Held at the Delta Lodge in Kananaskis from May 13th to 15th, the Summit was again a very success-ful event for members of our organization. Evaluation feedback clearly indicated that the subject matter and theme of the Summit was a hot topic in the current business environment.

The theme was “Awake at the Wheel” which took the attendees on a journey of ‘conscious change leader-ship’ by pursuing their own learning and transformation – transforming their mindset, altering their behaviours and evolving their leadership style and approaches. By taking this conscious approach to transformation, we can truly create the conditions for discovering the future and ways of being that our organizations and society need to thrive.

The program consisted of 4 sessions over 2 days: w The Change Leader’s Roadmap: How to Navigate the

Complexities of Your Organization’s Transformation

w Improving Your Working Relationships to Make a Greater Contribution to the Organization’s Big Win

w Getting Smart About Employee Resistance to Change

w Self Mastery and Mindset: Keys to Your Success

A discussion was held on the Sunday afternoon about current management and supervisory issues being experienced in our industry, which helped provide some context for our Summit facilitator, Linda Ackerman-Anderson from Being First, Inc. The Summit opened on Monday morning with a First Nations Blessing Ceremony and the guest Speaker for the Monday luncheon was Ms Kathy Sendall, Senior Vice President at Petro-Canada who provided her insights on leader-ship in a presentation called ‘Lessons Learned on Life’s Journey – What They Never Told You When You Got Your License’.

A very powerful video was presented at the Tuesday luncheon called ‘Celebrate What’s Right with the World’ which heightened the attendee’s awareness of the power of transformation and that it is an ongoing process. There was ample opportunity for networking and fun, which provided the attendees a nice break from their daily responsibilities.

Many thanks to the committee members for their leadership and hard work to make the second bi-annual Summit such a great success. They are: Karmen MacKay (facilities), Gale Breen (program), Jane McKinnon and Linda Westbury (sponsorship), Lisa Regan (Co-Chair and communication) and the CAPLA office staff, Aimée Cranston, Melody Kokai and Michael Williamson (website, registration and event co-ordination).


Thank you to our sponsors for their generous and continued support.

Platinumw ConocoPhillips Canada Resources Corp.w Husky Energy Inc.w Petro-Canadaw Standard Land Company Inc.

Goldw EnCana Corporationw Shell Canada Energy

Silverw BP Canada Energy Companyw Devon Canada Corporationw Dominion Exploration Canada Ltd.w EOG Canada Resources Inc.w Penn West Energy Trustw Thackray Burgess Barristers & Solicitors

Bronzew Divestco Inc.w Explorer Software Solutions Ltd.w Primewest Energy Inc.w Stikeman Elliot LLPw Visible Data Inc. W

Verna Moodie2007 CAPLA Management & Supervisory Summit Co-Chair

What at team! L to R: Verna Moodie, Gale Breen, Jane McKinnon, Linda Westbury, Lisa Regan

Okay, we think everything is done, let the show begin!Judy Baratta (NALTA President from Denver, CO), Jane McKinnon, Aimee Cranston, Gale Breen, Melody Kokai, Audrey Atkins


Road Use

T he role of road use in the land department cannot be over emphasized. A Road Use Agreement refers to the consent given by one

company to allow another company access to drive on its roads for the purpose of drilling a well, construct-ing a pipeline, conducting inspections and all other activities that involve the transportation of equipment from one destination to the other. In some companies, surface administrators handle road use along side with other third party agreements, while some companies have it as a separate unit. Regardless of how road use is set up within a company, it is important to know that the idea of road use is not to make revenue, but to use the income to offset the maintenance costs associated with a company’s road. Some companies are very flexible in charging for road use, while some aren’t. It really depends on the relationship between the parties involved.

Importance of road use: To the grantor, it is important that they issue Agreements that guide and protect them against any form of liabil-ity. The Agreement usually stipulates the conditions in which, they want the grantee to use and leave their roads. If these conditions are not met, the grantor can hold the grantee liable. To the grantee, it is expedient to have a Road Use Agreement in place in order to not be held liable of trespassing.

What makes a good Road Use Administrator?w An administrator issuing road use consent must

be able to verify, through their surface file and the company’s land system that they are the owners of the road in question.


w They must also be able to determine that the correct distance of road is required in order to be able to bill accurately. If an incorrect distance on the road is given, the grantee might be short billed. In some cases, it is possible for the grantor to over bill the grantee if the distance billed for is more than what was requested.

w An administrator must make sure that the document is issued to the right grantee name. Some companies have almost identical names. A good administra-tor must ensure that no part of a company’s name is missed. This is because an abbreviated name might be another company’s name.

w The right date should be stipulated in the Agreement. For instance a CAPLA Master Road Use Agreement must have both a master agreement date and an effective date for the addendum. The master agreement date is the date in which the Master Agreement is issued. While the effective date is the date of the subsequent adden-dums to the Master Agreement. A good administrator must ensure that these dates are not mixed up.

w The administrator making the road use request must be able to tell that he/she is asking the right owner for consent to use the road.

Tips on things to include when making a road use request:

Below are some of the things (but not limited to) needed for a road use request.

1. A cover letter. This should contain information such as:

w The grantor’s and grantee’s name

w Type of project (e.g. Well, pipeline construction etc)

w Grantee’s contact information

w The disposition required

w Duration of Agreement

2. A survey plan. This should contain information such as:

w The grantee’s name

w Project name and location

w Disposition name and length required

w A sketch of the section where the road required is.

Tips on things to include when issuing a road use consent:

1. The Road Use Agreement (which includes the survey plan)

2. Invoice (if applicable)

3. Cover letter: This should contain both the grantors and grantee’s contact information in case further correspondence is needed

Following the above suggestions can help make a Road Use Administrator’s job easier. It is pertinent to note that even though a Road Use Agreement should incorporate some industry standards, it is up to each company to determine the structure of their Road Use Agreements. W

Gabriel Ukueku, BA Surface Land Administrator

CAPLA information at a glance

October 1, 2007Management Night

October 11, 2007NEXUS Submission Deadline

October, 2007CAPLA/IRWA Wine and Beer Tasting

November, 2007Lunch ’n’ Learn

December, 2007Xmas Cheer

NEXUS Committee UpdateOur Committee would like to thank outgoing member Alima Sanogo for her contributions and welcome new members Shelbey Poirier and Trisha Gray. Also, congratulations to Nadine on her recent wedding!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Watch for details of all events on the CAPLA website and in upcoming editions of NEXUS!

Curiosity Getting The Best Of You?

Do you have a question regarding

any facet of the petroleum industry

that you cannot find a satisfactory

answer to? Send in your question to

the NEXUS Committee and we will

research the answer and include in

our “You Wanted To Know” segment.

Even better, you could win a cool

prize for submitting your question!

NEXUSAugust 2007