In the event an operator commences oil and gas operations without an agreement for compensation for all damages, the affected surface owner shall give written notice of the improper operations to the operator and a description of the damages sustained. The notice must be sent within two years after the surface owner discovered the damage or should have discovered the damage through due diligence. See WY Stat § 30-5-406(a). Unless both parties agree otherwise in a written agreement, within 60 days after the operator receives notice of surface damages the operator shall make a written offer of settlement to the surface owner. This offer may be accepted or rejected by the surface owner. See WY Stat § 30-5-406(b). If the surface owner who submits a notice as detailed above either receives no reply to its notice, receives a written rejection or counteroffer, or rejects an offer or counteroffer from the operator, the surface owner may bring an action for compensation for damages in the district court in the county where the damage was sustained. See WY Stat § 30-5-406(c).
Statute of Limitations
A surface owner entitled to bring an action for damages under the Act, or to seek any other remedy at law for damages caused by oil and gas operations, must bring such action within two years after it discovered the damage, or should have been discovered through due diligence. See WY Stat § 30- 5-409.
About the Author:
John R. Chadd is an attorney with Steptoe & Johnson PLLC He is a trusted adviser for
companies and investors on a broad spectrum of energy transactions, including oil and gas and renewable energy matters, and is often at the table when deals are being structured, negotiated, and closed.
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