As energy developers move in, agricultural producers’ workloads can increase.
Keeping track of oil and gas holdings is another job in producers’ already busy lives.
And for those who already dislike bookwork, it’s a chore to track when surface lease rents are up for review and which rents have been paid.
Casey Ziegler and Kris Bower are licensed land agents in Alberta who saw a need and filled it.
Since January 2009, they have offered a subscription-based online program called WellTraxx.
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“Many producers are struggling with the ongoing management of oil and gas holdings on their land,” Ziegler said.
WellTraxx consolidates all the necessary information in one place.
Laurie Griffith of Cessford, Alta., said she has enough to deal with while running a ranch on her own.
The first shallow gas wells were drilled on her property in 1999, followed by a second large project.
She said she isn’t a savvy computer operator, but WellTraxx is easy to use.
“I can run it and operate it,” she said.
“Even for an older person who hardly knows how to turn a computer on, it’s not that complicated.”
Ziegler said the program isn’t for landowners who are tracking only two or three well sites. Some people spend 30 to 40 hours a month on paperwork related to energy sites, he added.
“The average person has about 20 wells on their land.”
Rental rates are usually reviewed every three years but not at the same time for every lease. Ziegler said the WellTraxx program will ensure the information is current.
In Alberta, energy companies are required to notify landowners when the leases are up for renewal, but that does not apply in Saskatchewan. WellTraxx will e-mail a reminder to users.
Ziegler said the program summarizes monthly and annual rental income and produces a report that financial institutions and accounting firms can use to help landowners with their tax strategies.
Another function is to track pipeline damages.
“Sometimes the companies pay up front or sometimes later,” Ziegler said.
The program will remind landowners one year after they have signed a pipeline agreement to make sure they have been compensated.
“We don’t negotiate for landowners,” Ziegler said. “We just noticed there was something missing in ongoing management.”
The program requires a user name and password. Information about rates is private. The cost is $599 per year, including full technical support from WellTraxx.
Ziegler said energy companies also appreciate the program.
“A lot of companies are starting to place a very high value on stakeholder relations,” he said. “This completes the loop. A bad relationship costs everybody.”
WellTraxx is used mainly in Alberta but is designed for western Canadian producers.
“It is online, so the potential is whatever it will be,” Ziegler said.
