Contract role
Independent contract landman
A working landman who can run title, check leases and handle records for a project without close supervision.
Summary
Contract landmen do the day to day land work on a project: searching records, checking leases against ownership, and keeping the paper straight. The work can be at a courthouse, at your own desk, or both.
Duties
- Search county records, online or at the courthouse, and build runsheets.
- Check leases against the record: who signed, what land is covered, whether the term has run.
- Prepare lease take-offs and ownership lists for a tract or unit.
- Research right-of-way and easement instruments that cross a tract.
- Gather the ownership documents behind division order work and match them to the record.
- Note anything that does not add up, such as a gap in the chain or a description that does not match.
Requirements
These are the things postings for this work usually ask for.
- Three or more years of oil and gas land work is common in postings for this role.
- Experience in the state or county you will work in. Postings often ask for it by name.
- Comfort with Excel and with reading deeds, leases and assignments.
- Your own laptop and a reliable vehicle for courthouse days.
- AAPL membership or an RL, RPL or CPL certification is often listed as preferred. It is not the only thing we look at.
- A degree is often preferred in postings. Experience counts.
Day-rate range
$325 to $500 per day
Typical market range. Final rate is set by experience and project.
Most field landmen in AAPL's 2024 survey billed under $450 a day, mostly between $325 and $400. Broker and client billing runs higher than what the landman is paid.
How we pay
1099 independent contractor, invoiced each week or every two weeks. Rate and terms are confirmed in writing before work starts.
How to apply
Email careers@sectionlineland.com with the checklist on the how to apply page and your resume attached. We keep a roster and write to people as projects come up. There is no set opening for this role.
Other roles
Interested in this role?
Email careers@sectionlineland.com with your experience and your rate expectation. Attach your resume. Clients with a project, large or small, easy or hard, can send a scope or ask for a quote at jc@sectionlineland.com.