Land records mapping is not just one activity. Land records mapping is the process by which information is revealed for the purpose of making decisions and monitoring progress of projects with the intention of altering your business in order to maximize the acquisition successful wells. As such the purposes of land mapping will change based upon the participants and the status of a project. The land records mapping needs are different for a initial project when compared to a mature project. Our tools are designed from this vantage point.

As a project progresses within and through an organization the emphasis on decision making and monitoring will shift between and through departments within the organization. For example, initial oil and gas land records mapping needs for an initial project will be felt first by the explorationists and land professionals. The explorationists will want to know what lands are available or purchasable upon the most productive geologic features. The land professionals will attempt to uncover the current ownership and the possibility of acquisition. The production engineers will project the number of possble wells and recovery schedules. The executives will fold the financial and risk factors into the decision to go or not to go.

These changing needs require that any land records mapping system be fast and flexible enough to supply the information maps necessary for the particular decision and monitoring needs within the organization.

Purpose

The purpose of land records mapping is to reveal ownership information. The ownership information that is revealed is usually designed to enable a particular business purpose: the land professional may want to know what acreage is expiring in order to construct a deal to encourage drilling and production, the explorationist may want to know the possibility of acquiring acreage on a prospective and promising geologic structure, the development engineer may want to know the the ultimate governing body that administrates the permissions for drilling or know what acreages are not fully owned so that land professionals may finish acquiring remaining unheld interests, the financial officer may want to know what the projected value of owned acreage, the investor may want to know the change in ownership in a project, or the new ventures executive may want to know the net revenue ownership in an area to help structure a joint venture or partnership. The list can be as long as the number of decisions or understandings required. Different parts of an organization will have differing needs.

The revealing purposes generally include monitoring or decision making based upon the exposure of particular information. The information may be revealed in reports or maps. This paper deals with the particular method of revealing called the map.

What is a map? For our purposes a map is a representation of the actual surface and subsurface of the earth. Land records mapping is the association of ownership information with the surface and subsurface of the earth. Land information is associated with tracts of land (called polygons by the GIS professionals). The presentation of the land records information is usually done in regards to the earth and the features and government boundaries located on the earth.

Processes for Land Records Mapping

Creation of Tracts

Two general methods are employed in the creation of land tracts that can be associated with land records information: digitized creation, and auto-created (from rectilinear land system).

For tracts to be useful in land records mapping, a land records mapping system must allow for the finding of the tract(s) specified within the land records database. That is every description within the land records must have an associated tract in order to be mapped.

Both methods rely upon a general land system to determine the tract. For auto-created tracts, starting locations and n-s directions are required. These are known from previous land surveys (a land system) or from a general rectilinear land system.

Accuracy

For land records mapping purposes, there are two general accuracies. First, survey quality accuracy means that the tract is represented in sufficient accuracy that the land survey created by a land surveyor can be accurately reproduced by the land mapping system. Second, representation tracts are "representations" of the tracts in sufficient detail to allow for corresponding decisions or monitoring to be made.

Many professionals may mistakenly require that all tracts be of survey quality. This is usually not necessary until an actual physical installation is required. For example, when a well is proposed and drilling is to begin, then it makes sense to establish the location of the well to a sufficient accuracy to insure that encroachment does not occur. However, for the well to be proposed, the location of the well relative to the land system (and land tracts) need only be as accurate as is necessary to ensure that the well will drill into the required geologic structure and formation.

The survey-quality requirement creates an obstacle for many decisions that can be made without survey quality tracts. For example, when an organization is trying to decide whether to launch a project in a particular area, the information accuracy requirement is not initially very high. The organization may want to know how much open acreage exists on the geologic fairway, how much is Federally governed, how much is fee, how much is state owned, how much of the acreage is held under production on a particular horizon. These decisions are initially financial and require an accuracy that is sufficient to justify the economics.

As an example, in Wyoming, the BLM publishes electronic data that shows the status and collections of acreages that can be acquired through leasing. These data are processed through vendors that show the status to granular mapping tract size level of one-sixteenth of section. These maps are sufficiently accurate representations to make decisions as to the general availability of acreages within an area. However, as acreage is acquired and drilling programs are executed, the one-sixteenth section accuracy is not enough and the usefulness of the data diminishes and therefore must be augmented and updated.

 Efficiency and Economies

The question many times arises as to whether electronic land records mapping is efficient (economic). The answer to this question lies in the comparison of "hand methods" costs relative to electronic method costs. Most companies will not invest the effort to perform the same work using both methods to determine the answer. Thus, most companies will need to make an estimate of costs. It is uncommon that a single project will be done both ways to determine a comparison.

The costs of processes are generally fall into two categories: physical and personnel costs. Physical costs include the costs of printing maps, the color pencils, and equipment. Personnel costs include the costs for personnel, the space to house the operation, and the costs to commission , decommission and recommission a project.

Another aspect of efficiency is whether a map can be reproduced or exchanged for other purposes.

The final and most important economic question is how often does a map need updating?  

Summary of the Process

The land records mapping process consists of the following steps:

1. The construction of data sets with sufficient standards to query and associate land descriptions with elemental polygons.

2. Construction of uniquely named elemental polygons representing the tracts of land to be mapped.

3. The construction of land records such that the elemental polygons can be associated with the land records.

4. The association of the land records with the polygons.