ASL's Cory Vicars '07 Returns to Speak With Environmental Dispute Resolution Class

ASL Class of 2007 Graduate Cory Vicars made a special guest appearance to talk with my Environmental Dispute Resolution students about using ADR skills, especially negotiation and consensus building, in the oil and gas business.  He told three stories.  The first story focused on a dispute with a landowner about access to a production well.  Cory, then a landman for Consol, arrived on the property to find four shotguns pointed at him.  After spending 2.5 hours talking with the landowner, the landowner agreed to have a crew of surveyors work on the property the next day to help resolve the dispute.  The next day, the landowner greeted the Consol employees with a cooler full of drinks and sandwiches.

         

In the second story, he described the negotiation he had with his new employer, Shell, over salary and benefits.  He also described an HR exercise administered to him to assess his problem-solving skills.  His response was so effective and comprehensive, he scored higher than they could accurately assess with the point scoring system that applied.

                                      

In the third story, he described his work as a senior landman on the “minerals” side of Shell’s oil and natural gas exploration business.  He described the fracking process in the Marcellus Shale deposit.  He also described the current technologies for disposing or processing of the returned fracking fluids and the naturally occurring brine.  Finally, he discussed an article assigned to students to read about a collaborative negotiation process adopted by several hundred landowners with mineral rights in the Marcellus Shale field.   By adopting that group approach, they had more leverage in negotiations with two different natural gas production companies.  Cory emphasized how important it is for a landowner to retain a competent lawyer who knows the oil and gas leasing business.   That lawyer also needs to know about the state environmental regulations that govern oil and gas exploration and that provide protection to landowners.