Naturally, working at these fine oil and gas exploration companies provided Don with very valuable experience. Petroleum landmen handle lease acquisitions and are also responsible for making sure the title is clear when preparing to drill or disperse revenues from production. Additionally, landmen typically handle negotiations between oil and gas exploration companies regarding farmouts or joint wells and they also draft and negotiate the various contracts and joint operating agreements which evidence those agreements. Most assignments of oil and gas leases as well as other similar legal documents are drafted by petroleum landmen.
But maybe even more valuable than the work experience Don received while working as a consultant and employee for these active and well-respected companies were the friends and business contacts he made along the way. Over the years, Don has been the beneficiary of the shared knowledge and expertise of numerous colleagues who took him under their wing and taught him many of the finer points about land, geology, geophysics, and engineering. But the thing that really separated Don from most oil and gas professionals happened more than fifteen years ago when he began investing his own money in the prospects of the company he was working for at the time. When he began investing, Don found out the simple fact that paying the bills gives a person a new and extremely valuable perspective about oil and gas exploration. And he also found out for himself what a great deal oil and gas investing can be.
