Lay of the Land: Role of landmen in the new energy landscape

With the volatile, ever-changing landscape of energy development and production in the United States, it is more important than ever to arm yourself with versatile and experienced landmen who can accurately represent your company and sell your project. 

When I began working as a Landman in 1999, there were three types of energy projects requiring my services in the USA: oil, gas, and coal. I would call a mineral owner and offer them the opportunity to participate in an oil and gas exploration project, they would say come over to the house, we would talk about the deal for about fifteen minutes, they would sign the lease and I would leave with it. It was that simple.

Now, in 2026, there are at least ten distinct types of energy-related projects requiring the services of a Landman, each with its own talking and sales points. When we call upon a landowner today, if we are not cussed out and hung up on, we are bombarded with questions, misinformation, and accusations, all of which must be perfectly navigated just to break through their initial wall and earn the right to speak further. If we are successful there, a lengthy process of phone, email and text conversations commences to earn enough of the landowner’s trust to be allowed to visit them at home. We then sit with their entire family for hours explaining every aspect of the project and its payout structure and answering a wide array of questions from negative health effects of the project to when the first payment will be received. And if we pass this second degree of scrutiny, then we graduate to the third degree of scrutiny — the attorney phase (and we all know how fun that can be). Twenty years ago, I did not have to go through any of this to get an Oil and Gas Lease signed.

Decades ago, Field Landman played two distinct roles: abstractor and leasing agent. As the abstractor, we performed property research, title due diligence, and curative. Our role as leasing agent had us contacting the mineral owners and getting leases signed. That was it.

Today, when we contract with a developer to help take their project from an idea to reality, we must play a staggering number of roles. First, we assist the developer with site selection and target determination, which requires extensive developer and mapping skills. Second, we formulate landowner outreach strategy and project pricing, which necessitates extremely strong business skills. Third, we research landowner contact information and track people down (a challenging task in this modern day of cell phones) pushing us into the role of private investigator. Fourth, we pitch, negotiate and close deals with a wide variety of people, requiring versatile salesmen skills. Fifth, we assist with permitting by meeting with project advocates, opponents, and government officials, where we role play as politicians. Lastly, we communicate with project-site residents throughout the construction phase - at which point we either need the thick skin and understanding of a psychologist or end up having to use one to keep or sanity.

When I started my Field Landman career in 1999, the only technical skills needed were to drive a vehicle and use a typewriter. Now, a Field Landman must be tech-savvy and well-versed in a wide variety of modern devices, platforms, mapping systems, and apps being utilized daily.    

When I began my career in the fossil fuels industry, the Field Landman job was fairly straightforward and almost monotonous. It’s been incredible to witness the energy landscape change so dramatically to the point where we’re now being tasked with bringing a hundred megawatts of electricity and a million gallons of water to power an AI plant while modernizing the entire electric grid. The roles which a modern Landman plays demand versatility, a wide range of experience, and the ability to keep it all together for the success of the project.

Brian R. Lemoine has been a Field Landman, member of the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL) and the Professional Landman Association of New Orleans (PLANO) since 1999, a Certified Professional Landman (CPL) since 2005, a PLANO Board Member 2020 – 2024, a five-time speaker at AAPL and PLANO educational seminars, and PLANO Company of the Year award recipient in 2023. Since 1999, Brian has helped develop and construct solar, wind, thermal, geothermal, battery storage, data collection, artificial intelligence, oil, gas, and coal projects across the USA.

Lemoine Landman Services | www.lemoineland.com