Events

Event ticket + 2024-2025 discounted dues: CLICK HERE (Bundle) Event ticket only: CLICK HERE (Event Ticket Only)   Event details for the APLA Butler Pitch and Putt event     Dear Members and Guests, The APLA is excited to host a membership drive and networking event on Friday, June 14, 2024, at the historic Butler Pitch and Putt in downtown Austin, located at 201 Lee Barton Dr., Austin, TX 78704. You can find more details about the venue at butlerpitchandputt.com. We have reserved tee times, allowing us to bypass the usual 2-3 hour wait. Additionally, we have a designated area for networking, drinks, and lunch provided by Gimmie Burger. Drink tickets and club rentals are included. We are pleased to announce that members who purchase a ticket to this event will receive their 2024-2025 APLA membership dues included with their ticket purchase. A $25 savings. Individual tickets without the discounted membership dues are also available. Please see the details below. We look forward to seeing you there! Butler Park continues to be an AUSTIN tradition since 1949. Today it serves as a golf course and a heritage piece of Austin lore and life, offering a unique, fun, and easy to place to learn and play golf. The course is a 9 hole, 7-acre par 3 Pitch & Putt just south of downtown with 101 yards as the longest hole. Butler Park Pitch & Putt is adjacent to the Hike and Bike Trail and features large shady pecan and cottonwood trees. They promote a ‘Swing Easy’ approach to the real greens and challenging holes. No clubs, balls, shoes, tee times….. no problem. Gimme Burger is our permanent on-site food truck, serving up cheeseburgers, crispy French fries and fried okra, and more

Ladies and Gentlemen, We are excited to kick off the year with our next in-person lunch meeting for the Austin Professional Landmen’s Association on Friday, September 6th at 11:30AM at the Enverus Campus, located on the first floor of Building 6, 2901 Via Fortuna, Austin, TX 78746. Please register HERE so we have an accurate head count for food purposes. Ted Cross will be speaking about Key Trends & Emerging Unconventional Plays Across Lower 48. What's going on with unconventional plays in Lower 48? Across the country, there are new innovations, causes for concern, and reasons for optimism no matter where you look. In this talk, we will look at trends in production and design across the country, hitting on topics like long laterals and completions designs. We will then make a survey of emerging plays, touching on new zones in the Permian, new areas of development like the western Haynesville, and burgeoning basins like the Uinta. We'll examine well performance, prominent operators, important areas, and other key learnings. Ted Cross is Vice President of Product Management at Novi Labs, an Austin-based oil and gas data analytics company. At Novi, Ted drives company strategy, sets the software development roadmap, and works with engineering and data science teams to build compelling analytics tools. Prior to joining Novi, Ted worked as a geologist for ConocoPhillips in a range of roles including Williston Basin development, Lower 48 exploration, global new ventures, and deep-water Gulf of Mexico. We look forward to seeing you there!

Our next in-person lunch meeting will be Friday, October 4 at 11:30AM at the Enverus Campus, located on the first floor of Building 6, 2901 Via Fortuna, Austin, TX 78746. October’s speaker will be Rob Shultz (the uncle of our own Brandon Shultz!), whose presentation is titled “How to Deal With Really Difficult Landowners.” Rob Shultz, CPL, graduated from the University of Texas in 1973 and worked briefly for the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. before joining Exxon Co. USA in 1979 as a roustabout in West Texas. Over the next 34 years, Rob filled various professional and supervisory roles for both Exxon and ExxonMobil in Houston, Los Angeles, Tyler and Dallas, Texas.  Before retiring in March 2013, he served as Professional Development Advisor to 200 ExxonMobil Commercial and Land employees worldwide. Rob was involved with property rights and real property interests essentially his entire career.  He’s a longtime member and Course Facilitator for the AAPL and has been a certified Ethics instructor with the International Right of Way Association.  Rob and his wife Cindy have four children, two granddaughters, a grandson, and make their home in Tyler, Texas.  

Our next in-person lunch meeting will be Friday, November 1 at 11:30AM at the Enverus Campus, located on the first floor of Building 6, 2901 Via Fortuna, Austin, TX 78746. October’s speaker will be our own Edward Wilhelm, J.D. of the Wilhelm Law Firm, whose presentation is titled “Trusts and Probate Law for Land.” Edward is licensed to practice law in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico and focuses his practice on oil and gas law, probate, wills and estate planning, commercial litigation, and representing foreign businesses that invest in oil and gas activities.  His oil and gas work focuses on the real estate side (oil and gas title examinations, acquisitions and divestitures of oil and gas interests, due diligence, and commercial negotiations).  His estate planning clients include landowners and individuals with oil and gas interests.  Edward is a magna cum laude graduate of Tulane University Law School in New Orleans and holds degrees from the University of Edinburgh and Hampden-Sydney College. REGISTER HERE!

The Austin Professional Landmen’s Association (APLA) is excited to announce the 9th Annual Austin Oilman's Sporting Clays Tournament. By supporting this event you will be helping an amazing local organization, Patriots' Hall of Dripping Springs. The mission of Patriots' Hall is to create a permanent retreat and resource hub for Veterans and their families to connect, grow, and thrive. Everyday, young Veterans of recent wars and conflicts return home to face financial difficulties, family transition, and emotional and physical challenges due to their military service. These men and women tend to turn to a computer screen for online support and camaraderie. Most of our local VFW and American Legion post members are Korean and Vietnam Veterans - the men and women we see laying red poppies on soldiers’ graves, raising flags on Memorial Day and directing traffic at our county fairs. However, in the last two decades, memberships have plummeted due to age and the inability to attract the younger generation of Veterans. Patriots’ Hall of Dripping Springs aims to help bridge this gap by welcoming Veterans of all ages and military service to explore therapeutic workshops, art classes, weekend campouts, education and employment seminars, family gatherings, land stewardship, VA Claims Assistance and Wellness Center.  

Members and Friends – Come and join us at our 2024 APLA Holiday Happy Hour benefitting Toys for Tots! We will be hosting this event Thursday, December 5 from 3:30 – 6:00pm at The Bon Aire located at 9070 Research Blvd., #101, Austin, TX 78758. An open bar and complementary appetizers will be served!  http://bonaireatx.com Please bring an unwrapped toy for the Toys for Tots program or, in the alternative, a check made payable to Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, to support our cause. Join the APLA for this event independent of whether you can bring a toy or not, but definitely support this great cause if you are able!

Our next in-person lunch meeting will be Friday, January 10 at 11:30AM at the Enverus Campus, located on the first floor of Building 6, 2901 Via Fortuna, Austin, TX 78746. January's speaker will be Benjamin W. Sebree of the Sebree Law Firm PLLC in Austin, whose presentation is titled, "The Geothermal Energy Revolution: What's Next? Plus: Who Owns the Heat?" Ben Sebree is an attorney and well-known governmental relations practitioner. Having served as Vice-President and General Counsel for the Texas Oil and Gas Association, having been appointed by Governor Perry to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, having been elected to the Governing Council of the Oil, Gas and Energy Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, and possessing a long and effective career in Austin, Sebree's legal and governmental expertise is well-recognized. Ben represents numerous clients before the Texas Legislature, the Railroad Commission of Texas, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Comptroller of Public Accounts, the General Land Office, the Public Utility Commission, and various other agencies, manages an energy and natural resources practice, and consults with governmental officials and businesses both in Texas as well as nationally. Mr. Sebree represents several Fortune 100 companies, including clients in the upstream, mid-stream, and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry, water recycling clients, geothermal clients, several leading trade associations, large land and mineral owners, various elected officials, and other clients. Legislative and regulatory representation include issues regarding energy policy, geothermal, oil and gas, water law and regulation, environmental matters, state and local taxation, tax incentives, pipelines, refining and marketing, economic development, conservation, land use and management, eminent domain, and transportation. REGISTER HERE! Parking Notes: If the visitor parking area in front of Building 6 is full, please park in the parking lot for Building 5 in the area marked as "Open Parking", which is designated by the green box in the picture below. From there, follow the yellow arrows to the Enverus parking garage. Once inside the garage, use the elevator to go to the first floor of the Enverus building as usual.

Our next in-person lunch meeting will be Friday, February 14 at 11:30AM at the Enverus Campus, located on the first floor of Building 6, 2901 Via Fortuna, Austin, TX 78746. Our friend, Alan H. Morgan, CPL, will present, "Where Are They Now?", and wants us to know he can find any missing person we can bring. Alan was born in Dayton, Ohio and raised in Dallas. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in Government in December 1975 and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Petroleum Land Management in December 1977. Alan began his career as a Landman with Texaco Inc. and subsequently worked as a Landman and in management positions for Border Exploration Company, Mesa Petroleum Co., International Oil & Gas Corporation, Access Exploration Corp. and Remora Oil Company. Alan has served as an adjunct professor in the Petroleum Land Management Program at the University of Houston-Downtown. He served in numerous positions in the Houston Association of Professional Landmen, including President, 1990-1991 and was recognized as the 1988 HAPL Outstanding Landman, 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award and 2020 Senior Landman. Alan also served the American Association of Professional Landmen as Second Vice President, Director and Chairman of the Publications, Tax Issues, Annual Meeting, Education, Membership and Ad Hoc Computer Committees. Alan was recognized by AAPL with the 1989 Education Award, 1994 Special Award, 2001 Landman of the Year, 2013 Distinguished Service Award and 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award.  In addition, Alan was recognized as one of the 2013 Texas Top 15 Landmen by Texas Monthly and TIPRO. Alan is a Distinguished Member of Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, Who’s Who in America and Strathmore’s Who’s Who. He is a Texas Real Estate Broker and poker player and last, but not least, grandfather. Alan and his wife, Betsy, have three children, Bonnie, Cara and Jeremy and five grandchildren, Matthew, Mason, Ethan, Eliana and Maya.   REGISTER HERE!!  

Our next in-person lunch meeting will be Friday, March 7 at 11:30AM at the Enverus Campus, the room being located on the first floor of Building 6, 2901 Via Fortuna, Austin, TX 78746. Our speaker is Ms. Jenae Allert of The Title Law Group, PLLC, in Oklahoma City. Ms. Allert's presentation is entitled, "Playing in the Sandbox - Sharing the Surface Between Operators." She will discuss practical skills on negotiating surface provisions in solar and wind leases to co-locate with oil and gas activities. The presentation will include a short summary of the accommodation doctrine plus tips on negotiating surface waivers and accommodation agreements. A summary of the regulatory impact of surface activities will round out the presentation. REGISTER HERE!