Surface Use Agreement (SUA)
Gridlync land and infrastructure glossary.
A surface use agreement governs how an operator may use the surface of a property, for access, equipment, or facilities, typically where the surface and mineral or subsurface estates are separated. It sets out compensation, reclamation, and conduct terms. SUAs commonly fix the location of well pads, roads, and tanks, cap the acreage disturbed, and require restoration of the surface when operations end. They are negotiated between the surface owner and the operator holding the mineral lease or subsurface rights.
Common in oil & gas and energy projects, SUAs carry their own payments and obligations. Gridlync keeps them organized alongside the related leases and right-of-way.
Example
After leasing the minerals beneath the Whitaker ranch, Permian Crest Operating signs a surface use agreement limiting its pad to 4 acres, routing the access road along an existing fence line, and paying the Whitakers $25,000 per well site plus reseeding the disturbed ground at plugging.