Austin, Texas. August 4, 2011. The Division of Continuing and Innovative Education at the University of Texas at Austin announced that its Petroleum Extension Service (PETEX®) is launching a Professional Land Management Certificate Program in September. The program will be taught by Dr. Patrick Fitzgerald, an attorney, land management consultant, university scholar, and accomplished author with degrees in law, business, and education. The program will be offered in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.

PETEX Director, John Hoopingarner, commented, “Before there can be an oil or gas well, there must be a landman to ensure a proper lease is secured between the landowner and the driller so minerals can be extracted legally and fairly from the land. Otherwise it’s a deal-breaker. With the recent rise in drilling projects in Texas, this means companies need more land professionals—but there aren’t enough of them to go around.”

“We are delighted to be working with Dr. Fitzgerald who is an industry leader in the field and well known from his 30 years of service to the industry,” added Mr. Hoopingarner. The new program covers twelve critical topics and is designed to not only prepare future landmen for industry jobs in Texas but also help attorneys, accountants, and current land professionals learn new “best” practices. In just one semester, participants learn what’s needed to perform on the job, and many will boost their job prospects in this arena.

“There will be many new opportunities for land management professionals in the development of shale plays such as the Eagle Ford in South Texas, Haynesville in East Texas, Barnett in North Central Texas, and the redevelopment in mature areas such as the Permian Basin where companies are applying for drilling permits and new jobs,” says Dr. Fitzgerald. “This activity shows promise of being an important economic generator, and I am pleased to be associated with PETEX to help educate the workforce needed to support these efforts.”

PETEX has been training oil and gas industry workers since 1944, when the Texas Legislature asked the University to step in to provide continuing education to the state’s oil and gas workers. Sixty-seven years later, PETEX has added formal instruction on oil and gas leases, titles, mineral rights, and operating agreements to its repertoire of technical and nontechnical training programs designed to improve the quality of today’s energy industry workforce.

For more information, contact Debby Denehy at 512.471.9969. For information about the program enrollment, visit www.utexas.edu/ce/petex/ourcourses/plmcert or call 800.687.7052.