KNOE 8 News; KNOE-TV; KNOE.com |Oil company surveyed Delhi family's property without permission

By Victoria Shirley

MONROE, La. (KNOE 8 News)- A family in Delhi says a mistake made by a company searching for oil on their land has caused them grief.

"The ribbons ran from here to all the way down to the bayou to coincide with ribbons on the other side." said a distraught landowner. Mary day is describing the places workers marked in their search for oil. Something the company is doing all over the town of Delhi.
Only problem?
She didn't give oil company, Denbury Resources, permission to be on her land.

"We emailed them and did all we could to let them know in advance that we weren't pleased with the oil company coming on our property at all and they said no problem. And here rolls around January and I see all these guys tying ribbons like they were having a ribbon tying ceremony." said Day.

When she called the company, a local representative, told her they weren't doing anything wrong.  "He said you are part of a unit and there is nothing you can do about it. He said you can call who you want to call and tell them my name if you want to, so I called KNOE TV8."

When KNOE first contacted a representative from the company, they said everything this family was saying was false. It wasn't until our crew arrived in Delhi, that they finally admitted to making a mistake.

The permit agent we spoke to says the mistake happened because of a mapping error.
And the Denbury Corporate offices' released the following statement:

"Denbury prides itself in the quality and safety of our oil and gas operations and relationships with landowners. Our operations and facilities comply with all federal, state, and local regulations and we take landowner concerns seriously. We will investigate any concerns and work with the landowner to resolve them in a timely manner."

But the Hendrix family says they feel disrespected that Denbury ignored their wishes.
 
"It's about respect, the common courtesy, how would you feel if I came to your door and walked on your property and not say a thing."

A local Denbury representative tells us they apologized to the family and work to avoid situations like this one to the best of their ability.