Can anyone tell me if the Louisiana ten (10) year limitation on reserving mineral rights, (when the land is sold), applies if the land is leased and has a producing well on the land prior to selling?

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It will last as long as the well produces, when the well stops producing the 10 year time clock starts to tick. It also would depend on the language used to reserve the minerals.

Thank you for the info.  Our land is part of the drilling area for the new Hilcorp Denham Springs Country Club #1 and #2 wells in Livingston Parish, LA.  We plan to sell 37 acres that are near the wells.  However, we are trying to decide how to handle the minerals.  To get a better look at our land and the drilling area, you can visit our website at:  www.laland-interstate10-12.com 

Gaynell, if you sell this property (the surface) and reserve the 37 acres of minerals you will have created a mineral servitude.  Instead of going into a lengthy explanation of what this means, please use this link to Andrew's blog post on Louisiana mineral servitudes:

http://www.gohaynesvilleshale.com/profiles/blogs/what-is-a-servitude

Thank you.  This information is most helpful.  Andrew's blog helps me to form my questions and concerns for our plan for the land/mineral rights.  Hopefully, we will have some positive results with the two wells, when they are complete.

You're welcome.  Good Luck, Gaynell.

Good question,also do you have to renew them somehow if they haven't been used or what is the process of updating them?

Under LA law a mineral servitude expires ten years from it's date of creation (the date the mineral rights are severed from the surface ownership).  If a well meeting specific criteria is drilled and does not produce, the ten year prescription period is reset to day one.  If the well produces, the prescription period is suspended until such time production ceases and then begins again from day one.  Some minerals are imprescriptable under certain specific criteria such as land taken for public use.  The minerals under the Interstate 49 right-of-way and the lands, other than the Sabine River channel, under Toledo Bend lake are two examples.

Thanks again.  This info and this site are so helpful.  So glad to be part of the discussions.

What if there are no wells or leases ? And I own mineral rights ? Thank you again Skipp..

If you own your surface and your minerals then there is no mineral servitude and all questions on that subject are moot.  If you've never had a lease and there is production in your immediate vicinity you might want to check to see if you do indeed own your minerals.  Sometimes when land is acquired the associated mineral rights are not included either because a seller does not own them or the deed of sale reserves them to the seller.

Oh I see , it's all inherited land and basically all mineral rights are inclusive both surface and mineral together as one family unit

No.  There are two "estates".  The surface estate and the mineral estate.  The legal term for joint ownership of both is "fee simple".   If fee simple land is inherited it includes  both the surface and the mineral rights.  Just because someone pays taxes on land does not necessarily indicate ownership of mineral rights.  If there is any doubt as to ownership a mineral title review would have to be performed.  Most landowners don't care to incur the expense unless there is money at stake.

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