Office of Mineral Resources

Leasing Manual

How to Acquire a Mineral Lease on State and State Agency Lands and Water Bottoms in the State of Louisiana

Step 6: Submission of Bids on State and State Agency Tracts Offered for Mineral Lease

The bid submission process is divided into three (3) steps:

Each step and its procedures and requirements are set forth below.

Only those bidders who are registered as prospective leaseholders with the Office of Mineral Resources, or those who register within two business days after the lease sale at which the bid is opened and prior to the conditional issuance of the lease, shall be allowed to bid on tracts for the purpose of obtaining a state mineral lease. Any bidder who is not properly registered with the Office of Mineral Resources at the time bids are opened, but whose bid is otherwise acceptable, shall have until the end of the second business day following the date on which the bid was conditionally accepted by the State Mineral and Energy Board to become properly registered with the Office of Mineral Resources. If said bidder remains unregistered by the close of business of the second business day following the day the mineral lease sale at which the bid was conditionally accepted, the conditionally accepted bid shall be deemed rejected. LSA-R.S. 30:127(A). See the registration requirements set forth in Part II.

A party interested in bidding on a state or state agency tract for mineral lease shall prepare a bid packet that includes the items listed below. The bidder shall place all of the items required to be included in the bid packet in an envelope, completely seal the envelope, write the official tract number on the outside of the envelope, and notate on the outside of the envelope that Sealed Bid is Enclosed.

A party bidding on a state or state agency tract for a lease for oil, gas and other liquid or gaseous minerals shall use the official Bid Form for a Lease for Oil, Gas and Other Liquid or Gaseous Minerals on State or State Agency Lands or Water Bottoms which may be found online at the OMR Forms page.   A party bidding on a state or state agency tract for a lease for solid minerals, e.g., sulphur, potash, lignite, or salt, shall contact the Office of Mineral Resources for an official Bid Form for a lease for solid minerals. Provide one (1) completed originally signed paper copy of the Bid Form. An electronic copy is not required.

For reference purposes, a table of bid requirements and additional information for each state and state agency lands and water bottoms category and subcategory is attached to these guidelines.

If a party is bidding on only a portion of a state or state agency tract, then he shall provide a written property description of the acreage portion he is bidding on. If a party is bidding on the entire tract, then no written property description is required. Use Microsoft Word and fully justify. Provide one (1) original paper copy and one (1) electronic copy on the portion bid DVD or CDROM as a Word .doc file.

The general and special (if any) technical requirements for the written property description for the portion bid acreage are the same as those that were followed for the written property description of the acreage when nominated.

If the acreage was described using bearing, distance and X-Y coordinates based on the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927 when nominated, then a bidder shall describe the acreage portion he is bidding on the same way. If the acreage was described using Section/Township/Range or by lot or parcel, e.g. some School Indemnity Lands, Tax Adjudicated Lands, Vacant State Lands, Section 16 School Lands, and State Agency Lands, when nominated, then a bidder shall describe the acreage portion he is bidding on the same way.

If a party is bidding on only a portion of a state or state agency tract, then he shall provide a plat depicting the acreage portion he is bidding on. If a party is bidding on the entire tract, then no plat is required. The plat shall be on paper size 8½ x 11. Provide one (1) original paper version and one (1) electronic version of the plat on the portion bid DVD or CDROM as a .pdf file.

The form, content and scale requirements for the portion bid plat, as well as the general and special (if any) technical requirements, are the same as those that were followed for the plat of the acreage when nominated. However, in addition, the bidder is required to clearly show the boundary of the entire tract in relation to the boundary of the portion bid upon, with the portion bid acreage clearly labeled as such.  Any X-Y coordinates on the plat shall exactly match those in the written property description and, if applicable, in the .dxf file.

If a party is bidding on only a portion of a state or state agency tract and that tract was described in the advertisement using bearing, distance and X-Y coordinates based on the Louisiana Coordinate System of 1927, then he shall provide a .dxf file containing only the boundary of the acreage portion bid upon on the portion bid DVD or CDROM.  If a party is bidding on the entire tract or a portion of a state or state agency tract that was described in the advertisement using Section/Township/Range or by lot or parcel, e.g. some School Indemnity Lands, Tax Adjudicated Lands, Vacant State Lands, Section 16 School Lands, and State Agency Lands, then no .dxf file is required.

The portion bid boundary shall be a single line with no additional lines, labels, text, or graphics, and shall be constructed of individual line segments between vertices. Further, the X-Y coordinates in the portion bid .dxf file shall exactly match those in the portion bid written property description and the portion bid plat.

If a party is bidding on only a portion of a state or state agency tract, then he shall include a properly labeled portion bid DVD or CDROM in the bid packet. Note:  If a party is bidding on the entire tract, then no DVD or CDROM is required. If a portion bid DVD or CDROM is required, it shall contain the portion bid written property description as a Word .doc file, the portion bid plat as a .pdf file, and the portion bid .dxf file, and it shall be labeled with the official tract number, the name(s) of the bidding party(ies), and the state or state agency acreage amount being bid on.

The bidder shall include the cash payment as a deposit with each bid in the form of a certified check, cashier’s check or bank money order. LSA-R.S. 30:127(F). For further requirements concerning the cash payment, please refer to part VI.B.3.

Note:  If the cash payment amount specified on the certified check, cashier’s check or bank money order does not exactly match the cash payment amount specified on the official Bid Form, and the State Mineral Board rejects all bids on that tract, the State Mineral Board at its discretion may open the floor to competitive bidding.

The bidder on a state or state agency lease shall include the Ten Percent (10%) Leasing Fee pursuant to LSA-R.S. 30:124 with his bid. This fee shall be in addition to the total cash payment paid. Payment shall be made to the Office of Mineral Resources via check (personal or business). If payment is not made or the check not honored for payment, the State Mineral Board may not execute the lease and may rescind it.

Note:  Previous policy provided that the bidder whose bid was accepted and to whom the lease was awarded had ten (10) days after acceptance of the bid and awarding of the lease to submit the Ten Percent (10%) Leasing Fee. This policy has been changed. The current policy is to require each bidder to submit the Ten Percent (10%) Leasing Fee with his bid. If the bid is accepted and a lease awarded, the Ten Percent (10%) Leasing Fee payment shall be endorsed and negotiated by the Office of Mineral Resources and the proceeds transmitted for processing in accordance with law. If the bid is rejected, the Ten Percent (10%) Leasing Fee payment shall be returned.

The bidder on a state mineral lease and a state agency mineral lease shall include the Thirty Dollars ($30.00) Per Acre Payment pursuant to LSA-R.S. 30:136.1(D) and Act 362 of the 2015 Regular Legislative Session with his bid. Payment shall be made to the Office of Mineral Resources via check (personal or business). If payment is not made or the check not honored for payment, the State Mineral Board may not execute the lease and may rescind it.

Note:  Previous policy provided that the bidder whose bid was accepted and to whom the state mineral lease or state agency mineral lease was awarded had ten (10) days after acceptance of the bid and awarding of the state mineral lease to submit the Thirty Dollars ($30.00) Per Acre Payment. This policy has been changed. The current policy is to require each bidder on a state mineral lease or state agency mineral lease to submit the Thirty Dollars ($30.00) Per Acre Payment with his bid. If the bid is accepted and a mineral lease awarded, the Thirty Dollars ($30.00) Per Acre Payment shall be endorsed and negotiated by the Office of Mineral Resources and the proceeds transmitted for processing in accordance with law. If the bid is rejected, the Thirty Dollars ($30.00) Per Acre Payment shall be returned.

The sealed Bid Packet may be hand-delivered, mailed, or delivered by commercial courier to the Office of Mineral Resources’s Baton Rouge Office per the address information provided below. However, whether hand-delivered, mailed, or delivered by commercial courier, the sealed Bid Packet shall be physically in the hands of appropriate Office of Mineral Resources personnel no later than 12:00 p.m. CT on the Tuesday immediately prior to the Wednesday sale at which the tracts will be offered unless otherwise noticed.  Any bid received after the deadline shall not be accepted. Further, no bid, once submitted, may be thereafter withdrawn or canceled.  Note:  Should the Tuesday immediately prior to the Wednesday sale be a legal holiday, please contact the Office of Mineral Resources to confirm the bid submission deadline.