Office of Mineral Resources
Energy Lands Division
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617 North Third Street (70802) |
The Energy Lands Division performs the mineral leasing function on behalf of the State Mineral and Energy Board, maintains State mineral lease ownership and property data, manages the docket of items submitted for Board consideration at the monthly meetings and maintains the official State mineral lease files.
The Division works closely with the Board's Tract Evaluation, Legal and Title Controversy, Docket Review and Lease Review sections and its staff provides the majority of public assistance at the public reference computer area in OMR's Baton Rouge office.
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Service or Program | Contact |
| How to Acquire an Operating Agreement |
Greg Roberts |
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| How to Nominate a Tract for State or State Agency Mineral Lease |
Brian Jackson |
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| How to Bid on a Tract of Land for State or State Agency Mineral Lease |
Brian Jackson |
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| How to Assign a State Mineral Lease |
Cristina Vince |
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| How to Release Acreage from a State Mineral Lease |
Veronica Bateman |
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| How to Submit a State Agency Lease for State Mineral Board Approval |
Cristina Vince |
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| How to Docket an Item for State Mineral Board Consideration |
Cristina Vince |
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| How to Register with the Office of Mineral Resources |
Angela Patterson |
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| How to Find Out if I Am Registered as a Prospective Leaseholder |
Brian Jackson |
Leasing Section
The Leasing Section of the Office of Mineral Resources receives and processes monthly proposals for mineral leases (commonly known as nominations or applications) for upcoming mineral lease sales. Its staff prepares a Notice of Publication, which describes all tracts for a specific upcoming lease sale, including a legal description of the tract, a map of the tract advertised, minimum requirements for the advertised tract, and general guidelines for leasing. Staff prepare the proposals for advertisement in the official journal of the State and the official journals in the parishes where the tracts are located.
The Leasing Section receives monthly sealed bids for each monthly mineral lease sale and presents the sealed bids to the State Mineral and Energy Board (Board) in open forum for consideration. Subsequent to the Board awarding bids at the monthly meetings, staff also processes and prepares the lease contracts. After bids are accepted and leases awarded, staff obtains the authorized signatures necessary and mail the awarded lease to the successful bidder.
Docket and Ownership Section
The Docket and Ownership Section of the Office of Mineral Resources receives and reviews all documents of transfers of interest in State leases, such as assignments, mergers, name changes, successions, unitization agreements, compromise agreements, operating agreements, lease amendments, etc. These documents are placed on the monthly docket for approval by the State Mineral and Energy Board. Staff verifies the working interest and the correct portion of the lease being assigned and enter any changes into the ownership records of the Department's SONRIS informational program.
Records Management Section
The Records Management Section of the Office of Mineral Resources maintains all State lease files containing the lease, instruments approved by the State Mineral and Energy Board, releases, and correspondence. All documents are electronically imaged or scanned to enable viewing using the "Document Access" component of the Department's SONRIS informational program. This information is also manually entered into the Database Access component of the SONRIS informational program for easy access by departmental personnel, the public sector, and industry representatives. Staff also instructs the public sector and industry representatives on the implementation and use of the Department's SONRIS informational program.