Louisiana State Mineral Board Notice of Publication

Office of Mineral Resources

Seal of the State Mineral and Energy Board
 
State Tracts
INLAND
STATE AGENCY

 

Notice of Publication for the
September 11, 2024 Mineral Lease Sale

This is an informal or additional notice of publication being mailed to prospective bidders by the Office of Mineral Resources on behalf of the State Mineral Board for the State of Louisiana. The enclosed descriptions and plats have been prepared following a thorough review of information on file in the Department of Energy and Natural Resources, Office of Mineral Resources, etc. and information furnished by the applicants. However, there is no guarantee that this Notice of Publication is error free due to the complex and subjective nature of property boundary descriptions; particularly with respect to water boundaries, section locations, survey datum and interpretive partial releases. Therefore, prospective bidders are encouraged to carefully verify the accuracy and completeness of all tracts to be bid upon. Furthermore, reliance on the following information regarding bidding and leasing procedure is unilaterally at the risk of all bidders inasmuch as the following information is provided solely for the convenience of and as an accommodation to prospective bidders. All prospective bidders are urged to refer to and strictly comply with the Bidding and Leasing provisions of Chapter 2, Title 30 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended.

Printing Official Plats

Every effort has been made by the Department of Energy and Natural Resources to ensure that the Official Plats contained herein will scale correctly when printed. Due to the nature of the Internet and the difference in the configuration of each individual printer, these maps may not scale correctly when printed on your printer. A bar scale is included on each Official Plat to verify the accuracy of each print. Prints should scale properly if the Fit to Page box on the Adobe Acrobat Reader Print Dialog Box is NOT checked.

The scale of all Official Plats will be one of the following: 1 inch = 2,000 feet, 1 inch = 3,000 feet or 1 inch = 4,000 feet.

It is the bidder's responsibility to ensure that all Official Plats, that are used with portion bids, scale correctly .

The descriptions of Tract Nos. 45840 through 45850 inclusive will be published in Baton Rouge on August 20, 2024 in "The Advocate", which is the Official Journal of the State of Louisiana and also in the Official Journal of the Parishes in which the property is located.

By virtue of and in conformity with the provisions of Sub-part A of Chapter 2, Title 30 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended, and other applicable laws, sealed bids will be received in the Office of Mineral Resources, LaSalle Office Building, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (P. O. Box 2827, Baton Rouge, LA 70821) on or before 12:00 noon on Tuesday, September 10, 2024 for a lease to explore, drill for and produce oil, gas and any other liquid or gaseous minerals in solution and produced with oil or gas on the following described tracts (Tract Nos. 45840 through 45850, inclusive) to be opened publicly Wednesday, September 11, 2024 in the LaSalle Office Building, 617 N. 3rd Street, Capitol Complex, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

All bids shall offer a "Cash Payment" bonus, as set forth on the authorized bid form, for a lease having a primary term in conformity with whether said lease is an inland or offshore lease and the said bonus shall maintain the lease in full force and effect for the first year. If the bid offers an ANNUAL DELAY RENTAL , which is mandatory for leases with terms of more than one (1) year, it shall not be for less than one-half ( 1/2 ) of the Cash Payment bonus bid. Any lease granted shall be without warranty or any recourse whatsoever, either express or implied, against Lessor with regard to questions of title, not even for the return by Lessor of any payments received under the lease or being otherwise responsible therefore to Lessee. Under LSA- R. S. 30:127, the Minimum Royalty bid cannot be less than one-eighth (1/8) of all oil, gas or other liquid or gaseous minerals in solution and produced with oil or gas and saved or utilized. Rights to geothermal resources, free sulphur, potash, lignite, salt and other solid minerals are to be excluded from any oil or gas mineral lease and any bid purporting to include those rights will be disregarded as to the extent of those rights only. All bidders are notified that the Mineral Board does not obligate itself to accept any bid, and that acceptance is at the sole discretion of the Mineral Board which reserves the right to reject any and all bids or to grant a lease on any portion of the tract advertised and to withdraw the remainder of the tract.

R.S. 30:136.1 established two additional fees to be collected from mineral lessees on all mineral leases awarded. Effective August 1, 2015, Act 362 of the 2015 Regular Legislative Session increased the Oil and Gas Regulatory Fund fee from $5.00 to $15.00. Therefore, in addition to the fee of $15 per acre to be collected and deposited into the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Fund, an additional fee of $15 per acre will be collected and deposited into the Oil and Gas Regulatory Fund. A separate check in the amount of $30 per acre made payable to the Office of Mineral Resources shall accompany the original bid (inside the sealed bid envelope). Bidders may use a regular check for payment of the fees. The successful bidder will not receive the lease executed by the State Mineral and Energy Board until the fees are received. If the bidder is unsuccessful, both the fee check and the Cash Payment bonus check will be returned to the unsuccessful bidder.

The State Mineral and Energy Board approved a new State Lease Form at the October 9, 2019 meeting.  The new lease form will apply to all leases awarded beginning with the December 2019 Lease Sale.  Additionally, the Royalty Reduction Program that was adopted by the Board at its July 10, 2019 meeting, will be effective beginning with the leases granted at the December 2019 Lease Sale.

Certified check, cashier's check or bank money order payable to the OFFICE OF MINERAL RESOURCES for the full amount of the aforesaid Cash Payment bonus shall be submitted with and accompany each bid, and no bid, once submitted, may be thereafter withdrawn or canceled. Once the bid is opened and accepted by the Mineral Board, the accompanying checks or money order shall be negotiated by the Office of Mineral Resources and the proceeds disbursed in the manner required by law.

SPECIAL NOTE:

R.S. 30:123.1 requires that a prospective lease holder for a State mineral lease be registered with the Office of Mineral Resources. Registration with the Office of Mineral Resources consists of filling out the Prospective Leaseholder form and supplying this office with a certificate from the Secretary of State for the State of Louisiana attesting that the prospective leaseholder is in good standing as authorized to do business in the State of Louisiana. UNDERSTAND that being registered for nomination or any other purpose DOES NOT CONSTITUTE REGISTRATION AS A PROSPECTIVE LEASEHOLDER. Act 449 specifically states that, "Only those bidders who are registered 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 obtain a mineral lease from the state of Louisiana.

In accordance with R.S.30:124, a fee equal to ten percent (10%) of the Cash Payment bonus bid is required to be submitted by separate check, accompanying the original bid (inside the sealed bid envelope). Bidders may use a regular check for the 10% fee. The successful bidder will not receive the lease executed by the State Mineral and Energy Board until the fee is received. If the bidder is unsuccessful, both the fee check and the Cash Payment bonus check will be returned to the unsuccessful bidder.

The successful bidder to whom the lease is awarded who receives the written lease executed by the State Mineral and Energy Board shall return the written lease, duly executed by Lessee (all of named Lessees on the lease instrument), within TWENTY (20) DAYS of receipt of same; failure to do so may result in forfeiture of the lease, including the administrative fee.

Bids may be for the whole or any particularly described portion of the land advertised, but consistent with Mineral and Energy Board policy. All bidders are hereby notified that bids on portions of tracts shall be described by metes and bounds and be accompanied by a plat (pdf) and should identify the Point of Beginning with X and Y coordinates (if applicable), the Section, Township and Range, the Block No. (if offshore), the Parish, any adjacent existing State Mineral Leases. It shall also show the Topographic features (Land and Water) of the area in detail similar to the Official Plat contained herein. Failure to follow these guidelines in submitting a portion bid may result in outright rejection of the portion bid by the State Mineral and Energy Board at its sole discretion.

Notice is given that the State Mineral and Energy Board will include provisions in the lease to insure applicable payments attributable to the lease property without regard to adverse title claims, disputes, litigation or title failure and the language of those provisions is available to any interested party at the Office of Mineral Resources. Prospective bidders should carefully examine the same prior to submitting any bid.

Some tracts available for leasing may be situated in the Louisiana Coastal Zone as defined in Act 361 of the Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature of 1978 (promulgated as LSA-R. S. 49:213) and may be subject to the guidelines and regulations promulgated by the Coastal Management Section of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources for operations in the Coastal Zone.

NOTE: All bids shall specify the Cash Payment bonus for leases as a price per acre amount and an aggregate total amount, whereby a bid for the entire tract shall be controlled by the bid price per acre multiplied by the specified amount of state owned/claimed acreage advertised for the tract, and a bid for a portion of the tract shall be controlled by the bid price per acre multiplied by the actual amount of state owned/claimed acreage within the polygon boundaries of the portion bid. For purposes of rental payments, the price bid per acre for the Cash Bonus, reduced if appropriate to the rental price per acre- but not less than one-half of the price per acre bid for the Cash Bonus- multiplied by the state owned/claimed acreage of the polygon bid (specified acreage if entire tract is bid; actual acreage in portion bid polygon) shall determine the amount of the rental payment throughout the primary term, regardless of any releases. For purposes of deferred development payments, one-half of the price per acre bid for the Cash Bonus multiplied by the state owned/claimed acreage within the remaining lease polygon, if any release has occurred, but outside of a unit polygon within which unit activity is ongoing, shall determine the amount of the deferred development payment.

NOTE: Multiple portion bids on the same tract may be accepted by the State Mineral and Energy Board, even though they overlap. In the case of overlapping portion bids on the same tract, each of which is otherwise acceptable to the State, the State Mineral and Energy Board will indicate which one of the multiple bids on the same tract is most advantageous, considering the royalty, per acre cash payment, bonus, any additional consideration and what, in the sole discretion of the Mineral Board, is in the best interest of the State, and that bid (referred to as "Bid A") will be given priority in having a lease issued. The State Mineral and Energy Board will also indicate the acceptability of other portion bids on the same tract, if any, in the order of their acceptance (referred to respectively as "Bid B", "Bid C", etc.). Once the plat of "Bid A" 's portion has been rendered as accurately as possible, "Bid B" will be contacted and given an option to take a lease on the remaining portion of his portion bid acreage not overlapping "Bid A" 's bid portion, at "Bid B' 's per acre bid price (both as to bonus and rental); and thereafter, each successive bidder whose bid is otherwise acceptable will be given the option to take a lease on whatever portion remains of his portion bid acreage at his respective per acre bid price, less and except any prior portion bid acreage on which the successful bidder has opted to take a lease.

NOTE: If you require accommodations due to a disability in order to attend or participate in a meeting, please notify the Office of Mineral Resources at P.O. Box 2827, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-2827 or 225-342-4606 at least two (2) working days before the meeting date.

NOTE: The above descriptions of the Tract(s) nominated for the purpose of acquiring a mineral lease(s) or a geophysical agreement(s) have been provided and corrected, where required, exclusively by the nominating party. Any mineral lease(s) or geophysical agreement(s) selected from this Tract(s) and awarded by the Louisiana State Mineral and Energy Board shall be without warranty of any kind, either express, implied or statutory including, but not limited to, title or the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.

An error or omission in the nominating party's Tract description may require that a State mineral lease(s) or geophysical agreement(s) be modified, canceled or abrogated due to the existence of conflicting leases, operating agreements, private claims or other future obligations or conditions within the Tract(s) described. In such case, however, the Louisiana State Mineral and Energy Board shall not be obligated to refund any consideration paid by the Lessee prior to such modification, cancellation or abrogation including, but not limited to, bonuses, rentals and royalties.

NOTE: DEEPWELL INCENTIVE: It is important for the continued prosperity and welfare of the people of the state of Louisiana, that the state promote the continued growth and development of the mineral resources of the state of Louisiana. It is the intention of this notice to inform the bidders of the economic incentives allowed by state law in order to enhance mineral production to the ultimate benefit of the state. In accordance with the provisions of LA R.S. 47§633(9)(d)(v), Louisiana law allows the suspension of severance tax on the production of natural gas, gas condensate, and oil from any well drilled to a true vertical depth of more than fifteen thousand (15,000) feet, where the production commenced after July 31, 1994. The severance tax exemption shall start from the date of production for twenty-four months or until payout of the well cost, whichever comes first. In addition to this Severance Tax Provision, please refer to other applicable statutes, such as LA R.S. 47§633, 47§633.4 and 30§127.1 for other incentives allowed by Louisiana law.

INLAND TRACTS Tracts 45840-45848 are those tracts which lie landward of the Louisiana shoreline as defined by the report of the Special Master in the litigation in the Supreme Court of the United States styled United States v. State of Louisiana, et al, No. 9 Original and set out in the June 1975, Decree of the said Supreme Court. All bids on inland tracts cannot specify a lease primary term exceeding three (3) years. Bids that specify a primary term exceeding three (3) years for an inland tract may be rejected outright or the primary term changed to three (3) years at the sole discretion of the State Mineral and Energy Board.

STATE AGENCY TRACTS Tracts 45849-45850 all State Agency Tracts are deemed Inland Tracts. In the case of State Agency Lands, which are offered for lease herein, certified checks, cashier's checks or bank money orders for the Cash Payment bonus accompanying each bid shall be made payable to each respective State Agency with the exception that, if a Sixteenth Section, or part thereof, which is located in a township which is situated in more than one parish is offered for lease, the certified check, cashier's check or bank money order for the full amount of the Cash Payment bonus shall be made payable to the STATE TREASURER. In all cases, the ten percent (10%) fee and the $30.00 per acre fee mentioned herein shall be paid by separate check made out to the Office of Mineral Resources. Any amendments, assignments or other agreements entered into after the State Mineral and Energy Board has awarded the State Agency Lease shall thereafter be approved by the respective State Agency or Agencies, not the State Mineral and Energy Board. Act 289 of the Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature established a minimum royalty of not less that one sixth (1/6) for all leases affecting School Board lands.

SPECIAL NOTICE FOR TRACT #45842. 

   
 
Revised on Monday August 05, 2024 by the Office of Mineral Resources

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