In Louisiana, the owner of a mineral servitude is under no obligation to exercise it. However, a mineral servitude will prescribe from ten years of nonuse. To interrupt the running of prescription, the owner of a mineral servitude may undertake “good faith operations for the discovery and production of minerals.” Article 29 of the Mineral… Continue Reading
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Louisiana’s Law of Reversionary Mineral Interests Revisited
Posted in Legal Updates, Louisiana Mineral CodeCan a landowner in Louisiana whose land is burdened by a mineral servitude sell the land and reserve the reversionary mineral rights or sell the reversionary rights to another? Although almost no jurisprudence addresses these issues, the Louisiana Third Circuit did so recently. On November 2, 2016, in Sterling Timber Associates, L.L.C. v. Union Gas… Continue Reading
Lease Division in Louisiana – “The Times They Are A-Changin’”
Posted in Louisiana Mineral CodeUnder the Louisiana Mineral Code and caselaw, a mineral lease is generally not divisible by assignment. Nonetheless, courts have long held that a lease contract can be rendered divisible if it contains certain language. The consequences of the interpretation of this language are of critical importance for oil and gas lessees and their successors and… Continue Reading
The Louisiana Supreme Court Refuses to Expand O&G Industry’s Duties to Lessors
Posted in Louisiana Mineral CodeWe sometimes report on recent court decisions that deliver bad news for the oil and gas industry. It thus is a pleasure to report a piece of good news, based on a well-reasoned and, in our view, correct opinion—namely, the Louisiana Supreme Court’s recent decision in McCarthy v. Evolution Petroleum Corp., 2014-C-2607 (La. 10/14/2015), available… Continue Reading