Louisiana follows the non-ownership theory of oil and gas, thus there is no seperate mineral estate. Any attempts to sell or reserve the ownership of oil and gas results in a Mineral Servitude.

The most important legal consequence of the mineral servitude is that unlike a mineral estate that can be created in perpetuity with no obligation on the owner to use its rights is that a mineral servitude is subject to perscription of non-use for ten years.

Article 21 of the Mineral Code defines a mineral servitude as "A mineral servitude is the right of enjoyment of land belonging to another for the purpose of exploring for and producing minerals and reducing them to possession and ownership."

A servitude owner is under no obligation to use his rights; however, if he does not exersise his rights within ten years, the servitude will be extinguished.

Only a owner who owns the mineral rights can create a servitude. A servitude can be created that is set to terminate at a certain time, occurance of specific condition, or even of the condition of divesting the title. However, a usufructaury can not establish a sevitude on the estate of his usufruct, even during the time of his usufruct.

A single servitude can not be created on non-contiguous tracts.

The mineral code prohibits parties from prescriptive periods of more than 10 years, but parties can agree to shorter prescritive periods, fix the term for the duration of the servitude (again, the term can not exceed ten years), or both.

Article 27 of the Mineral Code lists five methods by which a servitude may be extingished:

1. Prescription resulting from non-use for ten years
2. Confusion
3. Renunciation of the servitude on the part of him to whom it is due, or express remmision of his right
4. Expiration of term servitude was granted, or happining of dissolving condition attached to the servitude
5. Extintion of the right of him who established the servitude.

The first mode is prescription of non-use for ten years. This mode has been extensily litigated, The basic concept is simple. Use it or lose it.

Confusion results when the title is merged. In the case of the servitude, it is extinguished when ownership of the servitude and of the surface is the same person.

The third part is when a servitude owner simply abandons his right to the servitude. This mode requires an act clearly expressing the intent of the servitude owner to convey or release the servitude to the surface owner.

The fourth mode obviously extinguishes the servitude when the term or resolultory condition occurs.

The fifth mode deals with servitudes created by a landowner who has title for a term or who has title subject to a resolutory condition.

Part 2 will deal with the first and most complicated of these modes