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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on November 21, 2014 at 6:04

Section 34 - 22N - 11W is GRAY RA SUN (Unit N in the South Sarepta Field for the Gray Sand, Reservoir A).  This unit was formed by Field Order 167-F-1 on Nov. 8, 1973.  The unit well was spud February 26, 1976.  GRAY RA SUN includes the entirety of Section 34 (+/- 640 acres).

This raises the question of whether you own the minerals associated with your surface ownership.  LA mineral law allows the owner of fee interest (both surface and mineral ownership) to severe the minerals by conveyance to another party which creates a mineral servitude which is effective for ten years from the date of the conveyance.  If the prior owner of your surface interest conveyed the minerals to some other party and the unit well was drilled within the ten year period then that mineral servitude would have remained in force by law as long as there was uninterrupted production.  If production ever stopped then the ten year period would begin anew.  You'd have to research your ownership interest to see if a mineral servitude was created in that specific time period.  If one was not then you need to research the public records of the parish to see if your ownership interest is clearly documented.  Have you tried contacting the operator of the well(s) in question to ask for an explanation?

Her is a link to Field Order 167-F-1: 

http://ucmwww.dnr.state.la.us/ucmsearch/UCMRedir.aspx?url=http%3a%2...

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Permalink Reply by Cozby SEC 34, T 22, R 11. /TR 13 on November 22, 2014 at 15:46

No, I’ve not contacted anyone yet. I just found a few documents that my mother had and I’m just starting to research everything for myself so that I understand how things work. I have a copy of a court document that shows my parents purchased the property in 1975. The legal description is as followed.

South half of northwest quarter of southwest quarter (s/2 of nw/4 of sw/4), northeast quarter of northwest quarter of southwest quarter (ne/4 of nw/4) all in section 34, township 22 north, range 11 west, Bossier Parish, Louisiana.

I had no idea what this meant so I asked my mom and she told me that it’s a section of land that is 30 acres and that we own a percentage of each acres that ends up equaling 12 acres. (This is confusing to me but I did find current tax records that show all the owners of the 30 acres.)

The mineral reservation on the document is as followed.

Vendor hereby reserves unto herself, her heirs and assigns, all oil, gas and other minerals that she owns in the above described property located on and under the said property, together with all rights of ingress and egress to and from same for the purpose of developing such minerals.

From my research there has never been any kind of drilling on the 30 acres, but there are 2 producing wells and one shut-in productive well-future utility 238590, 58857, and 151253 that are in T22N-11W-Sec 34, which is what made me ask how they determine who has the rights because chances are the pocket is under our land too and its being accessed by a nearby producing well.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on November 22, 2014 at 15:54

Drilling doesn't have to occur on the thirty acres.  The thirty acres is included in the GRAY RA SUN unit which encompasses the entire section.  You own the surface but the seller of the surface to your parents owns the minerals by the mineral servitude created by the reservation in the Deed of Sale in 1975.  Since you do not own the mineral rights associated with the surface tract, you are not due any payment from the wells drilled in the section.  I suggest that you read Andrew's blog on servitudes.  Use this link:

http://www.gohaynesvilleshale.com/profiles/blogs/what-is-a-servitude

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Permalink Reply by Cozby SEC 34, T 22, R 11. /TR 13 on November 22, 2014 at 16:19

Thank you. Do you know if there is somewhere I can find a list of all the people that hold the mineral rights in that section?

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on November 22, 2014 at 16:32

The original unit application included an Interested Party list.  By regulation the unit application required notice to all the mineral owners of record within the unit boundary and immediately adjacent to a distance of 1000'.  That IP list with names and addresses would be part of the application in the paper records of the Office of Conservation, Shreveport District office.  If you know the seller of your tract there is would also be a Oil, Gas & Mineral lease filed in the public records of Bossier Parish (Clerk of Court - Benton).  Of course 40 years after the fact the information would be dated.

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