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2005 Legislative Update
During the 2005 Legislative Session, bills were passed that affect state leaseholders, prospective leaseholders, and royalty payors. A summary of the legislation and its effects follows.
Act 89 increases a fee collected
on all new state mineral leases. The fee is currently $15 per acre and
will increase to $20 per acre effective
beginning at the September 14, 2005 lease sale. View
full text of the legislation 
Act 449 contains
several provisions that affect leaseholders, prospective leaseholders,
and royalty payors.
View
full text of the legislation
The following is a summary of key elements of the bill.
• Effective with the July 13, 2005 lease sale, all bidders will be legally required to be registered prospective leaseholders before they bid on a lease. Prospective leaseholder registration requires the registrant to provide contact information and a certified copy of the certificate from the secretary of state. Bids from unregistered bidders will not be considered for award.
Those wishing to register should:
- download the Registration Form
- send the completed form to the address shown on the form
• Also effective with the July 13, 2005 lease sale, transfers or assignments will not be granted to entities that are not registered prospective leaseholders.
• Effective beginning with the State Royalty (SR) reports that are due to be submitted to the Office of Mineral Resources by July 25, 2005, payors will be assessed a $1,000 penalty if they have not notified the office that the payor attributable to a lease unit well (LUW) code has changed from the prior month’s report. The office must be notified of the new payor’s current mailing address, telephone number, and email address prior to the receipt of the SR report.
• Effective beginning July 11, 2005, a lessee, operator, or other person directly involved in developing, producing, transporting, purchasing, or selling oil, gas, or other minerals from state leases shall establish, maintain, and make available for inspection by office of mineral resources auditors any information that is reasonably relevant to the computation of royalties, and upon the request by any such auditor, the appropriate records, reports, or information shall be made available for duplication.
• Effective beginning July 11, 2005, all information contained on a seismic permit, including the plat showing the geometric polygon of the area on which the seismic is to be shot will be considered public records. This information will be published on the department’s web site.
Act 298 authorizes
the Department of Natural Resources to implement a dry hole credit
program. Dry holes at greater than 19,999 feet true
vertical depth in the coastal zone as defined by R.S. 49:214.24 will
be eligible for the program. Rules and regulations are forthcoming. Consult
the Mineral Resources Web site at http://dnr.louisiana.gov/min
for program updates. View
full text of the legislation
Act 481 authorizes the State Mineral Board and the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources to lease state lands and water bottoms for the exploration, development, or production of wind energy. The Secretary shall evaluate whether the lands proposed for lease best support the exploration, development, or production of energy from wind. In evaluating the proposed lease, the Secretary shall consider the following factors:
• capability of the lease proposal to fulfill the intent of the legislation,
• the environmental impact of the placement of wind turbines and other equipment necessary for the exploration, development, or production of energy from wind,
• the impact of the proposed lease on any other leases, including leases for the exploration or production of subsurface minerals,
• and any other factors which the Secretary deems appropriate.
Rules and regulations are forthcoming. Consult
the Mineral Resources Web site at http://dnr.louisiana.gov/min for program updates. View
full text of the legislation
Any questions regarding the implementation of this legislation may be
directed to Mr. Rick Heck at
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