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La. Rev. Stat. § 31:16 (2026)

The basic mineral rights that may be created by a landowner are the mineral servitude, the mineral royalty, and the mineral lease.  This enumeration does not exclude the creation of other mineral rights by a landowner.  Mineral rights are real rights and are subject either to the prescription of nonuse for ten years or to special rules of law governing the term of their existence.  

✓ current as of May 2026
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§16.  Basic mineral rights; status as real rights

The basic mineral rights that may be created by a landowner are the mineral servitude, the mineral royalty, and the mineral lease.  This enumeration does not exclude the creation of other mineral rights by a landowner.  Mineral rights are real rights and are subject either to the prescription of nonuse for ten years or to special rules of law governing the term of their existence.  

Acts 1974, No. 50, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1975.  

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 59 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1977–2026 · leading case: Frank C. Minvielle, L.L.C. v. IMC Global Operations, Inc., 380 F. Supp. 2d 755 (W.D. La. 2004).
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Frank C. Minvielle, L.L.C. v. IMC Global Operations, Inc., 380 F. Supp. 2d 755 (W.D. La. 2004). · cites it 6× “” See La.Rev.Stat. Ann. §§ 31:16,:18; St. Charles Land Trust v.”
Grace Ranch, LLC v. BP Am. Prod. Co., 252 So. 3d 546 (La. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 5× “R.S. 31:16 stating that mineral rights are real rights, that status is reserved to the mineral lessee and not the mineral lessor.”
Wagoner v. Chevron USA Inc., 55 So. 3d 12 (La. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 4× “R.S. 31:16 provides: The basic mineral rights that may be created by a landowner are the mineral servitude, the mineral royalty, and the mineral lease.”
Quality Env't Processes, Inc. v. IP Petroleum Co., 219 So. 3d 349 (La. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 2× “R.S. 31:16; La. R.S. 31:80. A mineral royalty is a real right and is also classified as an incorporable immovable whose transfer or conveyance requires all formalities prescribed for the transfer of any other immovable, including that transfer or ownership thereof must be…”
Texaco Inc. v. Louisiana Land & Expl. Co., 136 B.R. 658 (M.D. La. 1992). · cites it 3× “” LSA-R.S. 31:16. 2. The mineral lease is a contract “by which the lessee is granted the right to explore for and produce minerals.”
Alford v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc., 13 F. Supp. 3d 581 (E.D. La. 2014). · cites it 2× “” La.Rev.Stat. § 31:16. As explained above, the 1960 agreement is not a mineral servitude.”
Hoover Tree Farm, L.L.C. v. Goodrich Petroleum Co., 63 So. 3d 159 (La. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “R.S. 31:16. “Mineral rights are real rights.”
Succession of Doll v. Doll, 593 So. 2d 1239 (La. 1992). · cites it 2× “The mineral lease is a contract by which the lessee is granted the right to explore for and produce minerals. La.Rev.Stat.Ann.”
Campbell v. Pasternack Holding Co., Inc., 625 So. 2d 477 (La. 1993). · cites it 2× “La.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 31:16. They are conceptually analogous to real rights inherent in predial servitudes.”
Duck v. Hunt Oil Co., 134 So. 3d 114 (La. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 2× “R.S. 31:16. Quoting Hoover Tree Farm, L.L.”
Sketoe v. Exxon Co., USA, 188 F.3d 596 (5th Cir. 1999). · cites it 2× “See La.Rev.Stat. Ann. §§ 31:16,: 18; St. Charles Land Trust v.”
Dupree v. Oil, Gas & Other Minerals, 731 So. 2d 1067 (La. Ct. App. 1999). · cites it 2× “R.S. 31:16. The landowners purchased the tract of land subject to a mineral servitude.”
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