Louisiana Mineral Royalty Calculator: Your Decimal Interest

Step 1: Gather your three inputs

Your net mineral acres in the tract, the unit's spacing acres, and your lease royalty rate — from your deed, your lease, and the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy unit record.

Step 2: Compute your decimal

Decimal interest = net mineral acres ÷ unit acres × royalty rate. Use the royalty calculator to check your math.

Step 3: Account for what Louisiana takes out

A severance tax on production (oil/condensate is a percentage of value; gas is a per-Mcf rate set annually) is withheld, so your net check is below the gross your decimal implies — plus any post-production deductions your lease allows.

Step 4: Verify against your Louisiana division order

The decimal on the division order must match your calculation. If it is low, the operator may have the wrong net acres, unit size, or royalty rate — reconcile it before you sign.

Step 5: Get it audited

Have the decimal and the check history verified. Valor audits Louisiana royalties stub by stub as an independent mineral manager.

What is Louisiana-specific about your royalty math

The decimal-interest formula does not change by state, but Louisiana facts change what you actually receive. Tax: Louisiana levies a severance tax on production (oil/condensate is a percentage of value; gas is a per-Mcf rate set annually), withheld before or alongside your royalty, so your net is below the gross your decimal implies. Timing: Louisiana law generally requires operators to begin paying proceeds once title is marketable in the owner's name, and to pay on a regular cycle thereafter, and like most producing states, Louisiana can impose statutory interest on royalty proceeds held past the period the law allows — confirm the current Louisiana rate. Unit size: the acres you divide by depend on how Louisiana forms drilling units — the state conservation regulator (the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy) administers compulsory (forced) pooling, so an unleased Louisiana owner can be force-pooled into a unit — which decides whether your tract stands alone or sits inside a larger pooled unit (a bigger denominator, and a smaller decimal on more total production). Verification: spacing and production are regulated by the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy (which absorbed the former Office of Conservation in the 2025 reorganization, Act 458), whose records confirm the unit acres in your decimal, and your Louisiana division order should state a decimal that matches net mineral acres ÷ unit acres × royalty rate. If your Louisiana division-order decimal does not match your own calculation, do not sign until it is reconciled; an incorrect decimal underpays you every month it goes uncorrected.

Louisiana facts at a glance

The Louisiana-specific facts that shape this situation — a citable reference. General guidance as of September 2026; confirm specifics with a CPA or attorney.