State Mineral and Energy Board

December mineral lease sale brings approximately $8.8 million

The state Mineral Board on Wednesday conducted its monthly lease sale in the LaBelle Room of the LaSalle Office Building in Baton Rouge.

The board collected more than $8.8 million in bonuses in the sale, bringing the total collected for the financial year that began July 1 to more than $34.2 million.

In all, 38 leases covering more than 5,640 acres were awarded, out of 66 nominated tracts covering more than 68,232 acres, in the December sale.

The Board sold leases in 14 parishes - Acadia, Bienville, Caddo, Calcasieu, DeSoto, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Ouachita, Plaquemines, Sabine, St. Mary and Terrebonne.  Of the 38 leases sold, the majority were sold in south Louisiana, with 23 leases sold in southern parishes and 15 in north Louisiana.

Of the 15 north Louisiana leases, 14 were sold in the area of the Haynesville Shale natural gas formation -- in Bienville, Caddo, DeSoto and Sabine parishes. Lease sale prices remain strong in that area, with the 14 Haynesville Shale area leases averaging more than $6,100 an acre.

The lease prices the Board has seen in the Haynesville Shale area in sales this financial year have remained at an average of more than $6,000 an acre since August. The figures for that area are strong compared to previous years, though not what they were during the heat of the 2008 rush. For the parishes that have been the primary interest area for the Haynesville Shale, lease price sales averaged about $532 an acre in 2007 and about $252 an acre in 2006.

CLASSIFICATION	NOMINATED TRACTS	NOMINATED ACREAGE	LEASES AWARDED	NO. OF ACRES	AMOUNT OF CASH PAYMENTS
Lease Sale December 09, 2009
State Offshore Leases	0	0.000	0	0.000	$0.00
State Onshore Leases	51	54,534.010	24	4,266.560	$1,320,285.58
State Dedicated Leases	8	15,532.520	6	1,374.130	$601,243.10
State Agency Leases	8	666.388	8	666.388	$6,956,877.09
Total Sale	67	70,732.918	38	6,307.078	$8,878,405.77
NOTE: The totals for this sale do not reflect any options that may be exercised or revisions to acreage and cash amounts that may take place after this sale date which may cause these totals to change.
2009-2010 Fiscal Year
State Offshore Leases	27	44,667.310	6	3,626.592	$1,108,472.61
State Onshore Leases	145	105,264.046	81	8,695.772	$9,462,604.08
State Dedicated Leases	10	18,607.520	7	2,118.130	$861,643.10
State Agency Leases	49	3,281.618	45	2,830.278	$22,821,607.30
Total Year to Date	231	171,820.494	139	17,270.772	$34,254,327.09
NOTE: The Fiscal Year totals include this sale totals and also options exercised and revisions to acreage and cash amounts that may have taken place from the date of the last sale to this state lease sale.