State Mineral and Energy Board

January mineral lease sale brings $4 million to state

The state Mineral and Energy 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 $4 million in bonuses in the sale, bringing the total collected for the financial year that began July 1 to more than $38.9 million.

In all, 31 leases covering more than 8,100 acres were awarded, out of 53 nominated tracts covering more than 38,771 acres, in the January sale.

The Board sold leases in 12 parishes – Bienville, Caddo, Cameron, DeSoto, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafourche, Plaquemines, Sabine, St. Mary and Vermillion. Of the 31 leases sold, the majority were sold in south Louisiana, with 26 leases sold in southern parishes and 5 in north Louisiana.

All five of the north Louisiana leases 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 five Haynesville Shale area leases averaging more than $9,200 an acre.

CLASSIFICATION	NOMINATED TRACTS	NOMINATED ACREAGE	LEASES AWARDED	NO. OF ACRES	AMOUNT OF CASH PAYMENTS
Lease Sale January 13, 2010
State Offshore Leases	15	16,870.420	7	4,205.010	$1,066,670.40
State Onshore Leases	18	17,743.632	8	2,474.862	$1,525,812.59
State Dedicated Leases	3	3,714.380	1	1,075.530	$454,949.19
State Agency Leases	17	443.057	15	354.057	$1,052,233.31
Total Sale	38	38,771.489	31	8,109.459	$4,099,665.49
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	42	61,537.730	13	7,831.602	$2,175,143.01
State Onshore Leases	163	123,012.678	91	12,879.884	$11,555,477.45
State Dedicated Leases	13	22,316.900	8	3,193.660	$1,316,592.29
State Agency Leases	66	3,724.675	60	3,184.335	$23,873,840.61
Total Year to Date	284	210,591.983	172	27,089.481	$38,921,053.36
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.