Louisiana Mineral Board Secretary Marjorie McKeithen announced today the results of the monthly lease sale which produced $5.9 million for the state. McKeithen said three bids on tracts, once unobtainable, have yielded a total amount of $5.2 million in bonus revenue.

McKeithen said, “These bids are a direct result of having made available to the marketplace state land that had been out of commerce since back in the 1930’s. In March of this year, we were successful in clearing thousands of acres for open bid,” McKeithen said.

The bids were located in Iberia parish and were awarded to two companies, Cypress Energy Corporation and Harold J. Anderson, Inc. The leases were granted by the state Mineral Board with 25 percent in royalty payments to the state treasury.

“For the past year, the department has sought out the oil and gas industry’s attention, particularly with marketing visits and participation in several energy expositions. Louisiana is a good place for business right now and it looks like the bonus and royalty projections are definitely on the upswing for fiscal year 2007-08,” she said.

According to McKeithen, last year was a record year for royalty income collection in Louisiana. This year’s early projections by the Office of Mineral Resources, she says, suggest that both mineral income and royalty amounts are on track to set all-time records.

Natural Resources Secretary Scott Angelle said, “It is this kind of aggressive management of the state’s mineral resources that puts people to work, grows the economy, and provides a better quality of life for our citizens – we will push to do even more.”

Below are the preliminary results of the October lease sale and the 2007-2008 FY amounts.