News Release

December mineral lease sale brings $1.4 million

The state Mineral Board on Wednesday collected more than $1.4 million at its December lease sale, pushing the total collections on mineral leases to more than $191.3 million for the first half of the financial year that began on July 1.

Of the 144 tracts nominated for leasing, 44 were bid on, or about 31 percent, slightly lower than percentage in recent years.

In typical lease sales in recent years, excluding the Haynesville Shale run from June through October 2008, about 34 percent to 40 percent of nominated tracts receive bids, as exploration companies routinely nominate more tracts than they intend to bid on.

The major Haynesville Shale area lease buys began in June 2008, with collections for the four lease sales held between June and October each ranking in the top six collection days on record, ranging from about $35 million to more than $93 million.

“Though some of the leasing activity has slowed from the extreme we saw in the summer and fall, this has still been an exciting year for lease sale collections,” said Department of Natural Resources Secretary Scott Angelle. “What should not be forgotten is that the exploration companies that spent all these dollars on leasing will soon be preparing to drill and produce, meaning the potential of jobs, royalties and new taxes in coming years.”

Though oil and gas prices have continued to fall and concerns about the national and global economies persist, the total collection for the month of December is well within the normal variations in monthly collection figures seen in the five months before the first major Haynesville Shale area lease sale, a time when oil and gas prices were still on the rise.

For the first five months of 2008, before the first of the series of record months that began in June, the average lease sale day collection was slightly less than $2 million.

“The oil and gas industry’s recognition of the changing economic times is evident in its leasing activity, but we are still receiving bids and interest in our state,” said Mineral Board Secretary Marjorie McKeithen.

CLASSIFICATION	NOMINATED TRACTS	NOMINATED ACREAGE	LEASES AWARDED	NO. OF ACRES	AMOUNT OF CASH PAYMENTS
Lease Sale December 12, 2008
State Offshore Leases	21	36,714.62	5	616.220	$176,474.190
State Onshore Leases	83	75,993.80	13	2,674.977	$820,599.800
State Dedicated Leases	0	0.000	0	0.000	$0.00
School Indemnity Lands	0	0.000	0	0.000	$0.00
State Agency Leases	38	1,988.14	10	726.471	$433,286.660
Total Sales(Part 1 & 2)	142	114,696.562	28	4,017.668	$1,430,360.650
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. NOTE: Due to Hurricane Gustav, the September Sale was postponed and is now included in the October sale.
2008-2009 Fiscal Year
State Offshore Leases	81	120,348.150	32	11,538.660	$5,845,603.58
State Onshore Leases	463	336,438.820	192	41,524.734	$128,607,949.48
State Dedicated Leases	65	102,448.980	8	2,265.560	$1,115,658.62
School Indemnity Lands	1	0.560	1	0.560	$15,400.00
State Agency Leases	206	20,346.733	39	3,427,592.000	$55,802,006.08
Total Year to Date	816	579,583.243	272	3,482,921.514	$191,386,617.76
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.