NEWS RELEASE

State Mineral Board Issues Lease Sale Data For April


For Immediate Release
April 11, 1997





The State Mineral Board conducted a Lease Sale April 9, 1997 at 10:00 a.m. in the Mineral Board Hearing Room located in the State Land and Natural Resources Building in Baton Rouge. Below are the preliminary results of the Lease Sale and 1996-97 Fiscal Year totals.


CLASSIFICATION        NOMINATED   NOMINATED   LEASES     NO.
OF   AMOUNT OF
Lease Sale                TRACTS      ACREAGE      AWARDED  ACRES          CASH
PAYMENTS
April 9, 1997

State Offshore Leases      4       2,237.310   3   1,845.610     $354,303.79
State Onshore Leases       36      26,441.830       21  6,416.606     $2,046,474.83
State Dedicated Leases     0       0.000       0   0.000         $0.00
State Agency Leases   3       646.840     3   326.840  $75,705.92

TOTAL SALE          43      29,325.980       27  8,589.056     $2,476,484.54

1996-97 Fiscal Year
State Offshore Leases      148          191,770.029  62     48,404.319     $10,693,691.96
State Onshore Leases       579          505,064.048  298    87,849.619     31,852,981.99
State Dedicated Leases     0       0.000       0  0.000             0.00
State Agency Leases   80      27,858.372       49 10,599.200     2,178,620.12

TOTAL YEAR TO DATE       807          724,692.449  409    146,853.138    $44,725,294.07
Editors: For more information about this report, please contact Gus Rodemacher at (504) 342-4607.