State energy leases provide early Christmas

After opening the year with a string of record lows, members of the Louisiana Mineral Board spent Tuesday and Wednesday overseeing the most successful December energy lease sale the state has experienced in 13 years. Overall, the board awarded 38 leases covering about 5,640 acres statewide. Nearly $9 million in bonuses were collected from the winning bidders, bringing the total sum generated by the board since the current fiscal year kicked off July 1 to $34 million. Technically, that fiscal year-to-date total is down from the $191 million the board had in its coffers in December of last year, but the inflated figure is chiefly due to the historic play in the Haynesville Shale area in north Louisiana. In December 2007, a better year for comparison, the board had collected only $16 million. While this month’s sale showed that inland tracts in south Louisiana are on the uptick after months of dormant activity during the spring and summer, offshore leases remain unattractive to investors. In fact, there were no offshore leases up for bid at all this month. Nonetheless, this week’s sale provided two Baton Rouge firms with an opportunity to increase their inventory. Theophilus Oil, Gas and Land Services spent more than $600,000 on 1,371 acres in St. Mary Parish. The local firm was also awarded 30 acres in the Caddo Parish area, near the Haynesville Shale, for $9,200. EBR Louisiana LLC, meanwhile, grabbed 24 acres in Jefferson Davis Parish for $9,000.—Jeremy Alford