BATON ROUGE- Sales of oil and gas drilling rights on Louisiana state and local lands fell to $476,400 in September. The state saw relatively lucrative lease sales in June and August despite falling oil prices.
    
The Louisiana Mineral and Energy Board awarded 10 leases covering nearly 1,600 acres during the Sept. 9 sale. The four participating companies nominated 36 tracts covering more than 54,000 acres to be included in the sale.
    
Bonus revenue collected in June hit $3.7 million, a two-year high, according to state records. Sales fell below $10,000 in July before surging to more than $3 million in August.
    
Sales rise and fall depending on the amount of data oil and gas companies have on reserves on state and local land.