Shale exploration boosts parish and local tax revenues

(The Center Square) - Natural gas producers in northwest Louisiana’s Haynesville shale are expanding operations into new areas, promising a wave of new revenue for local businesses, landowners and parish governments. At a meeting Monday, the Natchitoches Parish School Board reported that April sales tax collections were up 14.2% from the same month last year, a result officials described as "surprising," according to the local newspaper. “Officials noted this surge may be an early indicator of heightened oil and gas activity entering the parish economy,“ the Natchitoches Parish Journal reported on Wednesday. While parts of Natchitoches and Sabine parishes have been hotspots for Haynesville gas producers for more than two decades, the latest wave of leases targets areas south of traditional production zones. Land records in both parishes show that exploration activities, as reflected by new mineral leases recorded by local officials, accel