An Expression of Interest (EOI) is an informal nomination to request that certain lands be included in an oil and gas competitive lease sale. This request must be made in writing (no specific form required) to the BLM State Office having jurisdiction over the lands. No filing fee or rental is required with an EOI. EOIs are not automatically placed on a sale when received. The parcels must be reviewed for availability and environmental concerns prior to being placed on a sale. Additionally, if your EOI includes lands where the surface is managed by another agency, BLM is required to obtain approval and recommendations from that surface managing agency (SMA) prior to placing the lands on a competitive lease sale notice. Please be prepared if another SMA does not consider our request for concurrence/consent as their highest priority. An SMA may need to prepare or update its environmental document, which may require additional time. BLM is also required (see 43 CFR 3120.4-2) to post the Notice of Competitive Sale 45 days prior to the sale.

As of August 8, 1995, all BLM offices must keep the names of all parties filing an informal EOI, confidential until 2 days following the last day of the competitive sale, or in other words, until the next day following the conclusion of the noncompetitive day-after-the sale filings.

Regulations pertaining to competitive leasing can be found at 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 3120. Prior to submitting your EOI, BLM public records should be reviewed to make certain the lands are available for leasing. Some lands not available for leasing, but not limited to are:

• Lands already leased for oil and gas
• Lands with non-Federally owned minerals
• Lands within city limits
• Lands withdrawn from mineral leasing
• Lands located in designated or proposed wilderness areas (WSA/DWA)
• Lands within an Indian Reservation
• Lands with pending mineral entry applications
• Lands with patented mining claims

In checking the public records, make certain that:

• Expired leases have not been extended beyond their expiration date by diligent drilling and
• Terminated leases are not in the process of being reinstated.

Effective immediately, if your nomination includes "split estate lands" (lands with federal minerals, but the surface estate is privately owned), you also must include the name and mailing address of the current private surface owner or owners. If you have previously nominated a split estate parcel, but it has not yet been offered, you can expect to be contacted by the California state office to provide that information also.

EOIs must be submitted with a complete legal land description. If your EOI contains lands not within a 4-mile square area, please configure the lands into the parcels as you would like to see them on a sale notice. Parcels will not exceed 2,560.00 acres on the sale notice, so if your EOI contains more than 2,560.00 acres and you have not configured or prioritized your parcels, BLM will parcelize the lands, which may not agree with the parcel configuration you prefer.

Make certain your EOI contains the following minimum information:

• Your name or company name with address and telephone number, and
• Complete legal land description.
• If the surface estate is private, the name and mailing address of the current surface owner(s).

E-mail your EOI or any questions to Debra Marsh at dmarsh@ca.blm.gov .