BLM Colorado August oil and gas lease sale nets $10 million

DENVER - On Thursday, August 11, 2005, the BLM Colorado State Office held its quarterly oil and gas lease sale. Unofficial results show 79 parcels (of 85 offered) sold, correlating to about 71,589 acres (out of the 77,546 acres of public lands offered). The lease sale earned $10,076,673 in proceeds, making it the second highest revenue producing oil and gas lease sale that BLM Colorado has held.

“Colorado’s federal lands continue to play a part in meeting the nation’s energy needs,” said Ron Wenker, BLM Colorado State Director. "However, our focus is on smart planning and solid implementation of best practices to reduce environmental impacts on public and private lands and resources.”

All areas where parcels were offered for lease had land use plans allowing for energy development. When preparing land use plans, revisions, or when parcels are nominated for leasing, the BLM considers available new information to determine if any significant new circumstance or impact has occurred since the completion of the most recent land use plan. All parcels offered for lease in this sale were analyzed on a case-by-case basis to determine whether existing environmental analysis was adequate.

Of the lands managed by the BLM, less than one percent of the acreage experiences surface disturbance from oil and gas activity. To minimize impacts on the land, the Bureau analyzes potential environmental effects from exploration and development before offering any leases for sale. “BLM ensures that energy resources are developed in an environmentally sound manner on all lands we manage,” said Wenker.

All leases come with general requirements to protect the environment from oil and gas activities; specific stipulations also can be included, such as limits on seasons when drilling can occur and restrictions on surface occupancy by oil and gas operators. Once an operator proposes exploration or development on a BLM-issued lease, the Bureau conducts further environmental analysis and determines the site-specific need for various types of impact-limiting or mitigation measures.

The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 and the 1987 Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act authorize leasing of federal oil and gas resources. The 1987 law, which amended the Mineral Leasing Act, requires each BLM state office to conduct oil and gas lease sales on at least a quarterly basis.

Parcels nominated by industry for inclusion in a lease sale can be protested. The sale notice is posted in the affected BLM field offices and the state office at least 45 days before the sale. Anyone can file a protest. Beginning with the November 10th lease sale, all protests filed on nominated parcels will need to be received by the BLM at least 15 days prior to the lease sale in order to be considered. This new policy allows the Bureau to review protests in advance of the sale, allow for an appropriate announcement of protests at the sale, and attempt to meet the statutory deadline for issuing leases. While these protested parcels may still be offered, bidders are notified that no lease will be issued until the protests are resolved.

For the August lease sale, the Bureau increased its public outreach efforts through additional community education efforts as well as distributing information of the notice through media outlets statewide. Lease sale information was posted on BLM’s national website and given to partners for further distribution. “The BLM strives to be responsive to public concerns, while still fulfilling our role of making the public mineral estate available for responsible development,” said Wenker.

The BLM carries out its land-management mission under the authority of the 1976 Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which directs the agency to manage the public lands for multiple uses while protecting the natural, historical, and other resources of these lands. Energy from fossil and renewable resources is an important part of the BLM’s multiple-use mission, and energy from federally managed sources accounts for more than 30 percent of America’s energy production.

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