BLM February Oil and Gas Lease Sale Information Available

DENVER – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado is making available information on its quarterly oil and gas lease sale, to be held on February 9, 2006. Lease sale information is available at each of the Bureau’s field offices as well as the Information Center at the Colorado State Office located in Lakewood. Additionally, an electronic copy has been posted on the BLM’s state website at http://www.co.blm.gov/oilandgas/leasinfo.htm. The February lease sale includes 157 parcels containing 167,345 acres.

National BLM policy requires all protests filed on nominated parcels be received by the BLM by 4:00 p.m. at least 15 days prior to the lease sale (January 25) in order to be considered. This 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.

Parties interested in receiving regular notification of the oil and gas lease sales are encouraged to contact Peggy Hooten at the State Office at 303-239-3755. For $5 each quarterly sale, and $5 for each sale result, the Bureau will automatically send registered citizens a copy of the lease sale notification. A minimum of $50 is required to establish an account – called a declining debit account – and will guarantee a copy of the sale notification before each quarterly sale, as well as the sale results.

Notice documents may also be obtained by calling the Information Center at 303-239-3600 up to 45 days before the sale and requesting a copy of the sale notice be sent to you. There is a $5 charge for the sale notice. Sale results can be requested approximately one week after the sale for an additional $5. BLM Colorado holds oil and gas lease sales the second Thursday of February, May, August, and November.

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.

Of the total acreage managed by the BLM, less than one percent experiences surface disturbance from oil and gas activity. To minimize such impacts (the “footprint”) on the land, the Bureau analyzes the potential environmental effects from exploration and development before offering any leases for sale. All leases come with stipulations (general requirements) on oil and gas activities to protect the environment; stipulations also can include specific restrictions, such as limits on seasons when drilling can occur and restrictions on surface occupancy by oil and gas operators.

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