BLM May 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 Thursday, May 11, 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 May lease sale includes 173 parcels containing 196,735.68 acres.

“While energy development on Colorado’s federal lands continue to play an important part in meeting our nation’s energy needs, our focus is on smart planning and working with industry to use best practices to reduce environmental impacts on public and private lands,” said BLM Colorado Deputy State Director Lynn Rust.

Approximately 69,000 acres in the lease sale are what is called split-estate where a private entity owns the surface rights and the federal government owns the subsurface mineral rights. For these parcels, of which there are 92, the BLM requires industry to work with landowners to reach an agreement for use of their land before BLM will issue any permit to drill. Additionally, the BLM is conducting listening sessions across the country on the split estate issue. Colorado’s session was held in Grand Junction on March 23, where the BLM received comments from a number of interested citizens. Those still wishing to participate may submit comments by email at splitestate@blm.gov. Based on these comments, the BLM will submit a report to Congress reviewing current policies and practices for managing split estate situations.

The lease sale notice also includes 20 parcels within the Wolf Creek Management Area for the black footed ferret, which is being re-introduced into Moffat County through a partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Through this partnership, the three agencies came together to create the 2001 Black-footed Ferret Reintroduction and Management Plan for Colorado. This plan strives to effectively re-introduce the ferret into the region while responsibly developing energy resources. The plan may be viewed on the BLM’s state website with the lease sale information.

“Working together, we believe we can continue to make progress in the black footed ferret habitat,” said Al Pfister, western Colorado supervisor with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “It is important to all of the players at the table that we maintain our commitments made in the Black-footed Ferret Management Plan while pursuing energy development. We have an opportunity here to enhance our scientific understanding of the compatibility of ferret recovery and energy development.”

National BLM policy requires all protests filed on nominated parcels be received by the BLM either by mail, hand delivery, or fax by 4:00 p.m. at least 15 days prior to the lease sale (April 26) in order to be considered. If a protest is filed by fax, it must be sent to 303-239-3799. 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 the State Office Public Room at the State Office at 303-239-3600. 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 Public Room 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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