BLM Aug. 14 oil and gas lease sale location moved

LAKEWOOD, Colo – The Bureau of Land Management’s regularly scheduled Aug. 14 oil and gas lease sale will be held at the Denver West Marriott, 1717 Denver West Blvd., Golden. The sale starts at 9 a.m., with registration for bidders beginning at 8 a.m. The location change will help accommodate increased public interest in the sale.

The sale will include 55,186 acres in 31 parcels in the Roan Plateau Planning Area, which includes the Naval Oil Shale Reserves 1 and 3. Leases on top of the Plateau will require a single federal unit and phased, ridge-by-ridge development, with one operator conducting operations on behalf of all lessees. This allows BLM to exert tight control over oil and gas development, while consolidating infrastructure like roads, power lines and pipelines. More than half of the Roan Plateau will be off limits to surface disturbance to protect wildlife habitat and other natural resources. Disturbance on top of the plateau will be limited to less than 1 percent at any time, or approximately 350 acres, with development confined to existing road corridors.

Leasing on the Roan Plateau follows the direction of Congress in the 1997 Transfer Act. BLM Colorado holds oil and gas lease sales on the second Thursday of February, May, August, and November. These sales are normally held at the BLM Colorado State Office. Lease sale information can be obtained online at http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Programs/oilandgas/leasing.html, at each of the Bureau’s field offices, and the Public Room at the Colorado State Office in Lakewood.

(See detailed map of oil and gas lease parcels locations on the Roan.)