Montana State Office
| Contacts: | Mary Apple 406-896-5258 |
Results of BLM's February Oil and Gas Lease Sale
Bonus bids at the Bureau of Land Management’s February 15 oil and gas lease sale in Billings totaled $2,080,635.
The highest bid at the sale was $352,000 submitted by Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation of Denver for leasing rights on a 160-acre Forest Service parcel in Billings County, N.D. That was also the highest per-acre bid at $2,200 per acre.
All of the 26 parcels offered for lease were on Forest Service land in North Dakota. All parcels received bids.
Additional information regarding competitive sale lists, detailed results of sales or the leasing process is available by writing the Bureau of Land Management, 5001 Southgate Dr., Billings, Mont. 59101, by calling (406) 896-5004, or at www.blm.gov/mt.
Oil and gas leasing is driven by consumer demand, and competitive oil and gas lease sales are conducted several times per year at BLM’s Montana State Office. Receipts from federal oil and gas leases are shared with the state or county where the lands are located. All leases are issued for a 10-year term.
Potential environmental effects that could result from exploration and development are analyzed before any leases are offered for sale. All leases come with conditions on oil and gas activities to protect the environment that can include limits on when drilling can occur or restrictions on surface occupancy. Once an operator proposes exploration or development on a BLM-issued lease, further environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act is conducted to determine the site-specific need for various types of impact-limiting or mitigation measures. In addition, many operators routinely use Best Management Practices such as remote monitoring of producing wells to minimize surface impacts.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
Montana State Office 5001 Southgate Drive Billings, MT 59101