Results of May Oil and Gas Lease Sale

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT NEWS RELEASE
Montana State Office

Release Date: 05/09/12

Contacts:		Contact: Mel Lloyd
		Telephone: (406) 896-5260

BLM Announces Results of May Oil and Gas Lease Sale

BILLINGS – Bonus bids at the Bureau of Land Management’s May 8 oil and gas lease sale in Billings totaled $3,950,025.

The highest single-parcel bid was $238,400 submitted by Western Land Service, Inc. of Sheridan, Wyo., for a 596-acre BLM parcel managed by the Miles City Field Office and located in Richland County, Mont. TDB Resources, L.P. of Salt Lake City, Utah, submitted the highest per-acre bid at $2,800 per acre for a 41-acre BLM parcel also located in Richland County.

All 151 parcels offered, totaling just under 52,807 acres, received bids. A total of 149 parcels were located in Montana, with one parcel each located in North Dakota and South Dakota.

Additional information regarding competitive sale lists, detailed results of sales, and 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 on a quarterly basis at BLM’s Montana/Dakotas 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 and multiple wells per pad 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.

--BLM--

Montana State Office 5001 Southgate Drive Billings, Montana 59101

Last updated: 06-28-2012