News Release

For Release:  January 21, 2009 
Contact:  Hans Stuart 505.438.7510, Donna Hummel 505.438.7422

BLM Oil and Gas Lease Sale Nets over $11 Million

Santa Fe – A quarterly oil and gas lease sale administered by the Bureau of Land Management netted     $11,169,127 in revenues today from the sale of 88 federal leases in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.  The total includes bonus bids, administrative fees and first-year rentals.  The oral auction took place at the BLM’s State Office Building in Santa Fe; a total of 68 bidders registered for today’s auction.  

In New Mexico, bids for 47 parcels brought in over $7.3 million; in Oklahoma bids for 9 parcels brought in over $197,000 million; in Texas, bids for 31 parcels brought in just over $3.5 million; and in Kansas a single parcel sold for just under $500.

The highest bid per acre for a parcel in today’s sale was $2800 for 40 acres in Eddy County, New Mexico, by Yates Petroleum Corporation of Artesia, New Mexico ($112,000 total).  The highest overall total per parcel was just over $1.2 million for 2,560 acres ($475 per acre) in Chaves County, New Mexico by Marshall & Winston Inc. of Midland, Texas. 

Leases are awarded for a period of 10 years and as long thereafter as there is production in paying quantities.  The government receives 12.5 percent royalties on production from those leases.   Fifty-two percent of the revenues from federal lease sales are returned to the U.S. government and 48 percent go to the state where the mineral lease occurs.  New Mexico will receive $3,521,337 from today’s sale.

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 requires each BLM state office to conduct oil and gas lease sales on at least a quarterly basis.  BLM lease sales are competitive and conducted by oral bidding.

The next BLM federal oil and gas lease sale is scheduled for Wednesday, April 22, 2009.  Public review and comment on the parcels nominated for this sale are due February 3, 2009.  A complete list of nominated parcels can be found at: www.blm.gov/nm

- BLM -