Energy Mineral Resources

Following the congressional passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the energy producing industry has shown increased interest in development of energy resources in the Battle Mountain District. Numerous exploration activities have been conducted, or currently underway in search of new and continued development of energy resources such as oil, natural gas and geothermal.

Oil and Natural Gas

Although small when compared to international statistics, the Battle Mountain District manages Nevada's largest producing oil fields, which are located in Railroad Valley, west of Tonopah Nevada.  The Railroad Valley field has the only sustaining production of any Nevada BLM District.  Thousands of acres of public lands are leased each quarter throughout each year for oil and gas development. 

2007 Oil and Gas Statistics for the Battle Mountain District 

Competitive oil and gas leases	350
Noncompetitive oil and gas leases	266
Oil and gas leases issued in 2007	93
Number of oil wells	117
Number of producing wells	66
Total production in 2007 (barrels)	409,938
Total production since 1950 (barrels)	50.1 Million
Average production per year (barrels)	400,000

 

Geothermal

Numerous targets in the Battle Mountain District have been identified by geothermal exploration companies seeking to develop resources.  Currently, there are approved geothermal exploration permits for lands in Buffalo Valley, Reese River Valley and Grass Valley.  Proposals for geothermal exploration have have been received for Smith Creek, and McGinness Hillis.  In addition, proposals for geothermal development have been submitted for Big Smoky Valley, Buffalo Valley and Reese River Valley.