The oil and gas lease sale process: How it’s done and why we do them…
When it comes to oil and gas lease sales, the Bureau of Land Management has three programmatic goals: 1) Providing a fair return to the American public and states from federal management of public lands and waters, including for development of energy resources; 2) Designing more responsible leasing and development processes that prioritize areas that are most suitable for development and ensure lessees and operators have the financial and technical capacity to comply with all applicable laws and regulations; and 3) Creating a more transparent, inclusive, and just approach to leasing and permitting that provides meaningful opportunity for public engagement and Tribal consultation.
Members of the public, typically industry representatives, nominate lands they wish to lease, but before they can be included in a sale, the parcels are reviewed for compliance with the area’s Resource Management Plan (RMP) and other factors such as resource conflicts that might make the lands unavailable. The National Fluid Lease Sale System includes information on current and upcoming BLM lease sales. The environmental review process for developing oil and gas resources is multi-faceted and includes input and coordination with other federal and state agencies, as well as the public.