BLM oil and gas lease sale nets nearly $10,000 (11-14-13)
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Today the Bureau of Land Management Colorado State Office sold seven parcels totaling 1,945 acres for $9,973 including rentals and fees at its quarterly oil and gas lease sale. The highest per-acre price was $54 for a 40-acre parcel in Weld County leased to White Eagle Exploration in Denver.The State of Colorado receives 49 percent of the proceeds from each sale, with the remainder going to the U.S. government. The State of Colorado received more than $158 million in Fiscal Year 2012 from royalties, rentals and bonus bid payments for federal minerals, including oil and gas. BLM Colorado currently has approximately 4.2 million acres of public mineral estate leased for oil and natural gas development, generating more than $6.5 billion in direct economic benefits in 2012 and approximately $9.5 billion in total economic impacts.This is the 26th of 30 scheduled lease sales the BLM will hold throughout the nation in Calendar Year 2013. Sales so far have offered 1,783 parcels covering 5,383,759 acres; 1,096 of the parcels, encompassing 942,895 acres, have been leased, generating nearly $185 million in revenue, which is split between the U.S. Treasury and the states where the leases are located. A lease is an initial first step in the process before a company can apply to develop and produce oil and gas from the BLM-managed public mineral estate. Additional planning, environmental analysis and public input must occur before drilling can begin.For information about BLM Colorado's oil and gas lease sales, visit: https://www.blm.gov/programs/energy-and-minerals/oil-and-gas/leasing/regional-lease-sales/colorado
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.