Bureau of Land Management New Mexico seeks public comment for proposed May 2023 oil and gas lease sale
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SANTA FE, N.M.– Consistent with the direction in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bureau of Land Management New Mexico State Office released an environmental assessment analyzing 45 parcels (10,123.91 acres) for the proposed May 2023 Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale. These include 26 parcels located within Cheyenne County, Kansas (6,844.42 acres) and 19 parcels located within Eddy, Lea, and Chaves Counties, New Mexico (3,279.49 acres). The release of this environmental assessment starts a 30-day public comment period, which will end Feb. 6, 2023.
The BLM completed scoping on these parcels in November 2022 and now seeks public comment on the environmental analysis. All parcels leased as part of an oil and gas lease sale include appropriate stipulations to protect important natural resources. Public comments are accepted electronically via the BLM Land Use Planning and National Environmental Policy Act Register (ePlanning). Comments received by other methods will not be accepted. Additional information, including spatial data and exhibits, are online at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2021616/570. This website will link to ePlanning, where interested individuals and parties can provide written comments.
Please note the most valuable public comments are practical and relevant to the proposed action. For example, comments may question, within reason, the accuracy of information, methodology or assumptions, then present reasonable alternatives to those already analyzed. Comments containing only opinions and/or preferences, or those seeming similar to other comments will not be addressed specifically in the environmental review process.
This BLM lease sale will include updated fiscal provisions authorized by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act:
- Minimum bids for all offered parcels will be $10 per acre, an increase from the $2 per acre minimum bid set in 1987;
- Royalty rates will be 16.67 percent, up from the previous minimum of 12.5 percent; and
- Rental rates will be $3 per acre for the first two years; $5 per acre for years three through eight; and $15 per acre for years nine and ten. (Prior to the Inflation Reduction Act, rental rates were $1.50 per acre for the first five years and $2 per acre for each year thereafter, rates originally set in 1987).
For additional information about the Inflation Reduction Act, check out BLM’s online Fact Sheet.
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.