Expressions of Interest

An expression of interest (EOI) is an informal request for certain lands to be included in a competitive oil and gas lease sale.  Please submit your EOI via the National Fluids Lease Sale System. 

EOIs are not automatically placed on a sale when received, and the submission of an EOI does not guarantee these lands will be offered at auction. The BLM reviews parcels for eligibility and availability and environmental concerns before they can be placed on a sale notice. Additionally, if your EOI includes lands where the surface is managed by another agency, the BLM is required to obtain consent and stipulation recommendations from that agency before placing the lands on a competitive sale notice. In some cases, it may be necessary to update environmental documents to reflect current conditions. Therefore, the time required to process individual EOIs will vary. 

Regulations pertaining to competitive leasing can be found at 43 Code of Federal Regulations 3120. Prior to submitting your EOI, we ask you to review BLM public records to make certain the lands you intend to include in your EOI are eligible and available for leasing.

The term “eligible lands” means all lands that are subject to leasing under the Mineral Leasing Act and are not excluded from leasing by a statutory prohibition. The term “available” means those lands that have been designated as open for leasing under a land use plan developed under section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act for which an expression of interest has been submitted, are subject to drainage in the absence of leasing, or otherwise designated as available under the regulations. 

Refer to 43 CFR 3100.3(a)(2) and 43 CFR 3100.3(b)(2) to identify lands unavailable for leasing. Other instances where lands are not available for leasing include: 

  • Lands currently leased for oil and gas,  

  • Lands where the oil and gas mineral estate is not federally owned,

  • Lands within city or town limits,

  • Lands withdrawn from mineral leasing,

  • Lands located in designated or proposed wilderness areas, or  

  • Lands within an Indian Reservation.

In checking the public records, make certain that:

  • Leases that appear to have expired have not been extended beyond their expiration date. For example, determine whether the lessee is diligently drilling wells, such that the lease term is extended or whether it has been included in an approved unit, which would also extend the lease term, etc., and  

  • Terminated leases are not being considered for reinstatement. 

Please ensure your EOI contains the following information: 

  • After reviewing BLM's land status records, provide legal land description including the state, county, meridian, township, range, section, and aliquot part or other appropriate specific land description such as lot number, tract number, or metes and bounds description. 

  • View all submitted lands the BLM is currently reviewing under the leasing process in the National Fluids Lease Sale System to avoid submitting duplicate expressions of interest.