BLM Prepares for Upcoming Oil and Gas Lease Sale March 11, 2010
Organization:
BLM Office:
Media Contact:
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oregon State Office announced that it will offer three parcels totaling approximately 2,559 acres, in Washington State, at its March 11, 2010 Oil and Gas Lease Competitive Sale. All of the parcels to be offered are in central Washington in Grant County. The competitive sale will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 11, 2010. The sale room will open one half hour earlier so you can register and get your bidding number. The sale will be held at the Robert Duncan Plaza Building, 333 SW 1st Avenue, Portland, Oregon in the 3rd floor conference rooms. Auction rules call for a $2 per acre minimum bid in bonuses on any parcel. This means a buyer will pay the bid price for the right to obtain the federal lease, in addition to a standard $1.50 per acre rental on the lease. BLM will also charge winning bidders $145 per parcel to help cover administrative costs. If the lease becomes producing, the federal government will collect a royalty on production. As part of royalty sharing, the state that the lease is located in receives half the bid price, half of the rental fee, and half of the royalty if the well is producing. The complete list of parcels and the oil and gas lease sale notice is available online at: blm.gov/or/landsrealty/oilandgas.php When preparing land use plans, revisions, or when parcels are nominated for leasing, the BLM considers available new information to determine if any significant new circumstances or impacts have occurred since the completion of the most recent land use plan. All parcels offered for lease in this sale were analyzed on a case-by-case basis to determine whether existing environmental analyses were adequate.
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.