November 2015 Lease Sale Rescheduled for February 2016

Organization:

The Bureau of Land Management

BLM Office:

Utah State Office

Media Contact:

Salt Lake City—The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah today rescheduled the postponed November 2015 oil and gas lease sale for Feb. 16, 2016, by posting the Notice of Competitive Lease Sale and list of parcels proposed for auction.  The rescheduled sale is being combined with the already scheduled February 2016 sale.  Posting initiates a new 30-day public protest period for all parcels.

The rescheduled sale parcel list includes the same 39 proposed parcels covering 37,580 acres in the Price, Vernal and Fillmore Field Offices and the Fishlake National Forest.  The Price Field Office contains 18 parcels covering 20,562 acres; the Vernal Field Office has eight parcels covering 2,421 acres; the Fillmore Field Office has nine parcels covering 12,944 acres; and the Fishlake National Forest has four parcels covering 1,653 acres. 

The sale parcel list also includes seven proposed parcels covering 8,121 acres in the Moab Field Office.  All 46 parcels are identified as available to oil and gas leasing under the current resource management plans for the Price, Vernal, Fillmore and Moab Field Offices and the Fishlake National Forest. 

Protests for all proposed parcels must be received no later than 4:30 p.m., Jan. 11, 2016.  Protests should be as specific as possible.  Those which contain only opinions or preferences will not receive a formal response, but may be considered in the BLM decision-making process.  Protests may be mailed to the attention of Sheri Wysong at the BLM-Utah State Office at 440 West 200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, UT 84101, or faxed to (801)539-4237.  For information on how to file a timely protest, please refer to the February 2016 Notice of Competitive Lease Sale, which can be accessed online at:

http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/prog/energy/oil_and_gas/oil_and_gas_lease.html

Before including an address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in any comments, be aware that the entire comment—including personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time.  Requests to withhold personal identifying information from public review can be submitted, but the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.

The competitive oral auction will take place on Feb. 16, 2016, at the Salt Palace Convention Center, 100 West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT, 84101.  Bidder registration will open at 7:45 a.m. and the competitive oral auction will begin promptly at 9 a.m. The November competitive oil and gas lease sale was postponed to provide the time needed to better accommodate the high level of public interest in attending the sale. 

For general information about oil and gas leasing in Utah, please contact Sheri Wysong at (801)539-4067.  Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question with the above individual.  The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Replies are provided during normal business hours.


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.