Montana-Dakotas Oil and Gas Lease Sales
BLM Montana/Dakotas conducts quarterly oil and gas lease sales, as required by the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, and the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands of 1947, as amended, when eligible lands are available for leasing. Lease sales are held on a quarterly basis to allow field offices sufficient time to conduct an environmental analysis. However, the BLM has the discretion to offer or defer any parcel during any sale.
Not all lands that are leased become developed. Leasing enables companies to secure rights to mineral resources before investing in geophysical testing and other kinds of exploratory techniques to determine if development is economically feasible. Less than one percent of all BLM-lands is developed for oil and gas resources.
The BLM conducts lease sales online via www.energynet.com. Please refer to each sale notice for more information on how to register, bid and spectate at online oil and gas auctions.
If you would like to nominate lands for a lease sale, please submit an Expression of Interest . As of June 2, 2018, BLM Montana/Dakotas requests all Expressions of Interest be submitted through the National Fluid Lease Sale System at https://nflss.blm.gov/. Learn more information about submitting EOIs. NFLSS is a public portal system managed by BLM’s National Operations Center; therefore, if you have issues with submitting the EOIs through NFLSS, please do not contact our office, instead, we recommend you submit a help desk ticket @ https://phd.blm.gov/
To view upcoming and recent oil and gas lease sale notices and results, click on the links below.
- 2024-2027 Lease Sales
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2024-2027 Scheduled Lease Sales
Q1: March 2024
Q2: April 2024
Q3: July 2024
Q4: October 2024
- 2023 Lease Sales
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Q2: June 2023
Q3: September 2023
Q4: December 2023
- 2022 Lease Sales
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June 2022
Maps, parcel lists, proposed lease stipulations, and instructions for submitting comments are available online at the BLM ePlanning website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015346/510
More information: https://www.blm.gov/press-release/bureau-land-management-montanadakotas-issues-notice-oil-and-gas-lease-sale
First Quarter
The BLM has received a number of requests for extension and also notes that its web servers have experienced technical issues during the current comment period. The BLM is extending the public comment period by 10 days to ensure adequate public involvement.
Maps, parcel lists, proposed lease stipulations, and instructions for submitting comments are available online at the BLM ePlanning website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015346/510 .
More information: https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-opens-public-comment-period-first-quarter-2022-lease-sale
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2021 Lease Sales
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August 31, 2021
30 Day Public Comment period for feedback on parcels deferred from 2021 Quarter 1 and 2.Maps, parcel lists, proposed lease stipulations, and instructions for submitting comments are available online at the BLM ePlanning website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2015346/510.
The Bureau of Land Management is exercising its discretion to not hold lease sales in the second quarter of Calendar Year 2021.
More information: blm.gov/press-release/statement-second-quarter-oil-and-gas-lease-sales.
March 23, 2021
*The oil and gas lease sale scheduled for March 23, 2021 has been postponed.
Please refer to the BLM e-Planning website for updated information on the sale and associated documents or to submit comments. NEPA Number DOI-BLM-MT-2021-0001-EA -
2020 Lease Sales
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march 24, 2020
Please refer to the BLM e-Planning website for updated information on the sale and Associated Documents or to submit comments. NEPA Number DOI-BLM-MT-0000-2020-0001-EAJune, 2020
The one nominated parcel for the June 2020 Oil and Gas Lease Sale is deferred until September due to workload and staffing considerations.September 22, 2020
Please refer to the BLM e-Planning website for updated information on the sale and associated documents or to submit comments. NEPA Number DOI-BLM-MT-0000-2020-0004-EA*Please note: The ePlanning website will be down June 5, 2020 at 5 pm until June 6, 2020 at 6 pm. Due to this outage, the 30 day comment period for the September Oil and Gas Lease Sale will be extended through June 26, 2020.
December 15, 2020
The December 15, 2020 Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale is postponed. The one (1) nominated parcel is deferred until the March 2021 sale due to resource considerations. -
2019 Lease Sales
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March 27, 2019
Please refer to the BLM e-Planning website for updated information on the sale and associated documents or to submit commentsMontana/Dakotas: NEPA Number DOI-BLM-MT-0000-2018-0007-EA
July 30, 2019
Please refer to the BLM e-Planning website for updated information on the sale and associated documents or to submit comments.Montana/Dakotas: NEPA Number DOI-BLM-0000-2019-001-EA
September 24, 2019
Please refer to the BLM e-Planning website for updated information on the sale and associated documents or to submit commentsMontana/Dakotas: NEPA Number DOI-BLM-MT-0000-2019-0002-EA
December 18, 2019
Please refer to the BLM e-Planning website for updated information on the sale and associated documents or to submit commentsMontana/Dakotas: NEPA Number DOI-BLM-MT-0000-2019-0003-EA
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2018 Lease Sales
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March 13, 2018
Click on the links below to be re-directed to the ePlanning site for each location.Billings Field Office - DOI-BLM-MT-L002-2017-0002-EA
Butte Field Office - DOI-BLM-MT-L002-2017-0003-EA
North Central Montana District - DOI-BLM-MT-L002-2017-0004-EA
North Dakota Field Office - DOI-BLM-MT-C030-2017-0133-EA
June 12, 2018
The BLM Montana State Office is deferring all 223 nominated parcels from the June 12, 2018 Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale.Please refer to the BLM e-Planning website for updated information on the sale and associated documents or to submit comments. The NEPA number for this lease sale is DOI-BLM-MT-C020-2018-0005-DNA.
September 11, 2018
Please refer to the BLM e-Planning website for updated information on the sale and associated documents or to submit commentsNorth Dakota: NEPA Number DOI-BLM-MT-C030-2018-0033-EA
South Dakota: NEPA Number DOI-BLM-MT-C040-2018-0005-DNA
December 11, 2018
BLM to offer 23 parcels in December oil and gas lease sale
[BILLINGS, MT] — In keeping with the Administration’s goal of promoting American energy independence, the Bureau of Land Management will offer 23 parcels, totaling nearly13,000 acres in Lewis and Clark, Blaine, Glacier, Toole, Big Horn, Dawson, and Sheridan counties at its December quarterly oil and gas lease sale. This notice initiates a public protest period that ends on November 3, 2018. The BLM will hold the lease sale online at www.energynet.com.
To comply with a Preliminary Injunction entered on September 21, 2018, by the United States District Court, District of Idaho(W. Watersheds Project v. BLM, No. 1:18-cv- 00187-REB, this sale does not include 20 parcels that intersect with Greater Sage Grouse Priority and General Habitat Management Areas.
Responsible energy development includes thoughtful consideration of parcels nominated for leasing as well as potential resource impacts of decisions to lease. An additional environmental review will take place at the application for Permit to Drill stage, where site specific Conditions of Approval (COAs) will be placed on the permit in addition to the lease stipulations.
Protests must be submitted in writing to the BLM Montana State Office, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, MT, 59101or faxed to Montana Dakotas State Director at (406) 896-5292. The environmental assessment (EA) and Determination of NEPA Adequacy (DNA), lists and maps of the parcels and the attached stipulations are online.
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question with the above individual. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are provided during normal business hours.
The oil and gas industry on public lands in Montana and the Dakotas contributed nearly $160 million in total economic output in FY2017. Continuous exploration, development, and site restoration is required to sustain production rates, jobs, income and royalties.