BLM sells 11 parcels at oil, gas lease sale

RBC | The BLM Colorado State Office sold 11 parcels of 58 offered Nov. 12 at its quarterly oil and gas lease sale, totaling 6,043 acres. The highest per-acre price was for a 81-acre parcel in Rio Blanco County that sold to ExxonMobil for $215 per acre. The high bonus bid of $39,424 was made by Yates Petroleum Corp. for a parcel of 2,464 acres in Garfield County.
Overall, the lease sale earned $112,969 in total proceeds, with 49 percent to go to the state of Colorado.
The state of Colorado received $261.5 million in fiscal year 2008 from royalties, rentals and bonus bid payments for all federal minerals (including coal).
A lease authorizes a company or individual to produce oil and gas from the public mineral estate, managed by the BLM. Additional planning, environmental analysis and public input must occur before drilling can begin.