Sale nets $543,813

Special to the Herald Times
RBC I The Bureau of Land Management Colorado state office sold two parcels totaling 1,608.69 acres for $543,813 at its quarterly oil and gas lease sale.The highest per-acre price was for a 648.69-acre parcel in Rio Blanco County that sold to Treasure Resources Inc., from Windsor, Colo., for $390 per acre. The high bonus bid of $288,000 was made by the same company for a 960-acre parcel, also in Rio Blanco County.The state of Colorado will receive 49 percent of the proceeds of the sale, with the remainder going to the federal government.The state of Colorado received more than $229.4 million in fiscal year 2010 from royalties, rentals and bonus bid payments for all federal minerals, including oil, gas and coal.A lease is the first step for a company or individual before eventually applying to develop and produce oil and gas from the BLM-managed public mineral estate. Additional planning, environmental analysis and public input must occur before drilling can begin. BLM posts list of proposed parcels for upcoming oil and gas lease saleThe BLM is offering five parcels totaling of 5,282 acres. Three of the parcels are in Rio Blanco County, one parcel is in Garfield County and one parcel is in Grand County. The deadline for submitting protests is 4 p.m., June 13, 2011.