The numbers may not be particularly large when compared with those from US Bureau of Land Management offices in other states, but they demonstrate a continuing federal oil and gas leasing process in Nevada that is active nevertheless.
Start with the Oct. 1 quarterly lease sale, which attracted competitive bids for 19,051 of the 269,184.41 acres that were offered. Combined bids totaled $70,526, which will be divided between the federal and state governments.
BLM offered 39 parcels in Elko, Eureka, Nye, and White Pine counties online. Federal Abstract Co., which is based in Santa Fe, submitted the single highest bid of $5/acre for a 673.44-acre parcel.
The US Department of the Interior agency says that its policy is to promote domestic oil and gas development on land it oversees if it meets the regulations and guidelines that are set forth in the 1969 Environmental Policy Act and other subsequent laws and policies that the US Congress passes and the president signs into law.
The sales also are in keeping with the Trump administration’s America First Energy Plan, which also include development of coal, strategic minerals, and renewable energy, it noted.
BLM’s next proposed Nevada lease sale is scheduled for Nov. 12, when it will offer 263 parcels totaling 547,969.25 acres in Lincoln, Nye, and White Pine counties. Information on more than 225 parcels which will be offered is available online at www.energynet.com.
The agency noted that this sale complies with the terms of a preliminary injunction issued by the US District Court for Idaho in the Western Watersheds Project vs. BLM lawsuit. That preliminary injunction required lengthier comment periods on environmental compliance documents associated with parcels that intersect priority or general habitat management areas for the greater sage grouse.
BLM’s oil and gas oversight activities within the Silver State’s borders are not limited to lease sales. It took public comments from Aug. 8 to Sep. 6 on a preliminary analysis for a proposed Dec. 10 sale which would offer 451 parcels covering 777,197 acres in Lincoln and White Pine counties.
‘Thoughtful consideration’
“Responsible energy development includes thoughtful consideration of parcels nominated for leasing as well as potential resource impacts of decisions to lease,” the agency said. Another environmental review will take place during processing of each drilling permit application, when site-specific approval conditions will be placed in addition to the stipulations attached to the lease, it noted.
Federal law requires BLM to hold quarterly lease sales on available onshore federal lands. The agency offers both competitive and noncompetitive leases for 10 years. A lease may be extended if it goes into production; otherwise, the lessee pays an annual rental fee.