The US Bureau of Land Management netted $23.9 million in high bids from its Aug. 6 oil and gas sale on public lands largely in the Bakken oil region of North Dakota.
Ten companies submitted 264 bids on the 4,800 acres, about 87% of the total acreage offered in North Dakota and northern and southern Montana, BLM Montana/Dakota field office said.
Pride Energy Co. entered the single highest bid—$15.1 million—for a 273-acre lease under the Missouri River outside of Williston, ND, according to preliminary sales data released Aug. 7 by the agency. Companies that win a lease in federal oil sales are given 10 years to start drilling for oil and gas. BLM applies a 16.67% rate from production on the leases.
The auction was the most lucrative this year in the region, despite protests by environmental groups, who urged the Biden administration to curb oil and gas leasing on public lands because of fossil fuels’ contribution to climate change. BLM took in a total of $663.5 million in high bids in a similarly sized lease sale in the same region in April.
