BLM fourth-quarter Utah lease sale sets record at $64.6 million
The US Bureau of Land Management achieved a record $64.6 million from its Utah lease sale, surpassing previous records and boosting federal revenue from oil and gas development.
The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) secured a record $64.6 million from its Dec. 10 lease sale of 48 parcels totaling 68,203 acres in Utah.
The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) secured a record $64.6 million from its Dec. 10 lease sale of 48 parcels totaling 68,203 acres in Utah, more than $10 million over the next highest on record for a BLM Utah sale, the bureau said Dec. 18.
The quarterly lease sale was conducted under the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which reset the royalty rate for new federal onshore oil and gas production to a minimum of 12.5%, reversing the 16.67% rate set by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
BLM said the royalty rate change “reduces the cost of doing business on public lands, making oil and gas development more economically attractive to industry,” which should spur additional leasing and drilling activity.
BLM awards leases under 10-year terms or as long as oil and gas is produced in paying quantities. Combined lease bonus bids and rentals are distributed between the federal government and the state.
Cathy Landry has worked over 20 years as a journalist, including 17 years as an energy reporter with Platts News Service (now S&P Global) in Washington and London.
She has served as a wire-service reporter, general news and sports reporter for local newspapers and a feature writer for association and company publications.
Cathy has deep public policy experience, having worked 15 years in Washington energy circles.
She earned a master’s degree in government from The Johns Hopkins University and studied newspaper journalism and psychology at Syracuse University.
