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NEPA Number: DOI-BLM-NM-P000-2026-0001-EA
Project Name: Q2 2026 Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale - Pecos District Office

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Project Information

NEPA Number

DOI-BLM-NM-P000-2026-0001-EA
Project Name

Q2 2026 Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale - Pecos District Office
Project Type

EA
NEPA Status

In Progress - Public Review and Comment Period
Lead Office

Pecos District Office
Last Updated

3/19/2026 5:00:00 PM

Project Description

The Proposed Action is to lease 62 nominated parcels of federal minerals administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Carlsbad Field Office (CFO) and Roswell Field Office (RFO), covering 31,205.83 acres. Standard terms and conditions as well as lease stipulations listed in the BLM CFO and RFO Resource Management Plan(s) (as amended) and relevant Surface Management Agency stipulations per SMA Lease Stipulations for Federal Oil and Gas Lease Offerings would apply. Note, one parcel (6796), scoped previously, was removed from consideration because it is unavailable for leasing.
 
Once sold, the lease purchaser has the exclusive right to use as much of the leased lands as is necessary to explore and drill oil and gas within the lease boundaries, subject to the stipulations attached to the lease (43 CFR 3101.12). 
 
Oil and gas leases are issued for a 10-year period and continue for as long thereafter as oil or gas is produced in paying quantities. If a lessee fails to produce oil and gas, does not make annual rental payments, does not comply with the terms and conditions of the lease, or relinquishes the lease, exclusive right to develop the leasehold reverts to the federal government and the lease can be re-offered in another sale. Drilling of wells on a lease is not permitted until the lease owner or operator secures approval of a drilling permit and a surface use plan specified under Onshore Oil and Gas Orders listed in 43 CFR 3162. 
 
A permit to drill would not be authorized until site-specific NEPA analysis is conducted. Site specific mitigation measures and Best Management Practices (BMPs) would be attached as Conditions of Approval (COAs) for each proposed exploration and development activity authorized on a lease.  

The parcels for the CFO include 34 parcels in Eddy County and 24 parcels in Lea County. The parcels for the RFO include 3 parcels in Quay County. These are two of four field offices involved in this lease sale. Reference the Related Projects & Links tab on the left-hand side of this page to see the other e-Planning pages involved in this lease sale.

What's New

Notice:

Parcel 0596 within the boundaries of the Carlsbad Field Office was incorrectly digitized in the map included in the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and in the BLM New Mexico Public Web Map when the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data was developed. However, the legal description included in the draft parcel list was correct. A portion of the parcel was placed in the west half of section 30 vs. the east half. The parcel consists of T 26 S., R. 26 E., E½ of Sec. 30, and E½ of Sec. 31. The web map and EA will be corrected.

Public Protest Period (03/20/2026 through 04/20/2026)

The Lease Sale Notice, Protest Period NEPA documents, and GIS data for the public protest period can be found in the “Documents”, “Maps”, and “Map Data” tabs on the left-hand side of this page.

For more information, contact BLM Land Law Examiner, Angelica Varela, at (505) 954-2040 or email [email protected].

Click here to view the BLM New Mexico Public Web Map for the May 2026 Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale. To view the parcels specific to this lease sale on the web map site, click on the stack of paper (layers) icon in the top right corner of the page and select the layers that begin with 05/2026.

Public Comment Period Open (1/21/2026 through 2/20/2026)

To view and comment on the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) documents specific to this Field Office, go to the Documents section located on the left-hand column of this page and click the "Participate Now" button. For other parcels lists, EAs, unsigned FONSIs, etc. associated with this lease sale, return to the Related Projects & Links tab and select the appropriate field office.

Project Location

City	State/Territory	Zip Code	County(ies)
Carlsbad	New Mexico		Eddy County

Application Information

Program

Fluid Minerals (Oil & Gas, Tar Sands, Oil Shale)
Sub-Program

Oil & Gas

Project Dates

Start Date

11/17/2025

Project Office Information

Lead Office

Pecos District Office
Offices

Pecos DO

Contacts

Contact 1 Name

Audrey Jennings
Contact 1 Email

[email protected]
Contact 1 Phone

Contact 2 Name

Catherine Brewster
Contact 2 Email

[email protected]
Contact 2 Phone

(505) 954-2044

Contact 3 Name

Cody Mccullah
Contact 3 Email

[email protected]
Contact 3 Phone