News Release
BLM Utah State Office 

Media Contact: Christina Judd [email protected] 

June 27, 2023 

BLM issues sale notice for oil, gas lease sale in Utah 

SALT LAKE CITY – The Bureau of Land Management Utah State Office today issued the sale notice for a competitive oil and gas lease sale offering 15 parcels covering 28,116.87 acres in Utah scheduled for September 26, 2023. The sale will be held online at www.energynet.com and the parcels will be available to view on the EnergyNet website within approximately 10 days. 

The notice incorporates recommendations from the Department of the Interior’s Report on the Federal Oil and Gas Leasing Program, as well as other reports issued by the Government Accountability Office and Congressional Budget Office. 

The sale notice, environmental review documents and additional information are available on the BLM’s ePlanning website at: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022049/510. 

As authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act, BLM will apply a 16.67 percent royalty rate for any new leases from this sale. More information about the Act is available on BLM's online fact sheet. 

Leasing is the first step in the process to develop Federal oil and gas resources. Before development operations can begin, an operator must submit an application for permit to drill detailing development plans. The BLM reviews applications for permits to drill, posts them for public review, conducts an environmental analysis and coordinates with state partners and stakeholders. 

All parcels leased as part of an oil and gas lease sale include appropriate stipulations to protect important natural resources. Information on current and upcoming BLM lease sales is available through the National Fluid Lease Sale System.

-BLM-

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.  

Follow the BLM Utah on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr @BLMUtah
Follow BLM Utah’s Instagram @utahpubliclands  

BLM Utah News:  www.blm.gov/news/utah

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News Release                                                                                      
                                                                                                
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Diane Simpson 385-977-8487 [email protected]
Date: March 20, 2023   

The Bureau of Land Management Utah State Office seeks public comment for the September 2023 oil and gas lease sale

SALT LAKE CITY – Consistent with direction in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bureau of Land Management Utah State Office released an environmental assessment analyzing 18 parcels comprising 31,807.99 acres for the proposed September 2023 Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale. Fourteen of these parcels cover 26,853.94 acres on public lands managed by the BLM Richfield Field Office with an additional four parcels totaling 4,954.05 acres on National Forest System lands administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USDA Forest Service) Fishlake National Forest. The release of this environmental assessment starts a 30-day public comment period, which will end Apr. 19, 2023.

The BLM completed scoping on these parcels on Dec. 22, 2022, and now seeks a 30-day public comment on the environmental analysis. All parcels leased as part of an oil and gas lease sale include appropriate stipulations to protect important natural resources. Public comments must be submitted electronically via the BLM Land Use Planning and National Environmental Policy Act Register (ePlanning) and must be received by Apr. 19, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. MST. Comments received by other methods will not be accepted. Additional information, including spatial data and exhibits, are online on our ePlanning website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022049/510.

Please note the most valuable public comments are practical and relevant to the proposed action. For example, comments may question, within reason, the accuracy of information, methodology or assumptions, then present reasonable alternatives to those already analyzed. Comments containing only opinions and/or preferences, or those seeming similar to other comments will not be addressed specifically in the environmental review process.

This BLM lease sale will include updated fiscal provisions authorized by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act:

·         Minimum bids for all offered parcels will be $10 per acre, an increase from the $2 per-acre minimum bid set in 1987;

·         Royalty rates will be 16.67 percent, up from the previous minimum of 12.5 percent; and

·         Rental rates will be $3 per acre for the first two years; $5 per acre for years three through eight; and $15 per acre for years nine and 10. (Prior to the Inflation Reduction Act, rental rates were $1.50 per acre for the first five years and $2 per acre for each year thereafter, rates originally set in 1987).

Further information can be found here.  

-BLM– 

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. 

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NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: [email protected]

Date: Nov. 21, 2022   

The Bureau of Land Management seeks feedback on proposed oil and gas lease sales in Utah and Nevada

The agency also updates oil and gas leasing policies

WASHINGTON – In accordance with congressional direction in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bureau of Land Management is initiating 30-day scoping periods to receive public input on potential oil and gas lease sales on 35 parcels in Nevada totaling 63,603.89 acres and 18 parcels in Utah totaling nearly 31,808 acres.

The parcels in Nevada that the BLM will analyze, as well as maps and instructions on how to comment are available on the BLM ePlanning website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022153/510.

The parcels in Utah that the BLM will analyze, as well as maps and instructions on how to comment are on the BLM ePlanning website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022049/510.

BLM lease sales that may be offered from these parcels would include updated fiscal provisions authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act:

·         Minimum bids for all offered parcels will be $10 per acre, an increase from the $2 per acre minimum bid set in 1987;

·         Royalty rates will be 16.67 percent, up from the previous minimum of 12.5 percent; and

·         Rental rates will be $3 per acre for the first two years, $5 per acre for years three through eight, and $15 per acre in years nine and ten. Prior to the Inflation Reduction Act, rental rates were $1.50 per acre for the first five years and $2 per acre for each year thereafter, rates originally set in 1987.

Additionally, the BLM has issued policy guidance to implement the oil and gas leasing provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act and provided updated direction on other program components.  These updated policies can be found here.

-BLM-

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.