News Release
BLM Utah State Office

Media Contact: Christi Judd 801-539-4020 [email protected]

Aug. 23, 2023

BLM begins protest period for oil and gas lease sale in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY – The Bureau of Land Management Utah State Office today opened a 30-day public protest period to receive public input on one oil and gas parcels totaling 761.36 acres that may be included in an upcoming lease sale in Utah. The protest period ends Sept. 22, 2023.

The BLM completed scoping on these parcels in January 2023 and a public comment period in July 2023 on the parcels, potential deferrals, and the related environmental analysis.

The parcels the BLM has analyzed, as well as maps and instructions on how to protest the environmental assessment, are available on the BLM’s ePlanning website at: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022373/510.

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.

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News Release                                                                                      
                                                                                                
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Christina Judd [email protected]
Date: June 2, 2023        

The Bureau of Land Management Utah State Office seeks public comment for the December 2023 oil, 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 today analyzing six parcels comprising 8,972.24 acres for the proposed December 2023 competitive oil and gas lease sale on lands managed within the Vernal Field Office in Uintah County. The release of this environmental assessment starts a 30-day public comment period.

The BLM completed scoping on these parcels on Jan. 19, 2023, and now seeks input 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 July 3, 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/2022373/510.

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%, up from the previous minimum of 12.5%; 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-

In accordance with congressional direction in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bureau of Land Management Utah State Office started a 30-day scoping period to receive public input on 13 parcels totaling more than 16,619 acres that may be included in an upcoming lease sale.

The parcels the BLM will analyze, as well as maps and instructions on how to comment, are available on our ePlanning website at EplanningUi (blm.gov).

Future BLM lease sales will 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.

Further information can be found here.