BLM rights sale nets $3.5 million

The Associated Press

A U.S. Bureau of Land Management auction of federal oil and gas rights in Wyoming netted $3.5 million, half of which will go to the state.

Bids totaling $3,357,650 Aug. 5 ranged from the federally mandated minimum of $2 per acre to $205 per acre, according to the BLM.

That high bid was submitted by Contex Energy Co., of Denver, Colo., for a 1,320-acre parcel in Fremont County. The highest overall bid was $891,000, for the same parcel.

Successful bidders also pay $75 per parcel in administrative fees and a yearly rental of $1.50 per acre.

Besides the bid price, the sale netted $182,317 in first year rental fees and $7,800 in administrative fees.

A total of 233,189 acres comprising 177 parcels were offered at the sale. A total of 121,515 acres in 104 parcels were sold.

Mineral lease revenue on federal lands is split between the federal government and the states, with states receiving 50 percent and the federal government receiving 10 percent. The other 40 percent goes to a federal water project reclamation fund.

The next auction will be Oct. 7 in Cheyenne.