BLM nets $256,197 in U.S. oil and gas lease sale

Ray Tyson

Ninety-one parcels of federal land brought in $256,197 through a competitive auction of oil and gas leases in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi conducted by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management on Sept. 23, 2004 in Springfield, Va.BLM said bonus bids, filing fees and rental revenue amounting to $176,425 will go to the U.S. Treasury and $75,946.88 will be shared with the affected states.

R & R Investments of Corpus Christi, Texas, paid $57,805 for 460 acres for a parcel in Forest County, Miss. Dominion Black Warrior’s bid of $162 per acre was the highest per-acre bid of the auction. The federal government receives a royalty of 12.5 percent of the value of production. Also, each state receives a 25 percent minimum share of the bonus bid and the royalty revenue from each lease issued in that state.

The next competitive oil and gas lease sale is scheduled for Dec. 16, BLM said.