Government leases land in Arkansas, Mississippi for oil and gas exploration

Eighteen federal oil and gas leases in Arkansas and Mississippi brought in more than $96,000 through a competitive lease sale conducted by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management on March 18 in Springfield, Va. Bonus bids, filing fees, and rental revenue amounting to $65,736 will go to the U.S. Treasury and $30,894 will be shared with the states of Arkansas and Mississippi.

Federal regulations required the bidding to open at $2 per acre.

Seeco Inc. of Fayetteville County, Ark., paid $7,000 for a 25 acre parcel. Its bid of $280 per acre was the highest per-acre bid of the auction.

Leases are awarded for a term of 10 years and as long thereafter as there is production of oil and gas in paying quantities. The feds receive a royalty of 12 1/2 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.