Today, the Bureau of Land Management Colorado State Office sold all 14 parcels offered at its quarterly oil and gas lease sale, totaling 9,769 acres. The highest per-acre price was for a 157-acre parcel in Mesa County that sold to Axia Energy, Denver, for $1,090 per acre. The high bonus bid of $501,380 was made by Lonetree Energy for a 2,364 acre parcel in Garfield County. Overall, the lease sale earned $2,038,560 in total proceeds, with 49 percent to go to the State of Colorado.
The State of Colorado received more than $229.4 million in Fiscal_Year 2009 from royalties, rentals and bonus bid payments for all federal minerals, including coal.
A lease is the first step for a company or individual before eventually applying to develop and produce oil and gas from the BLM-managed public mineral estate. Additional planning, environmental analysis and public input must occur before drilling can begin.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
