Today the Bureau of Land Management Colorado State Office sold 32 parcels totaling 17,026 acres for $264,854 including rentals and fees at its quarterly oil and gas lease sale. The highest per-acre price was for a 369-acre parcel in Morgan County that was sold to Vecta Oil and Gas, LTD in Lakewood for $180 per acre.
The State of Colorado will receive 49 percent of the proceeds of the sale, with the remainder going to the U.S. government. The State of Colorado received more than $154 million in Fiscal_Year 2011 from royalties, rentals and bonus bid payments for all federal minerals, including oil and gas. BLM Colorado currently has approximately 4.4 million acres of public mineral estate leased for oil and natural gas development, generating more than $6.5 billion in direct economic benefits in 2011, and approximately $9.5 billion in total economic impacts.
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
