The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Nevada is deferring oil and gas lease sales on the Winnemucca and Carson City Districts until September 2014. A sale scheduled for Sept. 10, 2013 was postponed when the single parcel nominated was withdrawn when it was discovered that it is submerged under water for part of the year making it ineligible for leasing.
The leasing process from the nomination of parcels to completion of the sale can take many months and begins with industry identifying parcels they would be interested in bidding on. From there the parcels are reviewed by BLM staff to ensure they are available and suitable for development or do not fall in areas where mineral development would be prohibited due the presence of endangered species, critical habitat or conflicting existing uses. Once the list of parcels is finalized, the lease sale notice is posted.
BLM Nevada rotates its oil and gas lease sale schedule among its six districts. The previous sale, held on March 12, included parcels in the Elko district. The next sale is scheduled for June 11 and includes parcels in the Battle Mountain district.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
