On Oct. 21, 2015, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold its quarterly oil and gas lease sale in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A total of 16 parcels for a total of 5,169.80 subsurface acres on public lands in New Mexico and Arkansas will be offered. In New Mexico, the parcels are located in Lea and Eddy Counties. The parcels being offered in Arkansas are administered by the BLM's Eastern States Office. The oral auction will take place at the BLM New Mexico State Office, 301 Dinosaur Trail, in Santa Fe. BLM representatives will be available in the lobby at 8 a.m. to allow each interested party time to obtain a bidding number. The sale will begin promptly at 9 a.m. Only oral bids offered at the sale will be accepted. Parcels will be awarded to qualified bidders offering the highest acceptable bid. The minimum acceptable bid is $2 per acre. The lease sale notice can be found at www.blm.gov/nm/oilandgas (click on Lease Sales on the right side of the page). Leases are awarded for a period of 10 years, and as long thereafter as there is production in paying quantities. The revenue from the sale of Federal leases, as well as the 12.5 percent royalties collected from the production of those leases, is shared between the Federal Government and the State in which the lease is held. Fifty-two percent of the revenue generated goes to the Federal Government and 48 percent is returned to the state where leasing occurs.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
