WASHINGTON - In keeping with the Administration’s goal of promoting America’s energy independence, the Bureau of Land Management-Eastern States (BLM-ES) held a quarterly oil and gas lease sale March 19, 2020, that resulted in competitive bids on three parcels totaling nearly 322 acres located in Amite, Franklin and Smith Counties, Mississippi.
The combined bids plus fees from the sale brought in $12,857.50, which will be distributed between the Federal Government and the state of Mississippi. The highest total bid of $9,648.00 was made by R & R Royalty, Corpus Christi, Texas, for a 35-acre parcel in Franklin County, Mississippi, at $268.00 per acre.
All sale results information is linked to the BLM-ES website here: https://www.blm.gov/programs/energy-and-minerals/oil-and-gas/leasing/regional-lease-sales/eastern-states.
Oil and gas leases are awarded for a term of ten years and as long thereafter as there is production of oil and gas in paying quantities. The Federal Government receives a royalty of 12.5 percent of the value of production. Each state government receives a 25 percent minimum share of the bonus bid and the royalty revenue from each lease issued in that state.
The BLM’s oil and gas lease sales support domestic energy production and American energy independence, and are aligned with the Administration’s America First Energy Plan, an all-of-the-above approach that includes oil and gas, coal, strategic minerals and renewable sources, all of which can be developed on public lands.
The BLM’s policy is to permit oil and gas development if it meets the guidelines and regulations set forth by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and other subsequent laws and policies passed by the U.S. Congress.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
