The Bureau of Land Management sold 63 parcels encompassing 90,745 acres during its quarterly oil and gas lease sale in Reno last Tuesday, which brought in over $1 million in bonus bids.
This year, the BLM sold smaller number of parcels but got a lot of bonus bids, indicating leases were considered valuable by investors, says BLM spokesman Richard Brown. "We're leasing fewer acres but getting more money for it," he says.
The Bureau offered 225 parcels totaling 400,145 acres. The highest-valued parcel brought in $177,730, and the highest bid per acre was $160.
Three parcels, all in Nye County, brought the highest bids, ranging from $110 to $160, from Dolar Energy LLC of Midvale Utah The rest drew $70 per acre or less. Twenty-four of the parcels were located in Nye County, with 20 in Elko County, 10 in Esmeralda County, six in Eureka County, one in White Pine County, two in Esmeralda and Mineral Counties, and one in Elko and Eureka Counties.
The bureau received $272,888 in bonus bids for 78,115 acres during its December 2007 quarterly competitive sale. For the first two quarterly oil and gas lease sales of 2008, BLM received more than $1 million in bonus bids for 168,860 acres.
From October 2006 through September 2007 the bureau took in $1 million in bonus bids for 378,000 acres.
The State of Nevada receives half the revenue collected from these sales. Upfront bids secure the lease for 10 years, provided the annual fee of $1.50 per acre is paid.
Winning bids are posted online at blm.gov/nv/st/en.html.
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