Karen Roberts (703) 440-1713
Federal Government Announces Upcoming Land for Oil and Gas Exploration Leases in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold a competitive oil and gas lease sale on Thursday, December 14, 2006, at 9:00 a.m. in the BLM-Eastern States office at 7450 Boston Boulevard, Springfield, Virginia. The quarterly sale includes: Arkansas parcels in the Ouachita National Forest totaling 18,408.51 acres and in the Ozark National Forest totaling 37,608.70 acres; Louisiana parcels in the Kisatchie National Forest totaling 2,153.72 acres; and Mississippi parcels in the Bienville National Forest totaling 5,812.20 acres, in the DeSoto National Forest totaling 22,075.15 acres, and in the Homochitto National Forest totaling 1,058.59 acres.
The BLM is responsible for leasing the federally-owned minerals located in the 31 States east of and adjoining the Mississippi River and offers selected parcels at quarterly competitive auctions. Regulations require the bidding to open at $2 per acre. Leases are awarded for a term of 10 years and as long thereafter as there is production of oil and gas in paying quantities. The Federal Government receives a royalty of 12½-percent of the value of production while each State Government receives a 25-percent minimum share of the bonus bid and the royalty revenue from each lease issued in that State.
Background
The BLM manages more land – 262 million surface acres – than any other Federal agency. Most of this public land is located in 12 Western States, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1.8 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, and cultural resources on the public lands.
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