Photo by students of the Canadian Valley Technology Center, Chickasha, Okla.
An auctioneer manages bidding at the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Anadarko Agency oil-and-gas-lease sale in Oklahoma. BIA, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages, conducts and oversees lease sales of Indian-trust assets. Due to the size of this sale, it received assistance from two sister agencies, the Office of the Special Trustee and the Bureau of Land Management.
The Office of the Special Trustee recently assisted the
Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Anadarko Agency in Oklahoma with its largest ever
sale of oil-and-gas-mining leases. The sale included 1,550 tracts of allotted
and tribal lands within the area of the Anadarko Agency and totaled $6.1
million.
“The size of this sale required the efforts of many people
to ensure the operation ran smoothly,” said OST Fiduciary Trust Officer Mitch
Stephens. “My staff at the Anadarko Agency and the OST staff at the Southern
Plains Regional Office were joined by FTO Donnie Smith, Osage Agency, and FTO
Stephen Coit, Pawnee Agency.”
During the sale, OST regional personnel verified bidders’
deposits and provided BIA with other support. OST will also collect lease
payments and help disburse funds to tribal landowners.
BIA received additional assistance
from the Bureau of Land Management, which loaned it the services of BLM
auctioneers during the sale. BLM auctioneers are experienced with oil and gas
leases because they auction oil and gas leases for federal lands.
The event took place at Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. BIA opened sealed bids on Dec. 2 and sold those
tracts receiving more than one bid at an oral auction on Dec. 3. For additional information about the
sale, please contact either Eva Asenap (405-247-6677 x526) or Debra Williams
(405-247-6677 x527), realty officers at BIA’s Anadarko Agency.
If Indian trust beneficiaries have questions about this
event or other trust-related assets and income, they may contact their FTOs
using the interactive map on the OST Web site at http://www.ost.doi.gov/information/individual/finder.html.
Or they may call OST’s TrustBeneficiaryCallCenter at 1-888-678-6836.
The call center complements local services with trained operators that have
access to various trust systems. It is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6
p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon, Mountain Time.