Montana-Dakota Oil and Gas Lease Sales Generates Over $3.4 Million

The Bureau of Land Management’s Montana-Dakotas State Office leased 11 parcels totaling 4,266.06 acres for just over $3.4 million in its quarterly oil and gas sale, according to an April 29 press release. The auction proceeds will be shared between the federal government and the states of North Dakota and Montana.

The BLM conducts oil and gas lease sales quarterly in accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act and Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, as amended, when eligible lands are available for lease. BLM stated that its lease sales are consistent with President Donald Trump’s recent executive order titled “Unleashing American Energy,” which seeks to promote the development of domestic energy resources. The order calls for a review of agency actions that potentially burden the development of domestic energy resources, particularly oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources. President Trump has also declared a national energy emergency that seeks to prioritize domestic fossil fuel production and streamline regulatory barriers to address rising energy demands and reduce consumer costs.

Leasing is usually the first action in the procedure to develop and establish federal oil and gas resources. The bureau, as part of its process, ensures oil and gas developments fulfil the requirements laid out by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and other applicable legal authorities. Oil and gas leases are granted for a period of 10 years and as long thereafter as there is production of oil and gas in paying volumes. In return, the federal government collects a sum of 16.67 percent of the total production value.