DENVERThe BLM Colorado State Office today sold 105 parcels totaling
131,832
acres of Federal land at its quarterly oil
and gas lease sale. The sale netted $6,729,610 in revenue, making this
the second highest revenue producing oil and gas sale that BLM Colorado
has held. The highly competitive nature of the bidding at the auction
indicates a strong market for natural gas, known for its cleaning-burning
properties and efficiency.
The
Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 and the 1987 Federal Onshore Oil and Gas
Leasing Reform Act authorize leasing of Federal oil and gas resources.
The 1987 law, which amended the Mineral Leasing Act, requires each BLM
state office to conduct oil and gas lease sales on at least a quarterly
basis. This sale was consistent with the 1969 National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) and with the BLM’s existing land-use plans, which guide
management of all activities on BLM public lands.
“We want
to protect wildlife and landscapes while working to develop our badly
needed domestic sources of energy,” said BLM State Director Ron Wenker.
“Our focus is on smart upfront planning and solid implementation of best
practices to reduce environmental impacts on public and private lands and
resources.”
Of the 132
parcels offered for oil and gas leasing, 91 parcels (120,688 acres)
contain special wildlife protection stipulations. Also, all leases
contain a stipulation for the protection of threatened and endangered
species habitat.
Protections are in place to minimize
potential impacts from oil and gas exploration, development and
production. “It is important to remember that energy development and
protection of natural resources are not mutually exclusive on public
lands,” said Wenker. “BLM ensures that development of energy resources is
done in an environmentally sound manner on all lands we manage.
BLM lease sales are competitive and
conducted by oral bidding. For most Federal oil and gas leases, 50
percent of the revenues collected are returned to the states where the oil
and gas activity occurs. In 2003, 36 states received a total of $1.1
billion as part of their share of Federal mineral
revenues collected by the Interior
Department’s Minerals Management Service. The total revenue shared
with the states last year, which was nearly 46 percent more than the
amount distributed to them in 2002, represents the states’ share of
revenues collected from
mineral production on Federal lands
located within their borders, along with, in the case of certain states,
any revenues from Federal offshore oil and gas
tracts adjacent to their shores.
Less than one percent of the acreage
managed by the BLM experiences surface disturbance from oil and gas
activity. To minimize such impacts (the “footprint”) on the land, the
Bureau analyzes the potential environmental effects from exploration and
development before offering any leases for sale. All leases come with
stipulations (general requirements) on oil and gas activities to protect
the environment; stipulations also can include specific restrictions, such
as limits on seasons when drilling can occur and restrictions on surface
occupancy by oil and gas operators.
Once an operator proposes exploration or
development on a BLM-issued lease, the Bureau carries out further
environmental analysis under the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
and determines the site-specific need for various types of impact-limiting
or "mitigation" measures. These measures include revegetation, which
controls soil erosion and helps curb the spread of weeds; the strategic
placement of above-ground structures and machinery, with colors that blend
in with the landscape, so as to reduce visual impacts; the establishment
of any necessary buffer zones so that oil and gas activity does not
adversely affect certain types of wildlife habitat; and the burying of
powerlines or pipelines under or adjacent to access roads to protect
wildlife and minimize visual impacts. In addition, many operators
routinely use Best Management Practices -- such as remote sensing to
monitor well production, which minimizes surface impacts – in conducting
their oil and gas activities.
The BLM carries out its land-management
mission under the authority of the 1976 Federal Land Policy and Management
Act, which directs the agency to manage the public lands for multiple uses
while protecting the natural, historical, and other resources of these
lands. Environmentally sound production of domestic energy from fossil
and renewable resources is an important part of the BLM’s multiple-use
mission, and energy from Federally managed sources accounts for more than
30 percent of America’s energy production.
Government estimates indicate that
Federal lands contain about 68 percent of all undiscovered U.S. oil and 74
percent of undiscovered natural gas. A detailed oil and gas inventory by
the Interior and Energy Departments found that Federal lands in five key
Western geologic basins – located in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and
New Mexico – contain nearly 140 million trillion cubic feet of natural
gas. That is enough natural gas to supply the 56 million homes now using
natural gas for the next 30 years.
The BLM, an agency of the U.S.
Department of the Interior, manages more land – 261 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.
