Nye County included in oil, gas lease sale

An upcoming competitive oil and gas lease sale will include parcels in Nye County, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced.

The agency plans offer 142 parcels for lease totaling 271,404.25 acres in Elko, Eureka, Nye and White Pine counties in Nevada, the BLM said on Aug. 16.

The BLM will hold the lease sale online at www.energynet.com

The open bidding period will begin at 7 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).

Each parcel will have its own unique open bidding period, with start and stop times clearly identified on the auction website.

The open bidding period for each parcel will run for one hour from start to finish, and bids will only be accepted during a parcel’s open bidding period.

Parcels can be viewed online at the EnergyNet website approximately 10 business days after the posting of this sale notice on the BLM website.

This sale complies with the terms of a Preliminary Injunction issued by the U.S. District Court of Idaho in W. Watersheds Project v. BLM (No. 1:18-cv-00187-REB), which required lengthier comment periods on environmental compliance documents associated with parcels that intersect Priority or General Habitat Management Areas for Greater Sage-Grouse, the BLM said via news release.

Responsible energy development includes consideration of parcels nominated for leasing as well as potential resource impacts for each parcel, the BLM said.

Additional environmental review will take place during processing of an application for permit to drill, when site-specific conditions of approval will be placed on the permit in addition to the stipulations already attached to the lease at the time of sale.

The sale results will be posted on the www.energynet.com website and the BLM Nevada State Office website. Paper copies are available for viewing or purchase at the BLM Nevada State Office Information Access Center. The next oil and gas sale is scheduled for Nov. 12.

By statute, the BLM is required to offer quarterly oil and gas lease sales of available federal lands.

BLM state offices conduct lease sales quarterly when parcels are available for lease. These lease sales represent parcels that cleared environmental review and public comment.

The BLM issues both competitive and non-competitive leases for a 10-year period. The leases are a contract to explore and develop any potential oil and gas. The leases may earn an extension if the lessee establishes production, otherwise they pay annual rentals.

The BLM generated a record $1.1 billion from 28 oil and gas lease sales in the 2018 fiscal year.

The oil and gas industry on public lands in Nevada contributed $3.1 million in total economic output that fiscal year, the BLM said.

Revenues from onshore oil and gas production on federal lands directly fund the U.S. Treasury and state budgets and support public education, infrastructure improvements, and other state-determined priorities.

Nearly half the bid and rental receipts from lease sales go to the state of Nevada.