BLM Press Release
In accordance with congressional direction in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bureau of Land Management is initiating 30-day scoping periods to receive public input on potential oil and gas lease sales on 18 parcels in Utah totaling nearly 31,808 acres and 35 parcels in Nevada totaling 63,603.89 acres.
The parcels in Utah that the BLM will analyze, as well as maps and instructions on how to comment, are on the BLM ePlanning website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022049/510.
The parcels in Nevada that the BLM will analyze, as well as maps and instructions on how to comment, are available on the BLM ePlanning website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022153/510.
BLM lease sales that may be offered from these parcels would include updated fiscal provisions authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act:
- Minimum bids for all offered parcels will be $10 per acre, an increase from the $2 per acre minimum bid set in 1987;
- Royalty rates will be 16.67 percent, up from the previous minimum of 12.5 percent; and
- Rental rates will be $3 per acre for the first two years, $5 per acre for years three through eight, and $15 per acre in years nine and ten. Prior to the Inflation Reduction Act, rental rates were $1.50 per acre for the first five years and $2 per acre for each year thereafter, rates originally set in 1987.
Additionally, the BLM has issued policy guidance to implement the oil and gas leasing provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act and provided updated direction on other program components. These updated policies can be found here.