On Thursday January 14th, the New Mexico Regional office of the Bureau of Land Management (the Bureau) held the first federal oil and gas lease sale of the year and the last lease sale of Trump Administration, offering 37 parcels in New Mexico, Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma covering 6,851 acres of federal land. Most of the land auctioned off is in New Mexico, where leasing has historically been competitive and lucrative. The lease sale brought in a total of $4 million for taxpayers, $3.9 million of which comes from parcels in New Mexico.

New Mexico

In New Mexico, 32 parcels covering 5,942 acres were sold, generating a total of $3,899,986 in bid revenue and $3,914,344 in total revenue including 1st-year’s rent for each parcel and fees. A high bid of $15,101/acre on an 80-acre parcel alone brought in $1.2 million. The average bid per acre for New Mexico parcels, however, was $656/acre. That is high compared to sales in other states with less competition, but past annual averages show that lease sales in New Mexico have more earning potential.

Annual Average Bid Per Acre, New Mexico, 2010-2020

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
NM $439 $1,018 $3,204 $1,832 $2,866 $3,696 $10,490 $8,980 $7,562 $781 $448

 

In addition to NM, leases for 908 acres were also auctioned off in KS, TX and OK. One parcel covering 500 acres in Texas and another covering 320 acres in Kansas were offered and sold.  Three parcels covering 88 acres in Oklahoma were offered and leased at an average of just $4 per acre, coming close to tying the lowest average bid per acre of $3.91 recorded for Oklahoma parcels in the last 10 years.

Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma

We have been calling for federal land leasing reform for years. In our recent compilation, Four Point Six, we  list out recommendations to the 46th President for how the various federal agencies can better protect taxpayers. The “point six” recommendations are low hanging fruit that can be achieved on day one. And our point six recommendation for Department of the Interior? –put a pause on federal leasing. Updating lease terms and leasing federal land strategically would increase returns for taxpayers.

Results from BLM lease sale in NM, TX, KS, OK on Jan 14th, 2021

State Offered Sold Total Bid Rent Fees Total Revenue Avg Bid/Acre
Parcels Acres Parcels Acres
NM 32 5,942 32 5,942 527,346 8,918 5,440 541,704 89
TX 1 500 1 500 127,000 750 170 127,920 254
KS 1 320 1 320 32,320 480 170 32,970 101
OK 3 88 3 88 396 134 510 1,040 4
Total  37  6,851 37 6,851 687,062 10,281 6,290 703,633 100

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