BLM nets $13 million in lease sale

Posted at: 10/21/2009 7:17 PM
By: The Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The Bureau of Land Management netted more than $13 million from its quarterly sale of 48 oil and natural gas leases in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas.

More than 30 bidders registered for Wednesday's auction in Santa Fe. Bids for two parcels in Texas brought in more than $9.4 million, while 38 parcels in New Mexico sold for more than $3.7 million.

Seven Oklahoma parcels brought in $69,000, and a single parcel in Kansas brought in $160. The highest overall bid per parcel, $9.4 million, came from Narenta Oil Company of Santa Fe for 1,264 acres in Shelby County, Texas.

Fifty-two percent of revenues from federal lease sales is returned to the U.S. government and 48 percent goes to the state where the mineral lease occurs. The BLM says New Mexico will receive $1.7 million from Wednesday's sale.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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