Proceeds from a natural gas and oil lease sale in New Mexico in February totaled almost $12 million and covered more than 7,000 acres, the New Mexico State Land Office reported Tuesday.

Twenty-eight tracts were offered for sale and 27 were sold, the state office said.

Breaking down to slightly more than $1,628/acre, the February leases brought in $11.76 million for the 27 tracts, which covered more than 7,226 acres. The latest results compare with considerably more modest results in February 2011, when $3 million was received for 9,981 acres leased.

For 2011, state land auctions brought in $93.2 million and covered 101,720 acres, averaging to $917/acre for the monthly sales overall.

In the most recent sale, high bids on five-year leases varied between sealed and oral bids. The highest sealed bid went to Ronald Miles of Roswell, NM, $2.43 million for 320 acres in Lea County. The bid also was the highest per-acre price at $7,595 covering land 23 miles southwest of Eunice.

For oral bids, the high bidder was Daniel Gonzales of Santa Fe, NM, who paid $1.75 million for 320 acres, or $5,468/acre, for land in Eddy County about 11 miles southwest of Loco Hills.

Among those bidding for land were Chesapeake Exploration LLC, Yates Petroleum Corp., Regeneration Energy Corp., GMT Exploration Co. LLC and Crown Oil Partners.

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