The Wyoming office of the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Tuesday will offer a total of 162,476 acres in 184 state parcels for lease in an oral oil and natural gas auction.

Auction rules call for a $2/acre minimum bid in bonuses on any parcel, which requires a buyer to pay the bid price for the right to obtain the federal lease in addition to a standard $1.50/acre rental on the lease. BLM also will charge winning bidders $140/parcel to help cover administrative costs.

“Mineral resources on Wyoming public lands play a key role in meeting energy demands in the Rocky Mountain region,” said Wyoming BLM Director Bob Bennett.

Oil and gas operations on BLM-administered public lands and federal mineral estate in Wyoming produced 28.5 bbl/d of oil and 1.3 MMcf/d of gas in 2006. About 64% of Wyoming’s homes also are heated with natural gas. If the lease becomes producing, the federal government will collect a royalty on production. Leases are for a primary term of 10 years and will be continued as long as oil or gas is producing in paying quantities. Last year, total mineral royalties of $1.7 billion were collected and shared equally with the state.

The auction is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. MDT at the Holiday Inn in Cheyenne, WY. A complete list of parcels is available on the Wyoming BLM website at www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/energy/Oil_and_Gas/Leasing.html. Interactive maps showing the location of the upcoming lease sale parcels in Wyoming may be found at www.geocommunicator.gov.

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