A Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field office in southwestern Colorado has released a preliminary environmental assessment calling for 21 parcels and 24,324 acres to be included in an upcoming natural gas lease sale. The draft assessment pared an initial proposal to include 22 parcels and up to 29,811 acres, mostly in Gunnison County, CO, in the auction, which is scheduled to be held Aug. 9. Under the BLM program, obtaining the leases is the first part of a multi-step process in which each lease holder would have to obtain a drilling permit, which would entail another environmental assessment of the individual drilling plans for each lease. It is all part of BLM’s master development plan and its use of multi-well development to help manage federal lease development. Before any exploration and development work can start, however, there will be site-specific reviews and analysis completed as called for under the National Environmental Policy Act, BLM officials said.
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Articles from Land
Utah Gas Production Plans Boosted by BLM
The prospects for expanding natural gas exploration and production (E&P) on federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in eastern Utah were given a boost by the federal agency on Friday, although the action drew strong opposition from environmental groups concerned about the impact on a rugged wilderness area.
BLM: No Decision Yet on Raising Royalty Rate
The head of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) told a Senate subcommittee Wednesday that the agency has not made a final decision on whether to hike the onshore royalty rate to 18.75% from its existing 12.50%.
BLM Mulls New Gas, Oil Leases in Eastern Utah
Despite problems with past energy lease sales in Utah, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Canyon Country District plans to conduct additional planning and analysis for new natural gas, oil and potash (mined salt) leasing on about 783,000 acres of public lands within the Moab and Monticello planning areas in the eastern part of the state. Specifically, the Interior Department’s BLM intends to prepare a master leasing plan (MLP), amendments to the Moab and Monticello Resource Management Plans (RMP) and a single environmental impact statement (EIS).
ExxonMobil Buying, Drilling More Liquids Acreage in North America
ExxonMobil Corp., whose North American portfolio washes across eight million net acres, is scooping up more liquids-weighted land and has begun to shift some of its natural gas development to more oily plays, the company’s top guns told financial analysts on Thursday.
BLM Mulls New Oil, Gas Leases in Eastern Utah
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Canyon Country District in eastern Utah will do additional planning and analysis for new leasing of oil, natural gas and potash (mined salt) on about 783,000 acres of public lands within the Moab and Monticello planning areas in the eastern part of the state.
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Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and federal Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey will help Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead co-chair a sage grouse task force, Mead announced Friday. The task force will review ways states can provide sage grouse management tools and habitat protections. As means of potentially avoiding the need to list sage grouse under the federal Endangered Species Act, the task force was created in December following a meeting in Wyoming among U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and officials from 10 states that have habitat for the greater sage grouse, a large, ground-dwelling bird that lives at elevations of 4,000 to 9,000 feet (see Daily GPI, Jan. 11). In 2009 Wyoming instituted a “Sage-Ground Core Area Protection” program. Mead has continued the push for state-led actions.
Ohio AG Calls for Higher Penalties, Full Frack Fluid Disclosure
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is urging state lawmakers to enact tougher regulations on the oil and gas industry, including higher penalties for violations and requiring operators to not only disclose what chemicals are used for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) but also their precise formulations.
Interior to Call for Frack Chemicals Disclosure on Public Lands
The U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would require companies drilling on public lands to disclose the chemicals used in their hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations, according to a draft of proposed BLM regulations acquired by NGI.
Interior to Call for Disclosure of Frack Chemicals on Public Lands
The U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would require companies drilling on public lands to disclose the chemicals used in their hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations, according to a draft of proposed BLM regulations acquired by NGI’s Shale Daily.
