US oil and Gas Auction for New Mexico Leases Draws Record $4 Billion in Bids

Interior Department reported on Wednesday that a Trump administration auction of drilling rights for oil and gas on federal land in New Mexico and Texas had generated bids totaling $4 'billion. The total of the sale blew away previous government onshore oil and gas auctions, at a moment when the Iran War has?cut worldwide supplies and increased demand for U.S. Crude Oil.

According to the trade group Western Energy Alliance, in 2018 the previous record total for an oil and gas lease sale by Bureau of Land Management was $972,000,000. The sale of 74 parcels, covering 33,530 acres in New Mexico’s?Permian Basin, the country's most productive field for oil, was a record. Interior Department stated that the sale was a reflection of strong industry demand to drill on public land.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated in a press release that this lease sale of over $4 billion is yet another indication that President Trump's "American Energy Dominance Agenda" is working. By?cutting cost and removing development barriers, we are releasing?American energy and strengthening national security. We also create jobs and generate significant revenue for the taxpayers and local communities.

The highest price paid for a single parcel in Lea County was $405.8 Million. The highest price per acre, $357,129, was also found in Lea County for a parcel of 640 acres.

Interior didn't publish the names. Reporting by Nichola Grroom, Editing by Mark Porter

(source: Reuters)