BLM schedules oil and gas lease sale under new rules

A federal oil and gas lease sale for Montana and North Dakota will he held in June, marking the second year in a row that the Biden administration will hold at least one regional lease event.

Most of the 51 parcels up for lease are in western North Dakota in a combined area of 20,722 acres. There is a 228-acre Montana parcel west of Forsyth.

The Bureau of Land Management will hold its first oil and gas lease sale under rules passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. The new rules increase payments to the public and end noncompetitive sales. 

Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management published the locations for public comment this month through April 10. This is the region’s first lease sale under the laws created by the Inflation Reduction Act.

There will be no noncompetitive leases, the kind that go off at bargain-basement prices after failing to attract bidders. Noncompetitive leases often yield no production and are common in Montana where federal leases don’t attract much interest.

New minimum bids of $10 an acre are required, up from

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