ENERGY
BLM reports $4 billion from Texas-New Mexico oil and gas leases
Highest bid was $357,129 per acre for a 640-acre parcel
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday said it generated $4 billion from an oil and gas lease sale of public lands in New Mexico and Texas.
The agency said it leased 74 parcels of land totaling 33,530 acres in its latest quarterly lease sale. Counting bonus bids and rental payments, the BLM earned $4,007,944,870 in revenue, which is shared between the federal government and the states where the parcels are located. In New Mexico, the sale included parcels in Lea, Eddy and Quay counties.
In a statement, Doug Burgum, U.S. Interior secretary, said that the U.S. is 鈥渟itting on some of the richest energy resources in the world, and President Donald J. Trump is committed to putting those resources to work for the American people.鈥�
鈥淭his over $4 billion lease sale is another sign that President Trump鈥檚 American Energy Dominance Agenda is delivering results,鈥� Burgum continued. 鈥淏y cutting costs and removing barriers to development, we are unleashing American energy, strengthening national security, creating jobs and generating significant revenue for taxpayers and local communities.鈥�
Oil and gas companies are enjoying a friendly policy environment under the Trump administration. Legislation signed by Trump cut the federal mineral leasing royalty rate to 12.5%, down from 16.67%, a rate set under former President Joe Biden.
The Trump administration has also moved to install leadership at BLM aligned with its agenda. Steve Pearce, a former Republican congressman from New Mexico, was confirmed Monday as the BLM鈥檚 director. Pearce has long backed expanding oil and gas drilling on public lands.
But at the state level, the environment is less friendly to industry.
Stephanie Garcia Richard, the state land commissioner, pushed to increase the royalty rate for premium oil and gas leases to 25%. And Deb Haaland, the Interior secretary under Biden, who is leading in polls to be the Democrats鈥� nominee for New Mexico governor, restricted drilling around Chaco Canyon.
Haaland earlier this month issued a statement on X saying that Pearce 鈥渉as spent years putting corporate profits over people and threatening public lands and resources that make New Mexico home.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 2025 executive order, , allowed the heads of his agencies to 鈥渦se all possible authorities, including national emergency authorities, to expedite the adjudication of federal permits.鈥�
Environmental organizations also filed protests to the leases, saying no such national emergencies exist that justify the drilling surge.
In one such protest, the Wilderness Society wrote that 鈥渢he BLM must take the requisite hard look at the impacts of methane emissions that will result from development of and production on these lease parcels, including the economic, public health, and public welfare impacts of venting and flaring.鈥�
But draft environmental assessments 鈥渂arely touch on methane emissions, let alone flaring, venting, or the BLM鈥檚 own waste rule,鈥� an attorney for the Wilderness Society wrote.
Oil and gas leases are issued for a term of 10 years and continue as long as oil and gas are produced in paying quantities, the BLM noted.
The Western Energy Alliance, an oil and gas industry trade group, said the highest bid was $357,129 per acre for a 640-acre parcel. The group said during Trump鈥檚 time in office, the BLM earned $4.5 billion from lease sales in New Mexico compared to $140 million during Biden鈥檚 tenure.
鈥淏y law, nearly half the sale revenues are shared with the state,鈥� Western Energy Alliance President Melissa Simpson said in a statement. 鈥淭herefore, more than $2 billion will be available to fund local schools, hospitals, local infrastructure projects and more in the state.鈥�
Justin Horwath covers tech and energy for the Journal. You can reach him at jhorwath@abqjournal.com.
