WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- BLM’s Wyoming lease sale generated $82.4 million in high bids across 99 parcels covering 114,389 acres.
- Converse and Campbell Counties attracted most heavily contested parcels and produced 64% of Wyoming’s crude oil in 2024.
- Colorado’s sale generated $4.7 million from 29 parcels covering 14,212 acres, down sharply from June’s $35.26 million result.
- Federal onshore leases carry a 12.5% royalty rate, with revenue divided between the federal government and the state.
The US Bureau of Land Management’s quarterly lease sale in Wyoming generated $82.4 million in high bids on Sept. 10, delivering a robust result led by bidding activity in the Powder River basin. The bureau’s Colorado sale generated $4.7 million.
Colorado’s result represented a fraction of the $35.26 million generated during BLM’s previous lease sale in the state in June. The gap between the two latest state results was also substantial, with Wyoming’s high bids far exceeding Colorado’s total.
In Wyoming, BLM leased 99 parcels covering 114,389 acres. Strong interest and competition centered on Converse and Campbell Counties, both located in the Powder River basin of northeastern Wyoming.
The two counties accounted for 64% of Wyoming’s crude oil production in 2024, according to the Wyoming State Geological Survey. Converse County led the state with production of 43.3 million bbl during the year.
BLM sales statistics provided another measure of the concentration of bidding activity. Of the 17 parcels that attracted 10 or more bids during the Wyoming sale, all but 2 were located in Converse and Campbell Counties.
Most parcels in those two counties secured more than $1000/acre. One parcel in Converse County attracted an $8,000/acre winning bid, the highest specific acreage price identified in the sales information.
Those results stood in contrast to activity across many other Wyoming counties, where competition was limited. About 37,000 acres received no bids, leaving a significant portion of the acreage offered without buyers.
Another 12 parcels, totaling more than 16,000 acres, were leased at the legal minimum price of $10/acre. The outcome showed a wide range of bidding results within the same state sale.
The strongest competition was therefore concentrated in the two counties that together produced nearly two thirds of Wyoming’s crude oil in 2024. Outside those areas, thousands of acres either received no offer or sold at the minimum.
Colorado’s sale produced a smaller financial result and involved considerably less acreage. BLM leased 29 parcels covering a combined 14,212 acres in the state.
The bureau had offered far more acreage during the two previous Colorado sales cited in the report. Those sales involved 134,173 acres in June and 42,532 acres in September.
Detailed information about the latest Colorado sale was not yet available because the state’s final review remained pending. The available figures were limited to the 29 leased parcels, 14,212 acres and the $4.7 million result.
The contrast with June was pronounced. Colorado’s latest $4.7 million total was well below the $35.26 million in revenue generated during BLM’s last lease sale in the state that month.
Federal onshore oil and gas leases run for 10 years or for as long as production continues in paying quantities. The leases carry a 12.5% royalty rate.
Revenue from those federal leases is divided between the federal government and the state. Against those standard lease terms, the latest quarterly results showed robust high bids in Wyoming alongside a much smaller return from Colorado.
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