Federal oil and gas lease sales resume in Montana
TL/DR –
After a nearly two-year hiatus, federal oil and gas lease sales are returning to Montana due to the new regulations of the Inflation Reduction Act. Under the new system, oil and gas companies must pay upfront to nominate lands for leasing, according to Aaron Weiss, director of the Center for Western Priorities. Despite the recent announcement of a 3,521 sale at the end of December, Weiss reports that there seems to be little interest in new leasing of public lands for oil and gas, particularly in Montana, with Oil and Gas companies having only submitted 1900 acres of interest over the last year.
Federal Oil and Gas Lease Sales Resume in Montana After Overhaul of Leasing System
The Federal oil and gas lease sales have restarted in Montana following a hiatus of almost two years due to the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. The Act reformed the system the US employed to lease public lands to oil and gas firms, leading to a temporary suspension of leases in Montana.
With the new law now operational, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has resumed lease sales. The updated system requires oil and gas companies to pay upfront to nominate lands for leasing, according to Aaron Weiss, director of the Center for Western Priorities.
Last year, a substantial land sale in Montana was annulled following criticism from conservation groups. They highlighted that the BLM wasn’t adhering to the new leasing laws stipulated by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Despite the BLM’s announcement of a 3,521-acre sale in late December, Weiss suggests that oil and gas companies appear to have lost interest in Montana. “Post the IRA’s passage, there’s been minimal interest across the West, specifically in Montana, for new leasing of public lands for oil and gas,” he said.
Data from the BLM indicates that oil and gas firms have only displayed interest in leasing a paltry 1900 acres over the past year. “Considering Montana’s size and the number of acres already under lease, this is a pretty small number,” Weiss concludes.
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