Feds to offer 11 oil and gas leases in Nevada
The Bureau of Land Management has opened a public comment period for 11 oil and gas leases located within Nye County.
The potential leases encompass 19,957 acres and are scheduled to go up for sale in March. The public comment period will end on Dec. 12.
“Leasing is the first step in the process to develop federal oil and gas resources,” the BLM explained in a news release. “Before development operations can begin, an operator must submit an application for permit to drill detailing development plans. The BLM reviews applications for permits to drill, posts them for public review, conducts an environmental analysis and coordinates with state partners and stakeholders.”
The BLM previously completed scoping on the parcels in September and is now seeking public comment on them, including potential deferrrals and related environmental analysis. According to its website, BLM Nevada holds oil and gas lease sales four times every year as required by the Mineral Leasing Act.
Under the Trump administration, the BLM has shifted tactics away from preferential treatment for wind and solar energy projects towards boosting domestic energy production largely within the oil, gas, coal and geothermal sectors, and deregulating access to natural resources on federal land all in a bid to increase domestic energy production.
The BLM controls the vast majority of land within the state of Nevada and almost all of it within Clark County. The federal agency manages approximately 245 million acres of land, located primarily in western states and Nevada has the highest percentage of federally controlled land in the nation.
Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.
