ABSTRACT
March 2016 experienced a net decrease in oil and gas leases authorized on public land. Across BLM supervised lands, only 53 leases were authorized versus 300 closed last month. This represents a general slowing of the petroleum lease market as authorized claims have decreased (147) and closed claims have increased (30) compared to March 2015. Wyoming accounts for 30% of leases opened in March and 25% of leases closed.
NATIONWIDE TRENDS
In March 2016, 53 leases were authorized on public land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for oil and gas drilling purposes. This is compared to 200 authorized in March 2015. 49,673 acres were acquired with these 53 authorized leases. That is a decrease of 180,831.61 acres in contrast to the 230,504 acres claimed in March 2015.
While 53 oil and gas leases were authorized through the BLM in March, 300 leases were closed over the same month. This is a increase of 30 leases as opposed to March 2015 when there were 270 closed leases. 413,130 acres were released with these 300 closed leases. This is 246,188.49 more acres released in March compared to the 166,941 released in the same month in 2015.
| March 2016 | March 2015 | Net | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authorized Leases | 53 | 200 | 147 | 73.5% |
| Authorized Acres | 49,673 | 230,504 | 180,831.61 | 78.45% |
| Closed Leases | 300 | 270 | 30 | 11.11% |
| Closed Acres | 413,130 | 166,941 | 246,188.49 | 147.47% |
Chart 1: Authorized Leases By Year
in the United States Of America
STATE TRENDS
Wyoming, New Mexico, and Colorado are the three most active states when ranked by total authorized oil and gas drilling leases on public land overseen by the BLM. Wyoming is the most active state with 19,186 authorized leases, accounting for 31.24% of the overall oil and gas drilling leases in the United States. This is 5,632 more leases than New Mexico, the second most active state, which hosts 13,554 oil and gas drilling leases and accounts for 22.07% of the overall oil and gas drilling leases in the United States. Colorado has 7,290 fewer lease than New Mexico, making it the third most active state, with 6,264 oil and gas drilling leases—22.07% of the authorized oil and gas drilling leases overseen by the BLM.
| State | March 2016 (Authorized Leases) |
|---|---|
| Wyoming | 19,186 |
| New Mexico | 13,554 |
| Colorado | 6,264 |
| Montana | 3,931 |
| Utah | 3,821 |
Chart 2: States By Authorized Lease
in the United States Of America
CLOSED LEASES IN MARCH
Nevada, Wyoming, and Colorado had the most closed BLM oil and gas leases over the course of March 2016. Nevada is distinguished by its 86 closed leases, the most closed that month and 86 more than March 2016. This is 11 more leases than Wyoming, which lost 75 oil and gas leases—a decrease of 93 leases from last March. Colorado jettisoned 22 fewer leases than Wyoming. The 53 oil and gas drilling leases closed in Colorado are 18 greater than March last year.
| State | March 2016 (Closed Leases) |
March 2015 (Closed Leases) |
Net | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 86 | 0 | 86 | |
| Wyoming | 75 | 168 | 93 | 55.36% |
| Colorado | 53 | 35 | 18 | 51.43% |
| New Mexico | 53 | 24 | 29 | 120.83% |
| Montana | 14 | 1 | 13 | 1,300% |
COUNTY TRENDS
CLOSED LEASES IN MARCH
White Pine, Eureka, and Sheridan counties had the most closed BLM oil and gas leases over the course of March 2016. White Pine County, Nevada is distinguished by its 30 closed leases, the most closed that month and 30 more than March 2016. This is 4 more leases than Eureka County, Nevada, which lost 26 oil and gas leases—an increase of 26 leases from last March. Sheridan County, Wyoming jettisoned 1 fewer leases than Eureka. The 25 oil and gas drilling leases closed in Sheridan County are 25 more than March last year.
| County | March 2016 (Closed Leases) |
March 2015 (Closed Leases) |
Net | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Pine, Nevada | 30 | 0 | 30 | |
| Eureka, Nevada | 26 | 0 | 26 | |
| Sheridan, Wyoming | 25 | 0 | 25 | |
| Nye, Nevada | 17 | 0 | 17 | |
| Eddy, New Mexico | 16 | 5 | 11 | 220% |
VIEW INDIVIDUAL STATE TRENDS REPORTS
While this report focuses on those states and counties with the greatest amount of authorized leases or significant change in activity on public land, this is hardly to neglect the extensive activity occurring elsewhere. For more locally focused reports, complete with graphs and time series tables, visit any of our listed states below or search for a particular county’s trend report on The Drillings™.
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
GET REPORT ALERTS
Each month, we release a new report on oil and gas lease trends. Get notified when the next report is published, updated data is released, or new features are available on The Drillings™ by joining our mailing list.
*These reports are summarizing oil and gas leases on public land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management and do not encompass sales or transfers occurring on private land.