NATIONWIDE TRENDS
In May 2016, 69 leases were authorized on public land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for petroleum recovery purposes. This is compared to 56 authorized in May 2015. 180,329 acres were acquired with these 69 authorized leases. That is a increase of 130,414.63 acres in contrast to the 49,914 acres authorized in May 2015.
While 69 oil and gas leases were authorized through the BLM in May, 231 leases were closed over the same month. This is a decrease of 32 leases as opposed to May 2015 when there were 263 closed leases. 328,694 acres were released with these 231 closed leases. This is 5,393.05 fewer acres released in May compared to the 334,087 released in the same month in 2015.
| May 2016 | May 2015 | Net | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authorized Lease | 69 | 56 | 13 | 23.21% |
| Authorized Acres | 180,329 | 49,914 | 130,414.63 | 261.28% |
| Closed Lease | 231 | 263 | 32 | 12.17% |
| Closed Acres | 328,694 | 334,087 | 5,393.05 | 1.61% |
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 petroleum recovery leases on public land overseen by the BLM. Wyoming is the most active state with 19,044 authorized leases, accounting for 31.19% of the overall petroleum recovery leases in the United States. This is 5,481 more leases than New Mexico, the second most active state, which hosts 13,563 petroleum recovery leases and accounts for 22.22% of the overall petroleum recovery leases in the United States. Colorado has 7,374 fewer lease than New Mexico, making it the third most active state, with 6,189 petroleum recovery leases—22.22% of the authorized petroleum recovery leases overseen by the BLM.
| State | May 2016 (Authorized Leases) |
|---|---|
| Wyoming | 19,044 |
| New Mexico | 13,563 |
| Colorado | 6,189 |
| Montana | 3,871 |
| Utah | 3,813 |
Chart 2: States By Authorized Lease
in the United States Of America
CLOSED LEASES IN MAY
Wyoming, Colorado, and Nevada had the most closed BLM oil and gas leases over the course of May 2016. Wyoming is distinguished by its 103 closed leases, the most closed that month and 45 more than May 2016. This is 41 more leases than Colorado, which lost 62 oil and gas leases—an increase of 39 leases from last May. Nevada jettisoned 13 fewer leases than Colorado. The 49 petroleum recovery leases closed in Nevada are 19 fewer than May last year.
| State | May 2016 (Closed Leases) |
May 2015 (Closed Leases) |
Net | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | 103 | 58 | 45 | 77.59% |
| Colorado | 62 | 23 | 39 | 169.57% |
| Nevada | 49 | 68 | 19 | 27.94% |
| Oklahoma | 5 | 9 | 4 | 44.44% |
| Texas | 5 | 1 | 4 | 400% |
COUNTY TRENDS
CLOSED LEASES IN MAY
Sweetwater, Moffat, and Carbon counties had the most closed BLM oil and gas leases over the course of May 2016. Sweetwater County, Wyoming is distinguished by its 32 closed leases, the most closed that month and 24 more than May 2015. This is 5 more leases than Moffat County, Colorado, which lost 27 oil and gas leases—an increase of 26 leases from last May. Carbon County, Wyoming jettisoned 3 fewer leases than Moffat. The 24 petroleum recovery leases closed in Carbon County are 16 more than May last year.
| County | May 2016 (Closed Leases) |
May 2015 (Closed Leases) |
Net | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetwater, Wyoming | 32 | 8 | 24 | 300% |
| Moffat, Colorado | 27 | 1 | 26 | 2,600% |
| Carbon, Wyoming | 24 | 8 | 16 | 200% |
| Lincoln, Nevada | 18 | 1 | 17 | 1,700% |
| White Pine, Nevada | 16 | 12 | 4 | 33.33% |
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.