NATIONWIDE TRENDS
In October 2016, 57 leases were authorized on public land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for petroleum exploration purposes. This is compared to 56 authorized in October 2015. 80,205 acres were acquired with these 57 authorized leases. That is a decrease of 54,889.42 acres in contrast to the 135,094 acres authorized in October 2015.
While 57 oil and gas leases were authorized through the BLM in October, 154 leases were closed over the same month. This is a decrease of 206 leases as opposed to October 2015 when there were 360 closed leases. 164,052 acres were released with these 154 closed leases. This is 238,916.92 fewer acres released in October compared to the 402,969 released in the same month in 2015.
| October 2016 | October 2015 | Net | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authorized Lease | 57 | 56 | 1 | 1.79% |
| Authorized Acres | 80,205 | 135,094 | 54,889.42 | 40.63% |
| Closed Lease | 154 | 360 | 206 | 57.22% |
| Closed Acres | 164,052 | 402,969 | 238,916.92 | 59.29% |
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 exploration leases on public land overseen by the BLM. Wyoming is the most active state with 18,686 authorized leases, accounting for 31.19% of the overall petroleum exploration leases in the United States. This is 5,193 more leases than New Mexico, the second most active state, which hosts 13,493 petroleum exploration leases and accounts for 22.52% of the overall petroleum exploration leases in the United States. Colorado has 7,543 fewer lease than New Mexico, making it the third most active state, with 5,950 petroleum exploration leases—22.52% of the authorized petroleum exploration leases overseen by the BLM.
| State | October 2016 (Authorized Leases) |
|---|---|
| Wyoming | 18,686 |
| New Mexico | 13,493 |
| Colorado | 5,950 |
| Montana | 3,775 |
| Utah | 3,764 |
Chart 2: States By Authorized Lease
in the United States Of America
CLOSED LEASES IN OCTOBER
Wyoming, Utah, and Alabama had the most closed BLM oil and gas leases over the course of October 2016. Wyoming is distinguished by its 51 closed leases, the most closed that month and 85 less than October 2016. This is 31 more leases than Utah, which lost 20 oil and gas leases—a decrease of 50 leases from last October. Alabama jettisoned 9 fewer leases than Utah. The 11 petroleum exploration leases closed in Alabama are 9 greater than October last year.
| State | October 2016 (Closed Leases) |
October 2015 (Closed Leases) |
Net | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | 51 | 136 | 85 | 62.5% |
| Utah | 20 | 70 | 50 | 71.43% |
| Alabama | 11 | 2 | 9 | 450% |
| Arkansas | 11 | 2 | 9 | 450% |
| Mississippi | 10 | 2 | 8 | 400% |
COUNTY TRENDS
CLOSED LEASES IN OCTOBER
Sweetwater, Crawford, and Covington counties had the most closed BLM oil and gas leases over the course of October 2016. Sweetwater County, Wyoming is distinguished by its 25 closed leases, the most closed that month and 9 more than October 2015. This is 14 more leases than Crawford County, Arkansas, which lost 11 oil and gas leases—an increase of 11 leases from last October. Covington County, Alabama jettisoned 0 fewer leases than Crawford. The 11 petroleum exploration leases closed in Covington County are 11 more than October last year.
| County | October 2016 (Closed Leases) |
October 2015 (Closed Leases) |
Net | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetwater, Wyoming | 25 | 16 | 9 | 56.25% |
| Crawford, Arkansas | 11 | 0 | 11 | |
| Covington, Alabama | 11 | 0 | 11 | |
| Smith, Mississippi | 7 | 1 | 6 | 600% |
| Niobrara, Wyoming | 6 | 5 | 1 | 20% |
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
- Maine
- 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.