The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency within the US Department of the Interior (DoI), has announced its intention to conduct two oil and gas lease sales in May and June.
The sales will encompass parcels in New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming.
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The first sale is set for 20 May 2026, with 74 oil and gas parcels spanning 33,530 acres available in New Mexico and Texas. This was preceded by a scoping process completed in December 2025, followed by a public comment period ending in February 2026.
A 30-day public protest period commenced and will end on 20 April 2026 to gather further public input.
The second sale is scheduled for 2 June 2026 in Wyoming, offering 108 oil and gas parcels covering 119,595 acres.
The BLM finalised its scoping for these areas in November 2025 and accepted public comments until January 2026.
As with the first sale, a 30-day public protest period has started and will close on 20 April 2026.
Leasing marks the initial phase in the development of federal oil and gas reserves.
Post-leasing, operators are required to submit detailed applications for permits to drill before beginning any development activities.
These applications undergo BLM review and are subject to public scrutiny and environmental analysis.
Coordination with state agencies and other stakeholders forms a part of this comprehensive review process.
The BLM oversees approximately 245 million acres of public land, primarily situated in 12 western states, including Alaska, for the US public.
Additionally, it is responsible for managing 700 million acres of subsurface mineral rights across the country.
Last week, the BLM held a major oil and gas lease sale in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, the first conducted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The offering included more than 600 lease tracts covering roughly 5.5 million acres.
During the sale 11 companies submitted bids on 187 tracts spanning 1,334,967 acres, generating total receipts of $163.7m.
