BLM’s New Oil & Gas Instruction Memoranda: Refining the Federal Leasing Process and More

Live Webinar   |   Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Noon PDT, 1:00 pm MDT, 2:00 pm CDT, 3:00 pm EDT

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages the federal government’s onshore subsurface mineral estate – about 700 million acres (30% of the United States) held by the BLM, U.S. Forest Service, and other federal agencies and surface owners – for the benefit of the American public. The Mineral Leasing Act, Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act of 1987, and Energy Policy Act of 2005, along with the BLM’s regulations at 43 C.F.R. Part 3160, govern operations associated with the leasing, exploration, development, and production of federal oil and gas deposits. When implementing these statutes and regulations, the BLM’s instruction memoranda (IMs) provide guidance to BLM State and Field Offices regarding certain aspects of the federal oil and gas program. Late last year the BLM issued seven new oil and gas IMs covering topics ranging from evaluating parcels for leasing to approving extensions for applications for permits to drill. Join us as the BLM’s Senior Mineral Leasing Specialist, Peter Cowan, provides an overview of these IMs related to: 

• The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Pub. L. No. 117-169) Section 50265 impacts on expressions of interest for oil and gas lease sales
• Evaluating federal parcels for future competitive oil and gas lease sales
• Other impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act on oil and gas leasing
• Oil and gas lease reinstatements
• Land use planning and lease parcel reviews
• Extensions for approved applications for permits to drill (APDs)
• Requests for suspensions of operations and/or production

PETER COWAN, Senior Mineral Leasing Specialist, Bureau of Land Management, Santa Fe, NM

NADA WOLFF CULVER, Deputy Director, Policy and Programs, Bureau of Land Management, Washington, DC