Oil and Gas Lease Auction Grosses $16.9 Million
Written by Andrew-Rossi on November 16, 2017
Wyoming’s education system got a big boost of cash this month during the state’s most recent oil and gas lease auction.
The Director of the Office of State Lands and Investments says Wyoming surpassed its revenue goals for oil and gas lease auctions by 500 percent this month, earning a total of $60 million for the state of Wyoming in 2017.
In a news release yesterday, officials reported that two hundred and thirty-nine parcels of State Trust Land were available for lease covering over 94 thousand acres across sixteen counties, with eighty bidders attracted to the week-long sale. The auction resulted in 191 of the 239 leases sold, and grossed $16.9 million dollars.
The most recent auction brings the total revenue generated in 2017 for the sale of oil and gas leases on State Trust Lands to $60.9 million dollars.
Bridget Hill, Director of State Lands and Investments, says that 53 million of those dollars were deposited for the benefit of the K-12 school fund. She commented that the state hopes these results are an indication that the oil and gas industry in Wyoming is stabilizing.