Feds move forward with sale of southeast New Mexico public land to oil and gas industry

Federal land managers moved forward with the first sale of public land to the oil and gas industry in New Mexico since the administration of President Joe Biden took power at the start of 2021, seeking feedback from the public on land offered in the sale in southeast New Mexico.

Upon taking office in January, the Biden administration paused the lease sales, when public land is offered to oil and gas companies via auction, citing concerns with the environmental impacts of fossil fuel developments and embarking on a review by the U.S. Department of the Interior of such policies.

This summer, a federal judge in Louisiana filed an injunction barring the DOI from enforcing the pause on leases, contending the move brought undue and unconstitutional economic harm to oil-producing states like New Mexico.

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Subsequently, the Bureau of Land Management – a sub-agency of the DOI – announced a sale for the first quarter of 2022 for land in southeast New Mexico within the nation’s most active oilfield in the Permian Basin.

The sale offered five parcels of land on about 520 acres in Lea and Chaves counties. 

The public comment period opened on Oct. 29 and will run until Nov. 28.

During that time, members of the public can submit statements to the BLM to be considered during the development of its environmental assessments for the parcels.

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The lands in question were first deferred by the BLM from the first and second quarters of 2021 amid the pause in leasing.

Comments on the parcels under review can be submitted online to the BLM’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) register and be included in the public record.

“Please note that the most useful public comments are substantive and identify issues relevant to the proposed action,” read the BLM’s sale announcement. These may question, with reasonable basis, the accuracy of information, methodology or assumptions, and present reasonable alternatives other than those analyzed.”

A draft environmental analysis was published by the BLM on Oct. 29, finding that oil and gas operations on the offered public land would have “no significant impact” on public health or the environment.

"Within these counties, as well as the area immediately surrounding the nominated lease parcels, there already exists extensive oil and gas development and production," read the BLM's report. "Oil and gas development and its attendant industry are identifying components of the economic and social fabric of the region."

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In the analysis, the BLM reported it received public comments voicing concerns about expanded oil and gas production on the leased land on greenhouse gas emissions and air quality, along with local water supplies, endangered species in the region and climate change.

The analysis ultimately proposed offering the leases on all five parcels in New Mexico after studying the concerns.

In total, the BLM estimated five horizontal wells, one each, would be drilled on the five leases in New Mexico, with a total oil production of 840,000 barrels and about 4.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

A barrel is about 42 gallons.

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The leases would also generate about 2.9 million barrels of produced water, a combination of flowback from water pumped downhole during hydraulic fracturing and water brought up to the surface with oil and gas from underground shale deposits.

In total, development of the lands would cause surface disturbance on about 22.5 acres, the report read, and along with the 520 acres of land leased would mark an increase of 0.003 percent in the total of 20 million acres of producing land managed by the BLM’s Pecos District Office.

The estimated future oil production on the leased land would increase the area’s oil production by 0.23 percent and gas production by 0.35 percent, the report read.

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While the BLM admitted greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were likely to result from the production and use of fossil fuels, it contended it was unable to quantify the exact impact the the proposed land leases could have on climate change, per the report.  

“While the leasing action itself does not directly generate GHG emissions, such emissions are a reasonably foreseeable consequence of oil and gas development,” read the report.

“At the leasing stage, these sources of emissions are highly speculative, and the BLM has therefore chosen to assume, for the purposes of this analysis, that all produced oil or gas will be combusted.”

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BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said the agency is analyzing GHG emissions caused by oil and gas activities on federal land, while also studying on a national scale the environmental impact in its leasing decisions.

In addition to the New Mexico sale, the BLM released similar environmental analysis studying climate change impacts of proposed sales in Colorado, Montana, the Dakotas, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and eastern oil-producing states.

Parcels, mostly in Wyoming and Colorado were deferred but New Mexico’s sale was still expected in early 2022, records show.

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“The BLM is committed to responsible development on public lands, including ensuring that our environmental reviews consider the climate impacts of energy development on lands and communities,” Stone-Manning said.

“We will continue to exercise the authority and discretion provided under law to conduct leasing in a manner that fulfills the Interior Department’s legal responsibilities.”

In response to the BLM’s announcement and additional analysis, Jennifer Rokala, executive director with environmental group the Center for Western Priorities said the federal government must employ deeper analysis into the climate change impacts of oil and gas and advocate for more reforms related to pollution at federal land management agencies.

“It is irresponsible to lease off millions of acres of public land and water without fully accounting for how that oil and gas will impact the planet and our children,” Rokala said. “At the same time, this decision demonstrates how crucial it is for the Biden administration to implement full top-to-bottom reforms of the oil and gas leasing system.

“A piecemeal approach is necessary in the short-term, but it is not a long-term solution, and the clock is ticking.”

Jeremy Nichols with Santa Fe-based WildEarth Guardians said the federal government should cease oil and gas production entirely on public land if it is to mitigate the impacts of pollution on climate change. 

“We can’t confront the climate crisis if we can’t keep fossil fuels in the ground,” Nichols said. “Selling more public lands for fracking is nothing short of a slap in the face to President Biden and his promise of climate action.”

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-618-7631, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.