Energy Speculators Jump on Chance to Lease Public Land at Bargain Rates

It is way past time to stop drilling on public lands.

This is why the oligarchs love Trump. While he is grabbing headlines with his undemocratic and unAmerican behavior, his kleptocratic underlings are selling off our national heritage at bargain basement prices. No need for Republicans in congress to transfer lands to the states or gut protections for our environment and health when Zinke is doing it for them.

Pretty familiar with this stuff, needs to be pointed out that $1.50 per acre per year is a lot more than the $0 the federal government would earn on this land if not leased. I’d suspect the vast majority of the speculative lessors make no money on this play. Have seen it up close and personal around my neighborhood in western Colorado, during the 2008 price spike in natural gas prices speculative leassors nominated everything around and under us, paid ten years of leasing costs and nothing ever happend. Leasing is not the same as drilling. Also, BLM oil and gas lease auctions are for that only, oil and gas. One does not get rights to anything under the surface other than oil and gas and gets no surface rights other than what is specifically needed temporarily for seismic surveys and eventually, if drilling, what is needed to do the drilling which might be a 5 acre pad in several hundred acre lease. This article is a little bit of a mountain out of a molehill though Trump/Zinke regime is nonetheless loathsome and destructive.

An article earlier this year discussed the output from wells that produce through fracking. With significant decreases in well production after the first year, economic viability requires assets that can be collateral for the costs for the next well. Through these tactics the public is bailing out an industry that doesn’t need it. This makes the Tea Pot Dome scandal look tame.

Talking about government giveaway!

Stupid and corrupt. Trump only destroys, he doesn't build. Tragic!

We're told in a series of articles recently that we must reduce our carbon emissions drastically if we're going to avoid a cascading series of consequences, including that climate change is going to damage our economy. We're told in a major article today the latest manifestation of the 6th global extinction, that we're losing many species of insects, including those that perform critical ecosystem functions. And now this giveaway of publicly owned resources by those who otherwise rail about the national debt, to those who if successful will make things so much worse for the rest of us (as well as for some of those insects). Articles like this one remind me just how shortsighted, narrowly focused, and unwilling to learn we can be. How about the allegedly so different centrist and progressive Dems in the next Congress get together, pick up some R's, and seek to change this ridiculous system? Perhaps they would be supported from voters outside of their bases, showing that such a political coalition is possible. Addressing climate change and species depletion is going to take transformations in many of our beliefs, behaviors, and societal practices. Public lands reform won't be an easy issue, but it's got to be on the agenda.

We'd be better off without the "department of the interior" completely.

Let’s see, the Federal govt. leases land at 1.50 per acre annually? In Lake County, IL where I live my real estate taxes are now over 10k per year. My lot is a measly 1/4 acre Talk about overcharging and undercharging Hope they don’t discover natural gas underneath my little ponderosa, I’ll really get charged. What a country!!

So could environmentalists lease all the acreage? If needed be, under a shell company? Hmmmm.

"I’ve directed my administration to open up millions of acres for gas and oil exploration across 23 different states. We’re opening up more than 75 percent of our potential oil resources offshore. We’ve quad­rupled the number of operating rigs to a record high. We’ve added enough new oil and gas pipeline to encircle the Earth, and then some. . . . In fact, the problem . . . is that we’re actually producing so much oil and gas . . . that we don’t have enough pipeline capacity to transport all of it where it needs to go.” That must be the words of one of those evil, climate change denying Republicans, right? Nope. That's president Obama bragging about speeding up climate change. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/obama-and-climate-change-the-real-story-104491/ Both parties are oily - it's time to demand the that the Democrats stop accepting money from big oil and gas.

Tree companies get to clear cut trees, plant pine, and cut so much a helicopter could land, for pennies on the dollar. If Me and my buddies wanted to lease ten acres, and left beer cans, and trash, but kept the trees, we would go to jail. The rich haul it away, and put it in the bank.

Anyone drilling for oil now is dealing with legacy technology that needs heavy government subsidies. Thats why the land is so cheap. Future energy is also not clear for the moment. Without government subsidies either energy new or old will cost more that it produces. If it was a case of profit and loss business. There would be no takers as the risk is too high a cost. Any business venture with a 100 year lease for $1 would be successful no matter what head winds come at you in the future. Remember one can always turn around 2 years from now and lease it back at a large profit for example as farm land for cheap. Thats alone make sound business sense. Inform the government it was an epic failure and you had to save your business by bringing in revenue. Best of luck Stephen R.

Everything the Trump administration does is about raping and pillaging the land - OUR land- and other natural resources to line the pockets of the money grabbers.

It strikes me that the minimum bid should be at least what the value of the land is for recreation and conservation purposes - which has got to be more than $1.50/acre.

A million acres available for 1.50 an acre? Why doesn't some environmental nonprofit or some gazillionaire buy the leases and keep the corporate profiteers out? Heck, I'd donate a few bucks to the effort and if lots of other people did, that could end the exploitation for at least 10 years.

$1.50 an acre? Wow, I can swing that easily. Maybe I should bid on a section or 2 just for good measure. I have a couple of horses to graze. Perhaps that is what more of us should do. BLM leases don't have to go to drillers do they?

This story fills me with anxiety and nausea. It is appalling that we would sell our irreplaceable natural resources for 1800's prices simply to provide windfalls for speculators. There is a deeply specious argument underpinning this- that all fallow land is fundamentally underutilized when in fact that land can only perform its true purpose by retaining and supporting the natural ecosystems we all depend on for life. This policy is utter nihilism.

That is a $1.50 that the feds will put back into treasury or use to manage the federal lands. Speculation is just that. If you would like to give Mr. Price 10MM to drill a well for helium, best of luck. That well is highly risky with little chance of success. I guarantee if someone comes to Ms. Stevenson with a check to LEASE (not buy) the mineral rights on her ranch, her next stop would be the bank. Find out how this works before you throw blame.

Like P.J. O'Rourke said, Republicans tell us government doesn't work then get elected and prove it.

The reality is these transactions regarding oil and gas companies and leases on public land are a mystery to most US citizens and tax payers. What we need from the NY Times reporting staff is the following: first, what law allows domestic and foreign companies to use our public land for profit, 2) what are the consequences for our country, 3) is this a sane and and positive enterprise for the people of the USA, 4) just how corrupt is Interior Secretary Zinke and is he selling off national assets for his own well being? 5) what is the tie-in for Trump? Let's face it, Trump only cares about one thing: money, money, money. He would sell his mother to make a profit. And, no doubt our entire public land as well. He is the most corrupt and amoral person I have ever seen in the so called public service. And, his cabinet is the most corrupt in recent history. My wish is that they all serve jail time after 2020.

Anyone who voted for trump and loses their job, healthcare and/or hone deserves it plain and simple.

Bargain basement rape of the land. Never mind all the tax benefits that go to oil extraction.

The reason acreage leases for different amounts per acre is because of the estimated value of the lease. Here's a simple analogy for city dwellers: If you were exploring for gold and platinum, would you pay more to lease a Tiffany's or a 7-11?

Quoting zinke? Wow.... that’s ridiculous. He’s leaving for a spot on Fox News.... what a joke

At least we know now that we have plenty of open space to house millions of undocumented immigrant workers! Open the borders and let them in!

How do we stop this?

I did a quick look and the following companies are actively involved with exploring in the "area described in this story": Apache, Exxon, Conoco Phillips, EOG, Whiting, Hess, Marathon, Statoil (Norwegian state oil company), etc. I used quotation marks because Miles City is about 50 miles or more Southwest of any oil or gas production. If serious oil industry participants thought the acreage leased by this fly by night speculator was worth more than $1.50 an acre, they would have spent to lease it. But oil and gas resources are very site specific. You can't just drill anyplace. The fact that this guy leased this land for $1.50 an acre, the bare minimum bid, suggests the industry assigns a zero probability that this area contains an economic quantity of oil or gas. So, the US government just got as good a deal from this bidder as it was going to get.

Cheap leasing would be OK if the government taxed the profits derived from the federal land appropriately...

What the public doesn't know is that it is a federal crime for anyone but the oil, gas and mineral companies to bid on those leases. That is right Environmentalists have been prosecuted for trying to outbid the industry companies.

There is a For Sale sign at the White House. Step right up and put in your bid.

Would the NYT PLEASE cover the story of billionaire/multimillionaire ranchers doing the exact same thing all over public lands, overgrazing them, year after year, including national parks, and blaming it on wild horses, which they vastly outnumber, while contributing to only 1.9% of the nation's beef supply? These welfare ranchers are paying $1.41 per one month's grazing per animal when the private costs is around $20. They brought in just over $16 million in 2018 and the cost...in the hundreds of millions every year. New York Times, stop treating the nation's welfare ranchers like national icons. They're no different than the mining and energy companies. Hugely subsidized by taxpayers and destructive: economically, environmentally, and politically. Public lands ranchers are no friend to taxpayers. They are out to privatize the monetization and management of public lands, just like the speculators are. And the damage is vast. http://dailypitchfork.org/?p=1417

I'm a New England Yankee who winters in Texas. The overwhelming opinion down here is the oil and gas business is a very unscrupulous and sleazy business. They think only of [BIG] money and profit. They don't care a lick about the environment and how their operations soil the earth. They may promise to clean up a mess they made but never will. And they make a lot of messes. They'll trash the land and the Gulf and move on to the next place with oil. The problem is they have tons of cash, and that buys them the politicians and regulators they need to keep it all going. Big chunks of Texas and certainly the Gulf have been made ugly by oil and gas companies. Lookout Montana.

"Because the speculators can resell the leases, they could also reap the gains from any increase in the value of their landholdings, gains that otherwise would go to American taxpayers, said Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense." The words "could" and "any" should be italicized and boldfaced. The reason leased land like this goes for so little, especially land that has only a single bidder, is the entire oil and gas industry views the land as totally worthless. Anyone who wins one of these uncontested leases is putting up real money on the basis of little or no information. They are buying a lottery ticket. Those griping about the leases selling for too little should be aware that the real world alternative isn't that they lease for more. They won't lease at all. Something is better than nothing.

"The percentage of leases being given away through noncompetitive sales, like the one that Mr. Price engineered..." As I read this piece, and as I understand the leasing process, Mr. Price did, in fact, participate in a competitive lease sale. The fact that no other bidders came forward doesn't make it non competitive. It just means that the entire US oil and gas industry thought he was throwing money away on land with no value and saw no reason to offer a higher bid so they could throw away more money than he did. The money the Feds got for this lease, no matter how small, is money they would not have gotten otherwise.

Donald's father, Fred Trump, and Donald himself, made most of their money off federal teat. Fred Trump made his fortune by building middle-class housing financed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). In the 1930s, Fred Trump built single-family homes for middle class families in Queens and Brooklyn, using mortgage subsidies from the newly created FHA in order to obtain construction loans. After his real-estate business fell on hard times, Fred Trump Sr. constructed FHA-backed housing for U.S. naval personnel near major shipyards along the East Coast and he later relied on FHA financing to construct Trump apartment buildings in New York’s outer boroughs. And then of course, federal income tax code subsidies of the real estate industry have also made real estate operators like the Trumps some of the most accomplished welfare queens in American history. The Trump Business Model has always been to milk the federal system for private profit. So it's no surprise at all that Trump and his loyal grifting staff is giving away anything and everything to private interests so they can also profit off the common good....with the added bonus of stepping on the accelerator of climate and environmental destruction. Raping The Earth and the Common Good For Private Profit. TRUMP 2018 What a sick, amoral and rapacious Administration.

Money. Rubles. Euros. Yuan. Any way you spell it, this is all about money. Capitalism has gone amok. Somebody told/sold us a fairy tale sometime about the benevolence of the capitalistic class and how it would benefit us all. It was a lie then and it is a lie now. These folks are looking out for themselves first, second and foremost. The little guy is forever left behind.

You should probably be more clear that this is a horrendous deal for taxpayers.

Why stop at public lands? Let's auction off our national monuments and parks. We could have the ExxonMobil Lincoln Memorial and Capital One /Six Flags at Yellowstone. Or how about the Netflix White House (a really nice tie-in to "House of Cards," with possible merch to be sold). Heck, since we're selling public lands dirt cheap for possible exploration, maybe we can create a market like "Summer NAPE" where new parents can auction off the future labor of their babies to corporations in exchange for cash now: call it "Summer NAPPIES." Think of the money to be made! And while we're at it, let's auction off our politicians to the highest bidder. Oh wait, ummm . . .

Because the rules were written to strongly favor the oil explorers, they are overly generous. If anyone outside the group standing to make enormous sums were to look at the deal, I'd wager few would find the current process equitable. Since the people of the USA own the land, they become anonymous and faceless. Easy to swindle them at every turn, since they have no visible stake in the outcome. Yes, there is some risk. But a beginning change would be to say first that if there are no bidders, the auction is closed and will not open for some period, say 5 or 10 years, even if there are multiple petitions to run another auction. Secondly, if a bidder wins the rights, they must begin drilling, not just 'exploration' (which could be a guy on a horse riding over a small section of land), within 3 years max, or the whole auction is forfeit, without any refund.

The biggest flaw in the government’s oil and gas strategy is that they consider oil and gas extraction as a production. Yet the clue is in the title: you are not producing oil, rather you are just extracting it, making it unavailable for future generations. Sure it boosts growth statistics, because these cannot measure the loss of opportunity for future generations. But selling the country’s oil reserves at a time when we have so much of it already on the market that people are driving giant gas guzzlers is just a waste of money. Who knows if forty years from now we will still have enough affordable oil? Nobody knows. We might, or we might not. So maybe we should plan a bit better, so we don’t have to wonder what we will tell our children if the economy collapses because we can’t fuel our trucks and tractors anymore. Because so far all it does is that it allows us to drive spacious cars. But hey: let’s allow companies to drill every inch of the country. Who cares about the future anyway?

One has to wonder what these "private enterprise" people in gov't like Zinke would do if they were running the US as their own business. Certainly not by flooding the market and giving cheap deals to their friends. But because they can get away with it and fleece taxpayers while lining their own pockets, it will continue. What a shame.

Three climate related articles in a row! Keep them coming. Climate change and our response to it is the defining issue of our age. If politicians can make a case of combining working class economic desires with saving what’s left of our natural heritage and patriotism, we will be well on our way to a Green New Deal. Who is brave enough to take on the special interests? The answer to that question will hopefully give us our next president. It seems that the power of that office is the only thing that the disinterested masses have an interest in, unfortunately.