US Opens Up California Land for Oil, Gas Leasing

The US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management has opened up 722,000 acres of federal land in California’s central coast for oil and gas leasing and development.

The land is located primarily in Fresno, Monterey and San Benito counties.

The decision makes 680,000 acres of federal mineral estate available for lease with controlled surface use stipulations and an additional 42,000 acres available for lease with no surface occupancy requirements.

It also marks the end of a five-year moratorium on oil and gas leases in California. The state had not had an oil and gas lease sale since 2013.

However, it does not authorise any actual drilling for exploration or development of oil and gas resources, according to a BLM press release.

According to BLM estimates, the oil and gas industry on private and public lands directly supports 3,000 jobs and US$620 million in tax revenue within the Central Coast Field Office jurisdiction.

The BLM anticipates that most new oil and gas development within the planning area will occur in or near existing oilfields in Fresno County.

Source: Rigzone