The Biden administration held its most lucrative public land oil auction so far this year, earning more than $34.4 million Thursday in a sale in New Mexico and Kansas.
The bulk of the revenue came from New Mexico’s portion of the Permian Basin, an oil-rich region in the southern part of the state straddling the border with Texas.
The sale also included several leases in northwestern Kansas, where the oil industry’s presence on public lands is smaller. Three parcels sold to oil developers in that state for under $12,000 combined.
All the leases offered for sale in New Mexico received bids Thursday. The highest bid was for $80,000 an acre. The state is the largest producer of federal oil and the second-largest producer of federal natural gas in the country.
