The Bureau of Land Management netted roughly $24 million from an oil and gas sale on public lands in North Dakota and Montana on Tuesday, over the protests of climate organizations.
The oil lease auction was the most lucrative the Biden administration has held in the region this year, but it still fell short of what some drillers wanted to see on the table. It was opposed by several prominent environmental groups who have called on President Joe Biden to end oil sales on public lands because of fossil fuels’ contribution to climate change.
The auction included more than 5,000 acres, with most parcels clustered in the prolific Bakken oil region. A handful of parcels were also offered for auction in northern and southern Montana.
Earlier this year, a BLM oil auction of similar size in Montana and North Dakota brought in $663,524.
