The Bureau of Land Management says its recent sale of 31 oil and gas leases in Oklahoma and New Mexico brought in $327 million, a record high for per-acre bid amounts and Oklahoma City’s Devon Energy was among the high bidders and made up nearly a quarter of the money offered.
Devon Energy Production Co. acquired more than 900 acres in leases with a bid of more than $79 million. Devon’s highest bid was $218,751 per acre for 320 acres or $70,000,320, according to figures provided following the lease sale.
Devon also acquired two other leases, 458 acres at $6,522 per acre for a total of $2,993,598 and 160 acres bid at $39,001 per acre for a total of $6,240,160.
All three of the lease acquisitions by Devon were in Eddy County, considered one of the nation’s highest oil producing counties in the country. Eddy County ranked #2 in New Mexico for BOE produced as of September 2025. More than 25,000 wells were drilled in the county from July 1973 to September 2025.
According to MineralAnswers.com, Eddy county currently ranks #3 in the nation based on barrels of oil equivalent production. Eddy and Lea Counties make up part of the Permian Basin in the southeast part of New Mexico and Devon Energy has major operations in the region.
Eddy and Lea counties are among the 66 counties in southeastern New Mexico and western Texas that make up the Permian Basin. The two counties have such high oil production that in 2023, the U.S. Energy Information Administration claimed the output from the horizontal wells in them accounted for 29% of all crude oil production in the Basin, averaging 1.7 million barrels a day.
The 31 parcels of land totaled 20,399 acres in the two states and were leased for $326,811,240 in total receipts during the quarterly oil and gas lease sale. Combined lease bonus bids and rentals are distributed between the federal government and state where parcels are located.
“This sale brought in over $218,751 for a single acre, the highest ever earned during a BLM competitive oil and gas lease sale since at least the 1987 Leasing Reform Act and shows the bureau’s ongoing commitment to fulfil President Trump’s mandate to unleash American energy,” said Acting BLM Director Bill Groffy.
“This sale is also the second highest for total bonus bids received at over $316 million and third highest for both bid on a single parcel at over $70 million and average bid per acre at over $16 thousand.”
This lease sale was conducted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which resets the royalty rate for new federal onshore oil and gas production to a minimum of 12.5%, reversing the 16.67% rate set by the Inflation Reduction Act. By lowering the federal onshore royalty rate from 16.67% to 12.5%, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act reduces the cost of doing business on public lands, making oil and gas development more economically attractive to industry. This is expected to spur additional leasing and drilling activity, which in turn supports increased domestic energy production and strengthens U.S. energy security.
Oil and gas lease sales support domestic energy production and American energy independence, while contributing to the nation’s economic and military security. Consistent with Executive Order 14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” the BLM’s lease sales help meet the energy needs of U.S. citizens and solidify the nation as a global energy leader long into the future.
Leasing is the first step in the process to develop federal oil and gas resources. The BLM ensures oil and gas development meets the requirements set forth by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and other applicable legal authorities.
Oil and gas leases are awarded for a term of 10 years and as long thereafter as there is production of oil and gas in paying quantities. Information on current and upcoming BLM leases is available through the National Fluid Lease Sale System.
BLM lease sales are held online through EnergyNet. Results are available on the National Fluid Lease Sale System. After navigating to the page, filter to the sale, and select the action “View Sale Documents” to view the sale results.