The Bureau of Land Management collected nearly $400 million in oil, gas and geothermal lease sale revenue in the third quarter of 2026. Oil and gas sales accounted for $372.1 million of that total, and geothermal sales added $25.8 million, according to the agency.
Oil and gas sales
BLM held oil and gas lease sales from July through September in Montana/Dakotas, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado, Eastern States, Nevada and Utah. Those sales offered 344 parcels covering 293,963 acres. A bonus bid, the one-time payment a company offers to win a lease, is paid on top of ongoing rental payments, and both are split between the federal government and the states where the parcels sit.
BLM's oil and gas lease sales have generated $5.1 billion so far in 2026. First-quarter sales brought in $592.7 million from January through March, and second-quarter sales brought in $4.1 billion. A record second-quarter sale in May generated more than $4 billion in total receipts in New Mexico and Texas, where BLM sold 74 parcels on 33,530 acres.
| Quarter | 2026 oil and gas sale revenue |
|---|---|
| Q1 (Jan-Mar) | $592.7 million |
| Q2 (Apr-Jun) | $4.1 billion |
| Q3 (Jul-Sep) | $372.1 million |
BLM Director Steve Pearce said the results reflect the agency's commitment to expanding domestic energy production and reducing reliance on foreign energy sources. The agency attributed the receipts to the Trump administration's energy policy, which it said also focuses on streamlined permitting for leasing processes.
Geothermal sales
Geothermal lease sales generated $25.8 million in the third quarter. In August, BLM accepted winning bids on 32 parcels in Utah totaling 72,398 acres for $24,706,280 in total receipts, a sale that set bureau records for the highest parcel bid, at $4,168,725, and the highest per-acre bid, at $1,207. BLM said it was the second-largest lease sale in total dollars in the bureau's history. A separate August sale in Oregon brought in more than $1.1 million on two parcels totaling more than 9,500 acres.
So far in 2026, BLM has reported $42.4 million in geothermal lease sales. That figure includes a June sale in New Mexico that generated $16.6 million on 47 parcels totaling 152,381 acres. BLM is planning additional geothermal lease sales this fall in Nevada, Idaho and California. Combined bonus bids, rentals and subsequent royalties from the geothermal leases will be distributed among the U.S. Treasury and the states and counties where the leases are located.
BLM manages about 245 million acres of public land, primarily in 12 western states including Alaska, and administers 700 million acres of federal subsurface mineral estate nationwide.
