Adrian C. Hedden | Carlsbad Current-Argus | November 22, 2017

To benefit public schools across New Mexico, the State Land Office made $15.3 million from November’s oil and gas lease sale, bringing the year’s total from the sales to $72.5 million.

In addition to public schools, public buildings also benefitted from the sale that offered 26 tracks covering 6,757 acres of State Trust lands in southeast New Mexico.

Public schools got about $14.4 million from the November sale, and public buildings gained $920,850.

Leases were for acreage in Lea and Chaves counties, read a Tuesday news release from the State Land Office.

Thirty-one bidders from eight states made offers on the tracts, read the release.

Sealed bids generated about $11.8 million, while open bids brought in about $3.4 million.

The average per acre price was $2,269, the release read.

Roswell-based oil company Manzano LLC won the highest bid in the sealed format, acquiring three 320-acre tracts in Lea County for $1.3 million per tract.

Houston’s Grey Wolf Oil and Gas won the highest bid in the open format at about $1 million for 320 acres, also in Lea County.

Read the full article here.