News
Jul 29, 2009Geothermal Lease Sale Generates $9 Million; 255,355 Acres Sold, Non-Competitive Parcels Remain
Congratulations to CanGEA corporate members Magma Energy, Oski Energy LLC and Ormat Nevada, Inc on their successful purchase at the Geothermal Lease Sale!
Geothermal Lease Sale Generates $9 Million; 255,355 Acres Sold, Non-Competitive Parcels Remain
A competitive Geothermal Lease Sale for parcels in California, Nevada, and Utah took place July 14 in Reno, Nevada. The sale generated more than $9 million in bonus bids and the average price per acre for parcels sold was higher than the BLM geothermal lease sale in December 2008. Yet, half of the parcels in Nevada sold for the $2/acre minimum and a roughly 25% of the parcels offered did not draw any bids and should become available non-competitively.
The sale generated $9,098,304 total in revenue for 255,354 acres, according to the BLM release. The high bid per acre was for a Nevada parcel in Churchill County at $3,800 per acre by Ormat Nevada Inc. The highest bid paid for a parcel was $2,649,150, also in Churchill County, by TGP Development Co. LLC, for 5,045 acres, according to the release. The results were:
• In Nevada, 82 of 108 parcels offered sold for a total of $8,909,445
• In California, all 15 parcels sold for a total of $131,126.
• In Utah, the parcel sold for $57,250.
According to the release, 50% of revenues from the lease sale - including bonus bids, rentals, and royalties collected on the leases - is distributed to the State in which the leased lands are located, and 25% is distributed to the counties where the leases are located. The remaining 25% is distributed to the BLM to be used for the processing of geothermal leases and geothermal use authorizations.
Following is a summary of the sale results:
Total Acres Offered: 334,842
Total Acres Sold: 255,354
Total Acres Offered in Nevada: 323,222
Total Acres Sold in Nevada: 243,727
Total Acres Offered in California: 11,399.05
Total Acres Offered in California: 11,399.05
Total Acres Offered in Utah: 228
Total Acres Sold in Utah: 228
Companies with winning bids in order of total acreage acquired:
1) Magma: 17 lease purchases for 67950.65 acres.
2) Ram Power Inc.: 8 Purchases for 32671.28 acres.
3) Allied Gold Corp LLC: 7 purchases for 25332.46 acres.
4) Standard Steam Trust LLC: 13 Purchases for 22033.67 acres.
5) Hallador Petroleum Co.: 4 Purchases for 19565.71 acres.
6) Geoglobal Energy LLC: 5 purchases for 19163 acres.
7) TGP Development Company LLC: 5 purchases for 17162.37 acres.
8) Oski Energy LLC: 5 purchases for 15,102.03 acres.
9) Minera Cerro el Diablo Inc.: 4 purchases for 6101.96 acres.
10) Presco Energy: 5 purchases for 5379.4 acres.
11) CalNorth Petroleum INC.: 7 purchases for 4480 acres.
12) Geothermal Technical Partners: 4 Purchases for 4320 acres.
13) Geo-Energy Partners: 5 purchases for 3199 acres.
14) Earth Power Resources Inc: 2 purchases for 2911 acres.
15) Ormat Nevada, Inc: 2 purchases for 1836.76 acres.
16) Geysers Power Company LLC: 1 purchase for 948.93 acres.
17) Renewable Energies LLC: 1 purchase for 228.04 acres.
