BLM to offer oil and gas leases in Oregon

After chastising the oil and gas industry, and citing a dramatic increase in interest in oil and gas leases in Oregon, Ken Salazar announces 37 oil and gas lease sales in Oregon

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar

BLM to offer oil and gas leaThe federal government plans to offer 37 oil and natural gas lease sales on public lands in the West, including Oregon.

"Our nation needs a balanced and appropriate use of our conventional and renewable energy resources," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement.

"That means oil, gas and coal will continue to play an important role in our energy mix, as we develop and expand the use of wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable sources," he said.

The Associated Press reported today that while announcing the sales, Salazar lashed out at the oil industry:

Salazar said some industry trade groups were "behaving like an arm of a political party" — a clear reference to the GOP — with accusations that he said have all the poison of a political campaign.

"Trade groups need to understand that they do not own the nation's public lands. Taxpayers do," Salazar said.

Salazar was responding to a series of complaints in recent weeks from industry groups and Republicans in Congress that the Obama administration has sharply curtailed oil and gas leases on federal lands. A report last week by the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States said the new administration is scaring away drillers, who accuse officials of holding up leases after taking auction money from the companies.

The department has scheduled lease sales for Oregon on March 11, June 17, Sept. 9 and Dec. 6 of 2010.

"With rising gas prices, advances in technology, and the lack of previous development, there has been a dramatic interest in oil and gas leases in Oregon and Washington in the past few years," according to the Bureau of Land Management, which handles federal leases.

But even though there are more 500 federal oil and gas leases covering about 775,000 acres in Oregon and Washington, there is no active drilling or exploration in either state, according to the BLM.

In fact, the agency's two most recent sales in Oregon garnered no bids.