State tops one million acres in oil, gas, mineral leasesPIERRE – Though consumers at the gas pump cringe as the price of crude oil rises, officials of at least one state agency see it as a major boost to South Dakota education. At its spring lease auction held Wednesday, April 2 at the State Capitol, the Office of School and Public Lands surpassed the one- million-acre mark in property leased for oil, gas and mineral exploration. The office expects revenue from rental and production of oil, gas and minerals on state trust lands to total more than $4 million for this fiscal year alone. “To put it into perspective,” said Minerals Division Agent Mary Jo Joens, “in 2000, School and Public Lands had just 110,000 acres in oil, gas, and mineral leases. To see a nearly tenfold increase in just eight years is impressive.”At Wednesday’s auction, new oil and gas leases were issued for 19,443 acres in Butte, Fall River, and Harding counties.
“People don’t generally think of South Dakota as a big oil and gas producer,” said Commissioner Jarrod Johnson, “but whenever the international price of oil sees a big jump, it becomes more economical for companies to go after the oil, gas, and mineral reserves located mainly in the northwestern corner of the state.” A full listing of the results of the spring mineral lease auctions and a schedule of 2008 auction dates are available online at the School & Public Lands website at www.sdpubliclands.com
