A review of 2000-01 data from federal and state lease sales in the Rocky Mountain region indicates the market for acreage continues to be robust, says Mark Chase, a partner with Englewood, Colorado-based Premier Data Services. All parcels that carried bonus bids in the Bureau of Land Management federal lease sales and the Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming state lease sales were included in the database; over-the-counter sales with no bonuses were stripped out. The BLM leases all carry 10-year terms, and state terms are generally five years. Last year, nearly 5,000 parcels across the Rockies and New Mexico were issued and sold for $112.7 million, with an average price of $35.99 per acre. That was a 40% increase from 2000, in which 4,800 parcels were sold for $80.3 million, with an average price of $29.10 per acre. Additionally, the number of acres sold rose 13% year-to-year, from 2.7 million in 2000 to 3.1 million in 2001. The strength of the market is surprising, because commodity prices were lower in 2001 than in 2000. The total volume was high, and the price-per-acre continued to rise. Certain hot spots emerged: federal land sales in Colorado, primarily concentrated in the Western Slope's gas-rich Piceance Basin, jumped from $3.5 million in 2000 to $23.2 million in 2001; the average price per acre rose steeply as well, from $13.85 to $36.63. Wyoming activity was also quite brisk in 2001, with nearly 1 million acres being sold for a total of $33.9 million. The prior year, some 900,000 acres fetched $31.5 million. New Mexico was far and away the priciest state. In 2001, federal land sold for an average of $80.58 per acre; state land, $120.03 per acre. Notably, the New Mexico totals include the southeastern counties that are part of the Permian Basin, and that area has significant amounts of state and federal lands. The next most-expensive lands were in Colorado and Wyoming, where federal acreage sold for averages of $36.63 and $34.70 per acre, respectively. "There are still plenty of opportunities for companies to acquire leases in the Rocky Mountain region," says Chase. "And, with the number of acres expiring during the next few years, there is potential for similar volumes of leases to continue to be offered."

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