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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Issues surrounding continuation of the noncompetitive oil and gas lottery system

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5632767

The Bureau of Land Management is responsible for the leasing of oil and gas mineral rights on over 300 million acres of public lands. Under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, lands with known oil and gas deposits are leased competitively. However, much more federal land is leased through a noncompetitive lottery system, which generates substantial receipts for the federal Treasury - about $250 million in filing fees for the 5-year period 1980-1984. The lottery system has been criticized since its 1959 inception for encouraging fraud, misleading the public, and generating insufficient revenues. On October 12, 1983, the program was suspended for 10 months because of recognized weaknesses in the system. This report highlights major issues surrounding the lottery program.

Research Organization:
General Accounting Office, Washington, DC (USA). Resources, Community and Economic Development Div.
OSTI ID:
5632767
Report Number(s):
GAO/RCED-85-88; ON: TI85901570
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English