MIDLAND – The Board for Lease of University Lands awarded 101 oil and gas leases covering 39,547 acres and received total bonuses of more than $7.79 million in its 112th oil and gas lease sale on October 24.
The funds are deposited into the Permanent University Fund and invested for the benefit of the University of Texas System and the Texas A&M University System.
The high bid of $844,693.25 was offered by MexTex Operating Company on tract 127 in Reagan County, Texas. MexTex offered the high bid of $1,307 per acre for the tract. The average bid per acre on the leases awarded in the sale was $219.44. Approximately 38,539 acres were leased, bringing the total University Lands under lease to 1,463,166 acres.
“This has been an outstanding lease sale which has generated a noteworthy amount of money for the support of higher education in the state of Texas,” said Board for Lease member Dr. Judith L. Craven of Houston, who also is a member of the UT System Board of Regents. This was Dr. Craven’s last Board for Lease meeting. “It has been very rewarding to represent the University of Texas System on the Board for Lease of University Lands and to work with people of integrity who are devoted to the mission of the University System,” Dr. Craven said.
The top five bidders were Pioneer Natural Resources ($2,043,607), Arena Resources Inc. ($1,221,063), MexTex Operating Company ($1,089,215), Encore Operating LP ($714,520) and Steven W. Horn ($520,065).
The Board for Lease is composed of the Commissioner of the General Land Office and regents from the UT System and Texas A&M University System. Oil and gas bonuses and royalties earned from University Lands are deposited in the Permanent University Fund, a constitutionally-created endowment fund that benefits institutions in the two university systems.
The board is responsible for overseeing the oil and gas activities on 2.1 million acres of Permanent University Fund lands spread across 19 West Texas counties. This land was dedicated to the UT System by the state of Texas in the latter part of the 19th century. Over the years, these activities have directly generated more than $3.65 billion held as an endowment trust for The University of Texas System and Texas A&M University System.
Information about these sales may be obtained from the office of University Lands, P.O. Box 553, Midland, Texas 79702-0553, telephone (432) 684-4404, and fax (432) 682-7456. Additional information about University Lands, including oil and gas production and well data, is available online.
The UT System is one of the nation's largest higher education systems with 15 campuses – including nine academic and six health institutions – and an annual operating budget of $10 billion (FY 2007). Student enrollment exceeded 190,000 in the 2006 academic year. The UT System confers one-third of the state's undergraduate degrees and educates three-fourths of Texas health care professionals. With more than 76,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in Texas.
