Nevada State Office issued a sales notice for an oil and gas lease sale offering 4 parcels totaling 4,720 acres in the Ely District.

Nevada holds an oil and gas lease sale four times per year, as required by the Mineral Leasing Act, when eligible lands are available for leasing. Last week the state issued an assessment and sale notice for a competitive oil and gas lease sale in the third quarter, offering 4 parcels totaling 4,720 acres in the Ely District. Figure 1 shows Nevada assets and the proposed parcels available for lease using TGS Well Data Analytics application.

TGS Well Data Analytics shows that the first commercial oil producer in Nevada was drilled and completed by Shell Oil Co. in 1954 in Eagle Springs Field Railroad Valley, Nye County. The second discovery that resulted in commercial oil production in Nevada drilled in 1976 in Trap Spring Field, five miles west of the Eagle Springs Field with an average production of 6,700 barrels of oil per well per month (Figure 2). Nevada’s third discovery well was in Currant Field and forth was Bacon Field in 1981. The only oil production outside of Railroad Valley was discovered in 1982 by Amoco Production Co. in Pine Valley, Eureka County, about 120 miles north of the nearest production in Railroad Valley. 

Discovered in 1983, the most prolific oil field in Nevada, Grant Canyon No. 3 well, was one of the most productive onshore oil well in the United States, flowing up to 4,400 barrels of oil per day (Figure 3).

Drilling activity in 1986 was limited because of unstable and low oil prices, but operators continue to permit wells in Nevada. Between 1953-1999, Nevada produced over 46,000,000 barrels of oil, of which, over 20,000,000 barrels have been produced from the Grant Canyon Field and almost 13,000,000 barrels have been produced from the Trap Spring Field.

Nevada continues to be considered a frontier state for oil exploration, with only 15 small oil fields. Tough drilling, market conditions, and flare stacking regulations have discouraged some operators in the past. However, this opportunity brings hope to encourage operators to increase drilling programs and open a part of Nevada’s economy that has been dormant.


For more information on Well Data Analytics or to schedule a demo, contact us at WDPSales@tgs.com.


(Figure 1) TGS Well Data Analytics application showing Nevada assets and the proposed parcels available for lease.


(Figure 2) TGS Well Data Analytics application, Trap Spring Field wells production plot


(Figure 3) TGS Well Data Analytics application, Grant Canyon No. 3 well production plot