Carlsbad Current Argus (Oct. 22, 2026) – Almost 80% of the oil pumped on U.S. public land comes from southeast New Mexico.

Together, Eddy and Lea counties generated 1.3 million barrels of oil per day on federal public land, 78% of the nation’s total output from the lands, according to national oil and gas trade group the American Petroleum Institute.

Notably, the federal government in May sold $4 billion in leases on public land to the oil and gas industry in the Carlsbad area.

Operations and quarterly lease sales are managed by the Bureau of Land Management and its Carlsbad Field Office, which oversees lands in Eddy and Lea counties.

For all its lease sales, the bureau provides half the revenue to the host state, meaning the state of New Mexico received $2 billion from the May sale.

Matt Warren, National Oil and Gas Program Lead at the bureau, said fossil fuel operations on the New Mexico side of the Permian Basin led the nation’s energy development.

His comments came during the Carlsbad Mayor’s Energy Summit held Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Walter Gerrells Performing Arts Center.

Full Story: Southeast New Mexico’s Role in Oil and Gas Touted at Energy Summit