The US Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the federal government's oil and gas leasing program, did not provide a reason for the delay. Agency officials were not immediately available for comment.
The Trump administration has sheltered everyone but one of the oil and gas lease sales was scheduled for this month as the coronavirus epidemic crashed energy prices and left American drillers in crisis.
According to a government website on Wednesday, sales in Utah and Colorado have been officially postponed, adding to the recent delay in June auctions in Nevada and Mississippi.
The US Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the federal government's oil and gas leasing program, did not provide a reason for the delay. Agency officials were not immediately available for comment.
Drilling on federal lands to maximize domestic production of fossil fuels is an important part of President Donald Trump's "energy dominance" agenda.
The Bureau of Land Management in Colorado was expected to offer 15 parcels on 4,851 acres. Utah would have sold for four parcels on 4,376 acres.
The bureau closed lease sales last month when it abruptly postponed auctions in New Mexico. It went ahead with a series of auctions on public lands earlier this year as the novel coronavirus began to spread rapidly in the United States, causing a historic drop in oil prices.
The 135-leased bureau covering 169,750 acres in Wyoming is still to be sold on June 23 and 24.
.JPG)
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