Marion Energy Inc. of McKinney, Texas, paid the highest amount per acre among all 43 bidders at the auction.

"We may have paid the highest price [per acre], but it was a relatively small parcel, only 280 acres," said Marion Energy Chief Executive Jeff Clarke, who noted the property is about 10 miles north of Price.

The company wanted the acre to "pad" its drilling rights in the area, Clarke explained. "We've been actively drilling three or four miles south of there, where we have eight wells. Eventually we'll drill the acreage [that was just acquired] as we move north with our development."

In total, the BLM auctioned drilling rights to 226,471 acres of federal land for $8.3 million, with half the money going to Utah's state coffers. Much of the land offered by the BLM is in central Utah, where the successful drilling of a wildcat well last year near the town of Sigurd has intensified interest in exploring the Sevier County area.

Bids during this week's auction ranged from $2 to $475 per acre. But the average amount bid was only $35, which represented a significant decline from the $136 average bid during the BLM's auction in May.

Prior to the BLM auction this week, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance protested the proposed inclusion of 33 parcels representing 41,000 acres, said Stephen Bloch, staff lawyer for the alliance.

Bloch said the alliance told the BLM that including 11 of those parcels could run afoul of an Aug. 2 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Dale Kimball. In that ruling the judge reversed the leasing of a number of parcels from three years ago after determining the BLM had erred by offering the wilderness-quality land for drilling.

In response, the BLM deferred leasing the 11 parcels, along with five others, Bloch said. Still, he pointed out that the BLM ended up selling drilling rights to 18 parcels the alliance did not think should have been included.

"We still have protests filed on the rest of the leases that we are concerned about, but it will be awhile before the BLM gets around to making a decision," Bloch said, adding that should the BLM agree, it will have to return the money it received for the protested leases.

BLM spokeswoman Kelleigh Cole said that 226,471 of the 316,231 acres offered in the sale were leased. The remaining parcels that received no bills will be offered on a noncompetitive basis for $1.50 per acre over the next two years.

"Even though someone acquires a lease from us, it doesn't mean they can go right out and begin drilling," Cole said. "There still are other permits that have to be secured before they can begin."

steve@sltrib.com