Utah Trust Lands revenues set record of $94 million

Soaring energy prices and a booming real estate market have meant a record-setting year for Utah Trust Lands revenues. Earnings for fiscal year 2005 reached nearly $94 million, according to the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration.

Trust Lands revenues have grown substantially over the past three years; the 2005 income represents a $44 million increase over the 2003 figures, and a $33 million increase over the next-highest amount ever recorded, according to the administration. Revenues from the leasing of parcels for possible oil and gas exploration provided 63 percent of the income in 2005.

A recent competitive sealed-bid auction for oil and gas and other mineral leases netted almost $2.9 million, with oil and gas accounting for more than 95 percent of the total. Of the 103 oil and gas parcels offered, 96 were leased. Successful bidders are required to pay annual rentals to the trust to hold the properties, plus royalties on the sale of any minerals produced.

Revenues from the Trust Lands provide Utah schoolchildren and other trust beneficiaries with interest and dividend earnings. The permanent school fund, which now stands at more than $568 million, has increased by almost $213 million in the past five years, most of it from the operations of the Trust Lands Administration.

The Trust Lands Administration is an independent state agency that manages 3.4 million acres of Utah trust lands, which were designated at statehood to provide financial support for the beneficiaries.