The top 10 states where federal land was leased for oil exploration

The push to expand oil and gas exploration on federal land has gained momentum under the Trump administration.

Many environmental groups, as well as some state and local governments, often supported former president Barack Obama's more cautious approach to that issue.

However, oil and gas companies often disagreed with that regulation and protection of federal land.

Since 2017, president Donald Trump's administration has offered more opportunities for those oil and gas companies to bid on and lease federal land. In turn, those oil and gas companies obtained permits to drill on those lands.

From Oct. 1, 2016 until Sept. 30, 2017 oil and gas companies purchased a combined total of 1,114,213 new acres of federal land from the Bureau of Land Management (which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior).

By the end of the 2017 fiscal year, oil and gas companies obtained 902 new leases at a combined cost of $348,852,506, according to the organization's website.

These are the ten states that leased the most new federal land to oil and gas companies from Oct. 1, 2016 until Sept. 30, 2017.

• Wyoming: 446,259
• Wisconsin: 263,219
• West Virginia: 198,990
• Washington: 114,970
• Virginia: 35,935
• Vermont: 30,952
• Utah: 13,876
• Texas: 4,939
• Tennessee: 2,208
• South Dakota: 1,786

The Interior Department last year set an all-time record for oil and gas lease sales on federal lands, generating more than $1.1 billion, almost triple the previous record from 2008.

Source: Chron