Thank you, for showing that auctions do not always take place near the land in question.
The auction took place in Reno (which is a short drive from the state Capital of Carson City). The excerpt specifically mentioned that the land they were interested in drilling was located near Wells, NV. Again, Wells, NV is more than 350 miles from Bundy's land.
It is apparent to me that there are people who are trying to pin the Bundy Ranch situation on oil companies, and they have yet to produce any evidence that is the case.
Nor have they produced any evidence that there is anything in the area the oil companies would be interested in, considering the wells drilled in Clark County were not exactly barnburners. There are better prospects out there. Not necessarily so with the Solar industry, though, who have relocated tortise already to build one facility. Funny how this crap about fracking steers attention from Harry Reid & son's landholdings and Chinese Solar deals, too.