The Northern Colorado oil rush is on, and there are signs it could spill over into Larimer County.
A year ago, EOG Resources drilled an exploratory oil well near Grover in northern Weld County, tapping into a geological formation known as the Niobrara shale. The well was a gusher, producing 1,700 barrels of oil in a single day, and Weld County commissioners hailed the oil find as a possible sign the largely sleepy northern expanse of the county near the Wyoming line could turn into the state's next major oil field. Since then, the oil and gas industry has been keenly focused on exploring the Niobrara, which extends into the Wattenberg Field to the south and far into Wyoming to the north.
The rush to the Niobrara focuses on the 17,000-well Wattenberg Field north of Denver. But with the Grover-area well as ground zero for new exploration, oil and gas companies have their eyes set on exploring a vast expanse of Northern Colorado land roughly bounded by Interstate 25 on the west, Sterling and Peetz on the east, Colorado Highway 14 on the south and the Wyoming border on the north. "The Niobrara is an oil-rich natural gas resource, and the economics look very promising," said Tisha Conoly Schuller, president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. "It's too early to tell the future of this play, but there is significant national interest in its development."
New drilling technology is allowing energy companies to explore for oil in geological formations previously thought inaccessible - drilling techniques that have recently opened up oil boom zones near Dallas and in North Dakota, said Thom Kerr, permit and technical services manager for the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The oil rush to the Niobrara in northern Weld County has generated so much excitement in the energy industry that 112 drilling permits have been issued for the region so far this year, he said. Commission data show another 43 drilling permits are pending, many of which are west of Grover, between the Larimer County line and the Pawnee National Grasslands’ western unit.
So far this year, no drilling permits for the Niobrara have been issued in Larimer County north of the Wattenberg Field, but one permit is pending for Prospect Energy to drill for oil a few miles north of Fort Collins. The well is south of County Road 54 between Richards Lake and Hearthfire Way, according to company’s drilling permit application. “We’re proposing to re-enter an old well bore,” said Robert Vincent, vice president of operations for Prospect Energy, a subsidiary of Black Diamond Minerals. The potential for a lucrative oil find is there, he said. “We don’t know what the magnitude of that potential is,” he said. “That’s why we’re going into this well bore and testing it."
BY BOBBY MAGILL • BobbyMagill@coloradoan.com • October 6, 2010
A year ago, EOG Resources drilled an exploratory oil well near Grover in northern Weld County, tapping into a geological formation known as the Niobrara shale. The well was a gusher, producing 1,700 barrels of oil in a single day, and Weld County commissioners hailed the oil find as a possible sign the largely sleepy northern expanse of the county near the Wyoming line could turn into the state's next major oil field. Since then, the oil and gas industry has been keenly focused on exploring the Niobrara, which extends into the Wattenberg Field to the south and far into Wyoming to the north.
The rush to the Niobrara focuses on the 17,000-well Wattenberg Field north of Denver. But with the Grover-area well as ground zero for new exploration, oil and gas companies have their eyes set on exploring a vast expanse of Northern Colorado land roughly bounded by Interstate 25 on the west, Sterling and Peetz on the east, Colorado Highway 14 on the south and the Wyoming border on the north. "The Niobrara is an oil-rich natural gas resource, and the economics look very promising," said Tisha Conoly Schuller, president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. "It's too early to tell the future of this play, but there is significant national interest in its development."
New drilling technology is allowing energy companies to explore for oil in geological formations previously thought inaccessible - drilling techniques that have recently opened up oil boom zones near Dallas and in North Dakota, said Thom Kerr, permit and technical services manager for the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The oil rush to the Niobrara in northern Weld County has generated so much excitement in the energy industry that 112 drilling permits have been issued for the region so far this year, he said. Commission data show another 43 drilling permits are pending, many of which are west of Grover, between the Larimer County line and the Pawnee National Grasslands’ western unit.
So far this year, no drilling permits for the Niobrara have been issued in Larimer County north of the Wattenberg Field, but one permit is pending for Prospect Energy to drill for oil a few miles north of Fort Collins. The well is south of County Road 54 between Richards Lake and Hearthfire Way, according to company’s drilling permit application. “We’re proposing to re-enter an old well bore,” said Robert Vincent, vice president of operations for Prospect Energy, a subsidiary of Black Diamond Minerals. The potential for a lucrative oil find is there, he said. “We don’t know what the magnitude of that potential is,” he said. “That’s why we’re going into this well bore and testing it."
BY BOBBY MAGILL • BobbyMagill@coloradoan.com • October 6, 2010