The DJ/Niobrara Basin | October 2022
Field Overview
Located mainly in the Northeast of Colorado, the Denver-Julesburg Basin consists of five main oil-producing formations: Niobrara sections A-C, Codell, and Greenhorn. These five plays produce over 90% of Colorado’s oil/gas.
State Drilling Statistics
Active Drilling Rigs in Basin- 19 (
-1)
Total Rigs in Colorado- 21 (-1)
Total Rigs in United States- 776 (
+7)
Total U.S. Rigs 34% YTD
State Permitting Data
Permits Approved – 86
State Top Producers
Top Producer By BOE – Kerr McGee (Occidental)
Basin Highlights
The Camp Hale monument covers 53,804 acres in the mountains of Colorado. The Biden administration recently made it a national monument which blocks it from being used for oil, gas, and mining operations. Parts of the monument acreage would have otherwise been protected by the CORE act, although it has been losing support as of late and some thought that certain areas may have soon been accessible to extraction operations. The main reason the CORE act is struggling to become law is because republican representatives disagree with it. During Biden’s visit to Colorado to commemorate the monument he gave his support for the CORE act as well.
Colorado oil and gas regulators approve new wells in Weld County over Broomfield’s objections
Recent changes in Colorado regulations for oil and gas producers has made it difficult for them to drill additional wells. New regulations prohibit the drilling of wells within a certain distance of sensitive areas such as housing communities, hospitals, schools, etc. Despite protests by nearby communities, regulators have approved the drilling of 19 new wells to be drilled by Crestone Peak Resources in Broomfield. Although the city presented data to the courts showing signs of increased health risk to those living in close proximity to well pads, Crestone also presented their own findings on health risks caused by air pollutants which showed minimal health effects to nearby communities.
It’s not too often you hear of the good oil and gas companies do for the environment. The extraction industry is going strong in Colorado, and while that means lots of money for oil companies it also means more money for the state government. Lately, some of that money has been funneled into the Land and Water Conservation Fund which recently aided a non-profit nature conservation group in the purchase of the Medano-Zapata Ranch. The ranch is located adjacent to Great Sand Dunes National Park and will soon be absorbed into the park to expand its footprint by 9,350 acres. “The lands being transferred to the Park contain important springs and wetlands that support a rich diversity of life,” said Great Sand Dunes National Park Superintendent Pamela Rice.
Top CO Permitting By Operator
| Rank | Company | Permits Approved |
| 1 | Simcoe LLC | 21 |
| 2 | Confluence Resources | 20 |
| 3 | Enerplus Corporation | 14 |
Top Producers by BOE
| Change | Rank | Company | MMBOE Production (Jan-Sept/22) |
| +1 | 1 | Kerr McGee (Occidental) | 48.9 |
| +1 | 2 | PDC Energy | 42.2 |
| -2 | 3 | Kinder Morgan | 38.5 |
| – | 4 | Noble Energy (Chevron) | 35.2 |
| – | 5 | TEP Rocky Mountain | 28.9 |
Rig Count
Colorado Production
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