Niobrara Shale Colorado and Wyoming

The Niobrara Shale covers much of the Rocky Mountains Region and is present throughout Colorado. Current activity is focused in the Denver-Julesburg basin, north of Denver, Colorado, and into Wyoming, as well as the Powder River Basin in Wyoming.

Niobrara Shale Companies

Significant producers within the overall area of the Niobrara Shale are:

• Anadarko Petroleum
• Apache (Mariner Energy)
• Carrizo Oil & Gas
• Chesapeake Energy
• Continental Resources
• Delta Petroleum
• East Resources (Shell)
• Encana
• EOG Resources
• Gulfport Energy Corporation
• MDU Resources (Fidelity Exploration)
• Merit Energy
• Noble Energy
• PDC Energy (Petroleum Development Corporation)
• Quicksilver Resources
• Rex Energy
• Samson Oil & Gas
• Slawson
• SM Energy (St. Mary Land & Exploration)
• Sundance Energy
• Voyager Oil & Gas

Niobrara Shale Geology

The Niobrara formation was deposited across much of the Rocky Mountains Region during the Cretaceous period. The Niobrara Shale located between 7,000 and 11,000 feet below the surface and produces varying amounts of gas and oil depending on where the formation is located. In the Denver Julesburg and Powder River Basins, the formation is oil rich, while in the Greater Green River and Piceance basins it is prospective for gas.

Niobrara Shale Location

The most active counties in the Niobrara Shale are the following:

• Arapahoe County CO
• Morgan County CO
• Weld County CO
• Converse County WY
• Goshen County WY
• Laramie County WY
• Platte County WY

Other counties:

• Jackson County CO - North Park Basin
• Moffat County CO - Sand Wash Basin
• Rout County CO - Sand Wash Basin
• Rio Blanca County CO - Piceance Basin
• Garfield County CO - Piceance Basin
• Natrona County WY - Wind River Basin
• Fremont County WY - Wind River Basin
• Niobrara County WY
• Kimball County NB
• Banner County NB

Additional Reading

• Oil & Gas 101 – General information for mineral rights owners.