Mineral rights
in Colorado.

Colorado's oil and gas industry is unusually concentrated. While the state has multiple basins with hydrocarbon resource, the overwhelming majority of current activity happens in one place: the Denver Julesburg Basin, centered on Weld County along the Front Range.

Within the DJ, the Wattenberg Field is the dominant producing area, where horizontal wells target the Niobrara and Codell formations at roughly 7,000 to 8,500 feet below the surface. The basin has been producing since the 1970s, with modern horizontal development transforming output over the past fifteen years.

If you inherited Colorado mineral rights, there is a very high chance they are in or near the DJ. Other basins in the state exist but see far less activity, and mineral ownership in those areas looks different in ways we can help you understand.

Colorado has three basins with meaningful hydrocarbon activity, though they could not be more different in maturity, economics, and outlook.

A handful of Colorado counties account for nearly all active oil and gas operations. If your mineral rights are in one of these, we almost certainly have useful context. If they are in a less-active county, we can still help you understand what you own.

A handful of operators dominate Colorado drilling, with the list consolidated significantly over the past five years through mergers and acquisitions. If you receive royalty checks or lease offers in Colorado, they almost certainly come from one of these companies.

Colorado has one of the most involved oil and gas regulatory frameworks in the country, shaped heavily by legislation passed in 2019 and subsequent rulemaking. For mineral owners, this affects everything from lease terms to pooling procedures to how quickly a well can move from permit to production.