Colorado Energy

Colorado's oil and gas industry is having a tremendous economic impact on Colorado and the country as a whole. 

The industry supports 232,000 jobs, $23 billion in wages, and has an economic impacts of more than $31 billion (2015).  And for reference, the industry generated $1.6 billion in revenue to the state and $200 million to Colorado schools from oil and gas property taxes (2012). 

Colorado is richly endowed with both conventional and renewable energy resources and is truly an "all of the above" state.  Its diverse geography and geology includes headwaters of major rivers, winds that have created new wealth on the open plains, and substantial deposits of oil, natural gas, and coal.

Colorado ranks among the top 10 states nationally for oil and natural gas production. Between 2004 to 2014, crude oil production in the state quadrupled and natural gas production rose 51 percent.  Neither would have been possible without safe hydraulic fracturing and modern horizontal drilling. 

Colorado accounts for almost 4% of U.S. total crude oil production, holds about 4% of the nation’s proved crude oil reserves, has the sixth largest natural gas reserves and 11 of the nation's 100 biggest natural gas fields.

The state is a national leader in not only producing oil and natural gas but in protecting the environment.  According to Colorado Petroleum Council Executive Director Tracee Bentley, the state's "legacy of environmental stewardship is based on a transparent, collaborative process in which operators, state regulators and local officials work together to develop regulations based on Colorado’s specific geology."


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