Niobrara activity is spreading out across the state of Colorado, with plans for a La Plata County well in the southwestern part of the state. In the metropolitan Denver area in Arapahoe County, ConocoPhillips completed a Niobrara producer and plans a second wildcat in nearby.

Axia Energy LLC completed a Niobrara horizontal exploratory test in northwestern Colorado that initially flowed 7.07 million cu. ft. of gas per day.

The Colorado Board of Land Commissioners lease sale drew high bids for 17 tracts covering a total of 7,228.88 acres, an average of $1,221.57 an acre. The most successful bidder at the sale in terms of money spent was Gulf Coast Oil Properties Inc. of Lafayette, La. It paid $3,136,000 for two tracts covering 800 acres in Arapahoe and Weld counties, an average of $3,920 an acre.

Chesapeake Operating had a significant producer in Converse County, Wyo.: #31-33-69-A-3H York Ranch Unit flowed 1,048 bbl. of 48.4-degree-gravity oil, 4.36 million cu. ft. of gas.

A Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners lease sale of 201 parcels had an average of $399.99 per acre covering 18 counties. Chesapeake Operating Inc. was the most successful bidder in terms of overall money spent purchasing 19 parcels. The sale’s top per-acre bid was made by Maurice W. Brown Inc. for Parcel #120, a 480-acre lease in Converse County.

1 Condor Energy Technology LLC - 08/12/13

Condor Energy Technology LLC has scheduled four horizontal Niobrara wildcats in Morgan County, Colo. The #4-1H Wickstrom is in Section 4-6n-60w and will be drilled northward to 10,463 ft. with an estimated true vertical depth of 6,154 ft. The #17-2H Wickstrom is in Section 17-6n-60w and will be drilled southward to 10,372 ft. and will bottom in Section 20-6n-60w. The true vertical depth is estimated at 5,885 ft. The #18-1H Wickstrom is in Section 18-6n-60w and will be drilled northward to 15,731 ft. at a bottomhole location in Section 6-6n-60w. True vertical depth is expected at 6,134 ft. The #18-2H Wickstrom is in Section 18-6n-60w, will be drilled southward to 14,706 ft. with a bottomhole in Section 19-6n-60w. True vertical depth is anticipated at 6,126 ft. The wildcats are within two miles of Plainsman Field, which has produced oil and gas from the lower Cretaceous D sand, and is about three miles southeast of Maverick Field, a Niobrara reservoir. Condor’s headquarters are in Houston.

2 Axia Energy LLC - 07/29/13

Axia Energy LLC has completed a Niobrara horizontal exploratory test in the Sand Wash Basin that initially flowed 7.07 million cu. ft. of gas per day, with no fluids. The #5-31H-790 Bulldog is in Section 5-7n-90w of Moffat County, Colo. Production is from a Niobrara interval at 12,116-17,457 ft. after 22-stage fracturing. Tested on a 22/64-in. choke, the casing pressure was 4,350 psi. The Niobrara lateral extends from 10,642 ft. south-southwestward to 17,645 ft. at a bottomhole in Section 8-7n-90w. True vertical depth at the well’s endpoint is 11,902 ft. The venture by the Denver-based company is on the southern flank of Craig North Field, which produces gas from Cretaceous Lewis. The closest production from Niobrara is about seven miles south in Buck Peak Field

3 Swift Energy Operating LLC - 07/25/13

Swift Energy Operating LLC has scheduled a horizontal Niobrara (Mancos) wildcat off the northwestern flank of the San Juan Basin in La Plata County, Colo. The #1H Waters 34-12-32 will be drilled in Section 32-34n-12w and will bottom in Section 31-34n-12w. It has a planned depth of 6,900 ft. and a true vertical depth of 2,400 ft. The lateral will be drilled in the Smoky Hill member of Niobrara. The venture offsets two gas discoveries in the Alkali Gulch Field area; a 1957 completion initially flowed 15.7 million cu. ft. of gas per day from Lower Paradox at 9,420-9,500 ft. The horizontal drillsite is approximately five miles west and northwest of the San Juan Basin’s Red Mesa Field, which produces from several horizons, including Dakota, Gallup, Graneros, Mesaverde, Menefee, Carlile and Mancos. Swift’s headquarters are in Houston.

4 Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. - 07/19/13

Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc., based in Houston, completed a horizontal Niobrara exploratory test in Weld County, Colo., that initially pumped 192 bbl. of 30-degree-gravity oil with 96,000 cu. ft. of gas and 1,248 bbl. of water per day. The #18-14-10-59 Jones is in Section 18-10n-59w and produces from a horizontal Niobrara lateral extending from 6,729 ft. northward to 10,430 ft. It was tested following 14-stage fracture stimulation between 6,875 and 10,292 ft. Further details are not yet available.

5 Bill Barrett Corp. - 07/10/13

Bill Barrett Corp. completed a horizontal Niobrara well in Weld County, Colo., that had a 30-day initial potential rate of 413 bbl. of oil equivalent per day. The #23-35H Dutch Lake is in Section 35-6n-62w of Weld County. Production is from an undisclosed horizontal Niobrara interval. The well was to be horizontally drilled eastward to a proposed depth of 10,614 ft. at a bottomhole location in the same section. Further details are not yet available. Bill Barrett is based in Denver.

6 ConocoPhillips - 06/19/13

IHS Inc. reported that ConocoPhillips has scheduled a 12,290-ft. horizontal Niobrara exploratory test just outside the company’s Lowry Range in the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Section 28-4s-64w in Arapahoe County, Colo. The #28-1H Tebo will be horizontally drilled eastward and the true vertical depth in Niobrara C zone is anticipated at about 7,700 ft. Completion is anticipated in a Niobrara C lateral at 8,089-12,290 ft. The Houston-based company completed #32-3H Tebo in 2012 as a horizontal Niobrara oil producer. January output averaged about 77 bbl. of oil, 184,709 cu. ft. of gas and 11 bbl. of water per day. ConocoPhillips has released no completion details. The Tebo wells are 1-3 miles generally southwest of Chalice Field, a J sand oil and gas reservoir.

7 Chesapeake Operating Inc. - 06/18/13

Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Operating Inc. has completed a horizontal exploratory test that flowed 1,048 bbl. of 48.4-degree-gravity oil, 4.36 million cu. ft. of gas and 1,315 bbl. of load water per day. According to IHS Inc., #31-33-69-A-3H York Ranch Unit is in Section 31-33n-69w of Converse County, Wyo., and is producing from a horizontal lateral in Niobrara extending north-north -westward to a 16,670 ft. at a bottomhole location in Section 30-33n-69w. The Power River Basin well was tested following an 18-stage fracture stimulation between 11,219 ft. and 16,530 ft. Tested on a 30/64-in. choke, the casing pressure was 2,450 psi.