Jobs and Economy

Colorado has rich oil and natural gas resources which yield thousands of jobs and billions in revenue for Rocky Mountain residents and the federal treasury.

The oil and natural gas industry in Colorado supports more than 232,000 jobs and $23 billion in wages in Colorado.  In 2012, the industry provided $1.6 billion in revenue to the state, and school districts in Colorado received nearly $202 million from oil and gas production property taxes.  

Colorado's crude oil production has tripled since 2010, and natural gas production has more than doubled since 2001.  The state's vast fossil fuel resources include the Niobrara Shale, with resource estimates running as high as 2 billion barrels of oil. 

Colorado produces 4 of every 100 barrels of US crude oil (2015), and 90% of that came from Weld County area.  The "Wattenberg" field, mostly located in Weld County, is the fourth largest US oil field ranked by proven reserves. 

Colorado has the sixth largest natural gas reserves in the United States, and it is among the top five major natural gas-producing states in the nation.

See amount of Severance Direct Distributions for CO (pick a year).   

This is a major economic driver for Colorado jobs and revenue, but also provides a stable, reliable source of energy for Colorado residents.  Nearly 75 percent of residential homes use natural gas as their primary energy source for home heating.

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