Gas Facts
Production Perspective

Natural gas is an environmentally superior fuel that is essentially neutral to the environment. Uses include generation of electricity, home heating, gas dryers, fireplaces, hot water heaters, kitchen ranges. The propane by-product of natural gas is used in rural homes, recreational vehicles and gas grills.

Because of the vast deposits of natural gas in the San Juan Basin, La Plata County is the undisputed leader in natural gas production within the state of Colorado. Our county ranks first in the state and Colorado ranks sixth in the nation for natural gas production. Gas and/or oil production occurs in over 65% of Colorado’s 64 counties.

In 2002, La Plata County had approximately 10% of the total active wells in Colorado, yet it was the number one producer of natural gas in the state. In 2002, the production value of natural gas and oil produced in La Plata County exceeded $841 million. At the end of 2002 there were 2,461producing wells in La Plata County. Of the total active wells in La Plata County, almost 95% are producing natural gas. Coalbed methane gas wells account for over half of all gas wells producing in La Plata County.

It is estimated that the San Juan Basin contains over 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. However, experts estimate that only 20-80% of that gas will be recovered depending upon technology and economics. Looking at the low end of recovery, 20 trillion cubic feet of natural gas could provide over 200 million households with heat, hot water and appliance gas for one year. With over 15,000 households in La Plata County, the natural gas resources in the San Juan Basin could supply a county of our size for well over 13,000 years!

Colorado has 23,995 active wellbores as of February 2003. Colorado oil and gas wells produce approximately 19.2 million barrels of oil, 840 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and 310 billion cubic feet of carbon dioxide per year. The annual value of Colorado oil and gas production is approximately $3 billion.