News
Opinion
There's gold on them there plains.
It appears Weld County is on the cusp of an energy boom, the likes of which we haven't seen in years, even decades.
Oil and gas companies are rushing to tap into the Niobrara shale formations, which lie about 7,000 feet underground in much of northern Weld County and southern Wyoming.
So far, the news has been good. Nobel Energy Inc. has purchased property for its field office at HighPoint Business Park in west Greeley. The company plans to build a 66,500-square-foot field office and employ about 300 executive and field-worker positions.
Other energy companies, such as Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Halliburton, are also ramping up drilling and pumping in the area.
The additional activity is good news, especially for governmental entities that benefit from severance and property taxes, such as Weld government and area school districts.
But some individual landowners, especially those who hold mineral rights to their property, also stand to benefit financially.
Take for instance Chuck Banks, whose family owns 160 acres in the former Dearfield community east of Greeley. The Banks family not only held onto the land, but also holds the mineral rights. They are currently in negotiations to lease the land for oil development and stand to make thousands off of what now is fairly unproductive land.
But just like the gold rushes of the 1800s were both a blessing and a curse, economically and environmentally, we hope all the businesses and public officials involved in the search for oil are careful and cautious. We know there could be negative impacts for surface owners, and we hope officials make sure those are minimized by good mitigation.
As political unrest in the Middle East continues to threaten the foreign export of oil, it is more important now than ever before that the United States do all it can to lessen its dependence on outside oil reserves.
We believe a combination of producing more domestic fossil fuels, while continuing to expand alternative energies such as wind and solar, is the best plan right now.
Weld is in a great position to benefit from both traditional and alternative energy production.
We hope the wave lasts for foreseeable future, and we all can enjoy the ride.
It appears Weld County is on the cusp of an energy boom, the likes of which we haven't seen in years, even decades.
Oil and gas companies are rushing to tap into the Niobrara shale formations, which lie about 7,000 feet underground in much of northern Weld County and southern Wyoming.
So far, the news has been good. Nobel Energy Inc. has purchased property for its field office at HighPoint Business Park in west Greeley. The company plans to build a 66,500-square-foot field office and employ about 300 executive and field-worker positions.
Other energy companies, such as Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Halliburton, are also ramping up drilling and pumping in the area.
The additional activity is good news, especially for governmental entities that benefit from severance and property taxes, such as Weld government and area school districts.
But some individual landowners, especially those who hold mineral rights to their property, also stand to benefit financially.
Take for instance Chuck Banks, whose family owns 160 acres in the former Dearfield community east of Greeley. The Banks family not only held onto the land, but also holds the mineral rights. They are currently in negotiations to lease the land for oil development and stand to make thousands off of what now is fairly unproductive land.
But just like the gold rushes of the 1800s were both a blessing and a curse, economically and environmentally, we hope all the businesses and public officials involved in the search for oil are careful and cautious. We know there could be negative impacts for surface owners, and we hope officials make sure those are minimized by good mitigation.
As political unrest in the Middle East continues to threaten the foreign export of oil, it is more important now than ever before that the United States do all it can to lessen its dependence on outside oil reserves.
We believe a combination of producing more domestic fossil fuels, while continuing to expand alternative energies such as wind and solar, is the best plan right now.
Weld is in a great position to benefit from both traditional and alternative energy production.
We hope the wave lasts for foreseeable future, and we all can enjoy the ride.
