Responsibly developing a Colorado energy resource in Routt and Moffat Counties.
The Welba Peak Project is an oil and natural gas development in northwest Colorado, located within the Welba Peak Federal Exploration Unit — approximately 63,000 acres across northern Moffat and Routt Counties. The project is operated by Welba Peak Operating LLC under permits issued by the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Surface use is expected to total approximately 250 acres — less than one-half of one percent of the unit area.
More than 250 years of combined experience across land management, geology, engineering, pipeline, and marketing — with operations in five states.
All activity is conducted under federal and state permits, including ECMC drilling and pipeline authorizations.
The Welba Peak Project is located approximately ten miles south of the Colorado–Wyoming state line, spanning portions of northern Moffat County and northwestern Routt County. The project sits within the Welba Peak Federal Exploration Unit — a 63,000-acre federal unit composed of 79% federal, 20% fee (private), and 1% State of Colorado mineral estate. Development activity is concentrated on approximately 250 acres of surface — less than half of one percent of the unit area.
The project produces oil and natural gas from the Niobrara formation using horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking — the two technologies behind most modern U.S. oil and gas development.
Horizontal wells reach targets from a single surface pad and extend a mile or more underground, concentrating activity on a small number of pads rather than many scattered sites.
Exploration, geological study, and acreage assembly.
Initial discovery wells.
Federal unit established; infrastructure built; federal and state permitting completed.
Two development wells planned.
Four additional development wells anticipated.
The 63,000-acre federal unit lets the project develop the full resource with fewer, longer wells. Pipeline and access infrastructure is coordinated across the unit rather than duplicated site by site.
At full development, surface use is expected to total approximately 250 acres — less than half of one percent of the unit area.
Operations are conducted under the authority of the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and other applicable federal, state, and county regulators. These frameworks govern siting, construction, emissions, water use, reclamation, and closure.
The project does not flare produced gas. All produced gas is gathered and transported by pipeline.
The Welba Peak Group has contributed to the formation of conservation easements aligned with the project's development plan, supporting work by area ranchers, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and Colorado Open Lands.
The project is built on long-term relationships with ranching families and mineral owners in the Slater Creek and Little Snake River valleys. Several multi-generational Colorado families have leased minerals, granted access, or joined the federal unit. Planning is coordinated with landowners at every stage.
Federal revenue sharing returns a portion of the project's gross revenue to the State of Colorado and to the counties where production occurs. Those revenues support the essential services local governments provide — schools, roads, emergency services, and general operations.
Development and operations rely on Colorado contractors, vendors, and workforce where practical. The operator's presence in northwest Colorado is a long-term commitment.
The operator's presence in northwest Colorado is a long-term commitment — not a short-term project engagement.
Welba Peak Operating LLCThe Welba Peak Project is owned and developed by Welba Peak LLC, which holds the leases, rights-of-way, wells, pipelines, and facilities. Welba Peak Operating LLC is responsible for day-to-day operations.
The Welba Peak Group comprises five experienced oil and gas companies and has been active in northwest Colorado for more than twenty years. With over 250 years of combined land management, geology, engineering, pipeline, and marketing experience, the owners of Welba Peak Operating have a proven track record of benefiting the communities where they operate — with experience in Ohio, Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, and West Virginia.