DENVER — Colorado's flooding shut down hundreds of natural gas and oil wells in the state's main petroleum-producing region, triggering at least two spills, sending inspectors into the field to gauge the extent of pollution, and temporarily suspending a multibillion-dollar drilling frenzy.
Besides the possible environmental impact, flood damage to roads, railroads, and other infrastructure will affect the region's energy production for months. And analysts warn that images of flooded wellheads from the booming Wattenberg field will increase public pressure to impose restrictions on drilling techniques such as fracking.
"There's been massive amounts of growth in the last two years, and it's certainly expected to continue,'' Caitlyn McCrimmon, a senior associate for consultant ITG Investment Research, said of drilling in Colorado. ''The only real impediment to growth in this area would be if this gives enough ammunition to environmentalists to rally support for fracking bans, which they had started working on before this.''
Spills were reported by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. — 323 barrels along the St. Vrain River near Platteville, and 125 barrels into the South Platte River near Milliken. The St. Vrain feeds into the South Platte, which flows into Nebraska.
In both cases, the oil apparently was swept away by floodwaters. Both releases involved condensate, a mixture of oil and water, said Environmental Protection Agency spokesman Matthew Allen.
Colorado produced 135,000 barrels of oil a day in 2012, about 2 percent of total US production. Colorado's natural gas production topped 1.6 trillion cubic feet in 2011, according to the Energy Information Administration. That's about 6 percent of the nation's total.