Niobrara Shale Oil & Gas Production
The Niobrara Shale produces about 0.65 million barrels of crude oil a day (2025). Centered on the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado and Wyoming, the Niobrara is one of the smaller major US shale plays, and the only one significantly constrained by residential setback rules given how close some of it sits to the Denver metro area.
Key Figures
| Measure | Value | As of / source |
|---|---|---|
| Crude oil output (#4 of tracked US basins) | 0.65 Mb/d | 2025 · EIA DPR |
| Active rigs (DJ-Niobrara) | 10 (unchanged wk) | 2026-10-09 · Baker Hughes · 2% of US rigs |
| Formation | Niobrara formation within the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin | EIA |
| States | Colorado (most activity) and Wyoming | EIA |
| Distinguishing constraint | Colorado's statewide setback rules limit how close wells can sit to homes and schools, unlike most other basin states | Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission |
Every major US shale basin compared side by side, plus the breakeven-vs-WTI chart, decline curves and water use: how fracking works.
A Basin Shaped by Its Neighbors
Setback rules
- Colorado has adopted some of the strictest well-setback and permitting rules of any major US oil state, a direct response to development sitting close to the fast-growing Denver metro area.
- That has slowed the pace of new Niobrara drilling relative to basins in more rural or oil-friendly states, even where the underlying rock is comparable.
Scale versus the majors
- The Niobrara produces a fraction of Permian or Bakken output, but is still large enough to be one of the six basins the EIA tracks separately in its Drilling Productivity Report.
- Wyoming's share of the play operates under looser state rules than Colorado's.
Major Producers in the Niobrara Shale
| Company | Type | Ownership | Ticker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chevron | Integrated major | Publicly traded; no controlling shareholder. | CVX |
| Occidental | Independent producer (public) | Publicly traded; Berkshire Hathaway is the largest shareholder, holding more than a quarter of the common stock (mid-2026 filing). | OXY |
| SM Energy | Independent producer (public) | Publicly traded. | SM |
Companies with a material producing position in this basin, from the oil company directory (hand-curated from company filings; positions change with deals, so check the latest filing before relying on it). It is not a production ranking.
Niobrara Shale FAQ
How many rigs are drilling in the Niobrara Shale?
Baker Hughes counted 10 active rigs in Niobrara Shale (DJ-Niobrara) in the week of Oct 9, unchanged week on week and 2% of the 603 active US rigs.
Who are the biggest operators in the Niobrara Shale?
Companies in this site's directory with material producing positions in the Niobrara Shale include Chevron, Occidental, SM Energy (some hold non-operated interests). Ownership and the other basins each one works are in the producer table above and in the oil company directory.
How much oil does the Niobrara Shale produce?
The Niobrara Shale produced about 0.65 million barrels of crude oil a day in 2025, ranking #4 among the major US shale basins tracked here (EIA DPR). Denver-Julesburg Basin; constrained by front-range setback rules.
Why is Niobrara / DJ Basin development different from other shale plays?
Because a large share of the play sits close to the Denver metro area, Colorado has imposed statewide well-setback distances and stricter permitting than most other oil-producing states apply to shale development. That has constrained the pace of new drilling relative to the size of the resource.