Colorado floods hit Noble's energy production

HOUSTON, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Noble Energy Inc. said its overall oil and natural gas production in Colorado was affected by September flooding though 4 percent of its wells remain closed.

Heavy rains soaked parts of Colorado last month, inundating parts of the state. Environmental advocacy groups sounded the alarm because of the intensity of oil and gas operations in the state.

Noble Energy, which has headquarters in Houston, said Monday it lost about 2,000 barrels of oil equivalent in production in September because of flooding.

"The storms impacting northern Colorado had significant impacts to local communities and our operations in the area," Gary Willingham, a vice president for onshore development, said in a statement. "These impacts to our business are short-term in nature and we look forward to the continued substantial growth and long-term value creation in this core business."

Colorado oil and natural gas production accounts for a fraction of total U.S. production, though the Energy Department said there may be "enormous deposits" locked in shale.

Noble said it was working to return closed wells to service. It said 4 percent of its wells remained offline in the state.