HOUSTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Noble Energy Chief Executive Officer Charles Davidson said the bulk of his company's spending next year will target the Denver-Julesburg basin in Colorado.
"For the third consecutive year, production is projected to grow at strong double-digit rates," he said in a statement Tuesday. "We continue to accelerate development in the Denver-Julesburg basin, which will receive the greatest portion of our capital program, as well as the drilling program in the ... Marcellus shale."
The Marcellus shale is spread over parts of Pennsylvania and surrounding states.
Noble, which has headquarters in Houston, said $2 billion of its $3.2 billion designated for developments in the United States will target the Colorado reserve area. About $1.1 billion will target the Marcellus formation. Combined, the company said it plans to drill more than 450 wells in the shale areas next year.
Noble in October said production from the Denver-Julesburg basin averaged 97,000 barrels of oil equivalent during the third quarter, a 9 percent increase from the previous quarter.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration stated Tuesday the Marcellus shale formation helped establish Pennsylvania as a national leader in terms of marketed natural gas.
