Colorado oil acreage changes hands

A swap of acreage in the Wattenberg oil reserve in Colorado will lead to greater production efficiency, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Noble Energy said. Anadarko and Noble announced they'd each exchange approximately 50,000 net acres. Anadarko, which has headquarters in Texas, said the exchange would increase its daily production in Colorado by 8,000 barrels of oil equivalent. "This Wattenberg trade unlocks significant additional value for both Anadarko and Noble Energy by consolidating operated acreage positions, which enables more efficient development planning and infrastructure utilization," Chuck Meloy, Anadarko's vice president in charge of onshore operations, said in a statement Monday. Noble said it was reimbursed $202 million for drilling costs associated with the acreage. The company said it is losing the 8,000 barrels of oil equivalent, but expects to offset the loss with "operational efficiencies and cost savings." Noble said production elsewhere in Colorado's Denver-Julesburg basin is expected to increase at least 20 percent next year. 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. Parts of the Denver-Julesburg basin were shutdown in response to massive September floods.