Garfield County leads in drilling permits

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approved 4,363 drilling permits in 2005 - an all-time high for the state and a 50 percent increase from the previous year.

There were 28,944 active wells in Colorado at the end of 2005. That number is expected to increase to 31,000 wells producing by the end of 2006.

The biggest surge in drilling permits came out of Garfield County, home to the lucrative Piceance Basin in western Colorado.

In 2005, the commission approved 1,508 permits to drill in Garfield County, or about 34 percent of all permits issued in Colorado. The number of permits for 2005 reflects a doubling in activity from the previous year.

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