Oil boom puts pressure on pipelines, rail transit hubs; no easing in sight

GREELEY – The oil and gas companies doing business in Northern Colorado are looking for more ways to ship crude oil in light of record production in the Niobrara formation.

Facing limited pipeline capacity, companies have increasingly turned to rail, a fast but more expensive method of shipping the crude oil extracted from the Denver-Julesburg Basin.

That’s why plans for a third so-called transload facility in Weld County are under way, said Bruce Biggi, economic development manager for the city of Greeley.

Also, pipeline giant Kinder Morgan is planning to convert a natural-gas pipeline that runs through the Denver-Julesburg to ship…