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 oil. The company expects the pipeline to begin service in 2014, "subject to customer commitments and required approvals."

These plans come as companies operating in Weld County report record-breaking production levels.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp., one of the larger of the dozens of companies drilling in the Niobrara, recently reported that it delivered a record 301,000 barrels of liquids per day.

The city of Greeley is working with a "couple prospects" to develop the additional transload facility on city-owned property, Biggi said.