The oil and natural-gas business is expected to see even more growth in Northern Colorado in 2013 as key producers ramp up their investments in the Denver-Julesburg Basin.

Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp., for one, will invest more than $1 billion in Northern Colorado, and the company expects increased production next year, spokeswoman Robin Olsen said.

"That's exciting news for the communities where we operate, especially Weld County," Olsen said. "It means continued investment growth, strong employment and obviously the economic activity and tax revenue."

The company also will build a 50,000-square-foot office building in Platteville next summer that will house around 150 employees. Additionally, Anadarko is expected to pay a large amount of taxes in the coming year after contributing $52 million in property taxes for the 2011 tax-year.

"That number will definitely increase and possibly double this year," Olsen said.

Anadarko recently increased its estimate of how much oil and natural-gas is recoverable in the Wattenberg field to a new range of 1 billion to 1.5 billion barrels of oil-equivalent. The company previously estimated that its reserves in Northern Colorado oil and gas