It’s not exactly the Pike’s Peak gold rush of 160 years but with crude prices on the rise, explorers are returning to the oil-rich rock of Colorado. (Bloomberg) — It’s not exactly the Pike’s Peak gold rush of 160 years but with crude prices on the rise, explorers are returning to the oil-rich rock of Colorado as a way to expand beyond the shale plays of Texas and New Mexico. During the three-year crude-market collapse, as prices fell below $27 a barrel, the Denver-Julesburg Basin northeast of Denver was largely abandoned as explorers tightened down drilling budgets. Now, with prices headed toward $60 on the heels of OPEC-led production cuts, the region is spurring renewed interest. More than $2 billion of drilling deals have been announced in the last four months in the DJ Basin. In addition, Colorado has seen more than $1.8 billion in pipeline deals and extensions […]