WPX Energy (NYSE: WPX) has successfully completed its natural gas discovery well in the Niobrara shale in western Colorado.

The discovery well produced an initial high of 16 million cubic feet per day at a flowing pressure of 7,300 pounds per square inch.

The well has since been choked back substantially to optimize reservoir performance and ensure maximum resource recovery. Over the past 30 days, it produced at an average rate of 12 million cubic feet per day.

WPX has the lease rights to approximately 180,000 net acres of the ...