Parachute (AP) Encana has started building a huge natural gas treatment plant near Parachute that'll help open northwestern Colorado's rich gas reserves to new markets. Encana Oil and Gas U.S.A. is building a plant that will be able to process 650 million cubic feet of gas a day.

Company Spokesman Doug Hock says Encana's daily production from the Piceance Basin is about 330 million cubic feet. About 600 people will work on the construction, which should be complete in early 2007.

A lack of pipeline capacity and other infrastructure have been a bottleneck in the area, one of the hot spots of the Rockies' natural gas boom. A number of new pipelines are in the works to link northwestern Colorado to markets across the country.

Copyright 2005 by the Associated Press. All rights reserved.
© KKCO NBC 11 News - All Rights Reserved