It is May 14th. An ECMC inspector emails to ask why your April flare volume on a Weld County pad jumped 40% from March, and whether the calculation method on file still applies. You open last month’s Form 7 worksheet, find a cell that says “est. per pumper,” and realize you have about 18 hours to reconstruct a documented method before the inspector expects an answer.
Form 7 is the monthly Operator Report of Production filed with Colorado’s Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC, formerly COGCC), due around the 15th of the second month following production. It reports per-well oil, gas, water, dispositions, flare and vent volumes, and well status. GreaseBook captures the daily data behind the form. The operator of record still files through ECMC Online. Colorado Form 7 is one piece of the broader regulatory production reports framework that covers monthly filings state by state.
Colorado renamed the regulator in 2023 (COGCC became ECMC), but the form name did not change. What did change: flaring and venting oversight got sharper, and “estimated” flare volumes without a documented method are now the single most common audit finding for independents.
What Form 7 Reports
Form 7 is filed monthly, well by well. Each line covers:
- Oil produced (barrels)
- Gas produced (MCF), including casinghead
- Water produced (barrels)
- Days produced
- Disposition of oil, gas, and water: sold, stored, used on lease, injected, vented, flared, hauled
- Purchaser for sold oil and gas
- API number for every well
Colorado has been strict on flaring and venting since 2014 and has tightened further under ECMC. Operators report vented and flared gas volumes, and the numbers are audited against pipeline gathering statements and, increasingly, satellite data.
Who Files and When
The operator of record files Form 7. The form is due by the 45th day after the end of the production month: in practice, by the 15th of the second month following production. March production is due around May 15th. Filings go through the ECMC’s online portal at ecmc.state.co.us.
Form 7 replaced the older Form 7A process in the 2000s. Electronic filing has been effectively mandatory for most operators for the better part of a decade.
The Data Chain Behind Form 7
Colorado’s well-by-well format means the data has to be captured and rolled up per API number, not just per lease. The chain looks like:
- Pumper gauges on every tank battery, tied to the wells feeding it.
- Run tickets with API numbers, not just lease names.
- Gas meter reads at each well or allocation point.
- Flare and vent logs: documented volumes with a calculation method.
- Water hauler tickets: produced water disposition tracked to the commercial SWD or on-lease injector.
- Purchaser statements: reconciled against field data before submission.
The DJ Basin horizontal wells typically come with automated measurement at the pad, which makes the data chain cleaner. Legacy vertical operators without pad automation have the same data challenge as Texas or Oklahoma independents: pumper notebooks, phone calls, and Excel. For operators handling production-report filing across states, Form 7’s per-API, flare-documented format sets a tighter bar than most.
How GreaseBook Supports Form 7 Prep
GreaseBook captures the daily gauges, run tickets, meter reads, flare and vent volumes, and water hauler tickets on a phone or tablet in the field. On the operator side, the data rolls up by well and by API in a format that mirrors Form 7’s expectations.
GreaseBook does not submit to ECMC. The operator or the operator’s Colorado filer handles the portal submission. What GreaseBook solves is the upstream data-collection work: the gauges that got missed, the flare volumes that got estimated, the run tickets that never made it off the dashboard of the pumper’s truck.
A Weld County operator running a mix of horizontals and legacy verticals described the change: “For the verticals, we used to build Form 7 from pumper notebooks on the 10th. Now the data is already there on the 1st, and we spend the middle of the month on operations, not on rebuilding last month.”
GreaseBook gives Colorado operators real-time pumper data so monthly ECMC filings land on measured numbers.
See how GreaseBook works →Common Form 7 Filing Mistakes
- Flared gas estimated without a method. ECMC wants a documented calculation, not a guess. This is the single most common audit finding for smaller operators.
- API number errors on run tickets. Wells reported under the wrong API mean the filing won’t reconcile against ECMC’s well records.
- Water hauler volumes missing. Produced water hauled off the lease has to be reported with a disposition. Skipping it creates an imbalance.
- Shut-in wells dropped from the filing. Shut-in wells still on the operator’s books get reported as zero production, not as an absent record.
- Filing 5 days late, month after month. Colorado compounds late-filing flags over time. The fix is a clean data chain, not better excuses.
Phrases to Eliminate in ECMC Correspondence
When ECMC asks a question about Form 7, the language in your reply shapes the follow-up. Blame language invites audit scrutiny. Measurement language closes findings. These swaps cost nothing and change outcomes.
| Instead of… | Say… | Why |
|---|---|---|
| “We estimated the flare volume on Pad 4” | “We applied the [documented method, cite] for flared gas on Pad 4 for [dates]” | “Estimated” without a cited method is the single most common ECMC audit trigger. A documented method closes the finding. |
| “The pumper missed a gauge that week” | “Field data capture was interrupted on [dates]; readings are reconstructed from the adjacent-day gauges and the purchaser run ticket” | Never tell ECMC a record is missing if you can reconcile it. Show the reconstruction. |
| “Our SCADA went down on the pad” | “We had [X] hours of non-production on [well API] documented in the daily gauge log” | ECMC audits measurable non-production periods, not vague outage language. |
| “We filed Form 7 late because it was a busy month” | “We filed Form 7 [X] business days after the due date and self-reported the variance with the amendment” | Self-disclosure carries more weight than silence. ECMC forgives self-corrected errors faster than errors it finds on its own. |
Identity Framing: What the Best Colorado Operators Do
The best Colorado operators close the month in the first week, file Form 7 before the 15th is a deadline, and document the flare calculation method before ECMC writes the rule requiring it. Form 7 prep is a rhythm built into the daily data chain, not a fire drill reconstructed from memory on the 14th.
Wrong Fit for This Page
If you are a DJ Basin major with a P2 BOLO or Quorum production accounting stack that generates Form 7-ready output from your SCADA and pad automation, you don’t need help with field data capture. This page is for the Colorado independent running 5 to 50 wells, pumpers with phones, and a monthly ECMC deadline.
FAQ
Does GreaseBook submit Form 7 directly to the ECMC?
No. Form 7 filing still happens through ECMC Online. GreaseBook handles the data chain feeding the form: daily gauges, dispositions, downtime reasons, well status. The filing step stays with you or your accountant.
Is COGCC the same as ECMC?
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission was renamed the Energy and Carbon Management Commission in 2023. The regulatory authority and the Form 7 filing requirement carried over. Operators often still use “COGCC” because the agency name change is recent.
When is Colorado Form 7 due?
Form 7 is due by the 45th day after the end of the production month, which in practice falls around the 15th of the second month following production. March production is due around May 15th.
Do idle or shut-in Colorado wells have to file Form 7?
Yes. Wells still on the operator’s books file a monthly Form 7 line with zero production and the appropriate status reported.
How are flared volumes reported on Form 7?
Operators report flared and vented gas volumes with a documented method of calculation. Colorado ECMC audits these figures against gathering pipeline statements and other data sources.
Related Pages
GreaseBook automates state production reports for operators filing in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Wyoming, and Michigan. Colorado Form 7 still files through ECMC Online, but the data chain that feeds it works the same way.
- Oil and gas regulatory production reports: the pillar guide to state monthly production filings.
- Wyoming Form 2: Wyoming’s monthly production report for operators active across the state line.
- New Mexico OCD Form C-115: New Mexico’s monthly production filing for multi-state Rocky Mountain and Permian operators.
GreaseBook captures the pumper's tank gauges and run tickets at source, so Colorado operators roll up Form 7 from clean numbers instead of reconstructing the month. Because the ECMC will flag a zero-production line the moment the reason is missing.
See how GreaseBook cleans up Form 7 prep →