Who We Are

In 1992, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe founded Red Willow Production Company to control and operate the Tribe’s energy resources. From its inception in 1992 operating a few wells on Tribal lands, Red Willow has grown to having an interest in over 1800 wells in major basins across the United States including the Gulf of Mexico.

Southern Ute Indian Tribe

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe, located in Ignacio, Colorado, has approximately 1450 members. The reservation in southwestern Colorado encompasses about 700,000 acres. Today the Tribe owns 300,000 surface acres (and the associated mineral rights) on the reservation, and private citizens own the remaining 400,000 acres. The mix of Tribal and private land on the reservation makes a checkerboard like pattern.

Southern Ute Growth Fund

In 1999, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe adopted an official Financial Plan that separates the Tribe’s core government activities from the various business and investment activities. The Financial Plan established the Growth Fund to organize all of the Tribe’s non-gaming business ventures. The Growth Fund’s business portfolio originated with the Tribe’s oil and gas activities but has broadened dramatically over the past decade. Red Willow is a subsidiary of the Growth Fund. Other business activities of the Growth Fund include natural gas midstream, real estate, private equity, and alternative energy.

Red Willow Today

Red Willow holds an interest in over 1800 wells both operated and non-operated with net production in excess of 70 billion cubic feet of gas equivalent per year. Although Red Willow has expanded operations significantly off the reservation since 1992, the San Juan Basin remains the backbone of the company, representing over 55% of total net production. Red Willow is aggressively pursuing new oil and gas opportunities from the Delaware and Midland Basins in West Texas to Deepwater plays in the Gulf of Mexico. Red Willow operates wells in three states and owns non-operated interests in wells in an additional six states plus the Gulf of Mexico, both on the shelf and in Deepwater.

Red Willow has over 130 full-time staff. The staff includes engineers, geologists, landmen, accountants, gas control and marketing specialists, field foreman and lease operators, and administrative staff. The headquarters office is in Ignacio, Colorado with a regional office in Houston, Texas, to manage the Gulf Coast and Gulf of Mexico activities.