A recent report from the Casper Star-Tribune reveals that oil and gas industry insiders believe that while development of the Niobrara shale formation is proceeding slowly, the region presents a number of strong opportunities.

According to the Oil & Gas Financial Journal, the formation – which is situated in the Denver-Julesburg Basin – is primarily located in northeastern Colorado and stretches into Wyoming, Kansas and Nebraska. The news provider reports that some have noted similarities between Niobrara and the Bakken shale formation.

The Star-Tribune reports that there have been ups and downs for companies working in the Wyoming portion of the play, which has so far lacked a discovery on par with EOG Resources' (EOG:NYSE) find in Colorado's Weld County.

"I think a lot of people thought we would ramp up much faster, initially," head of energy research for Global Hunter Securities LLC Michael Bodino told the news provider.

Still, despite the slow start, Bodino believes that there is a long way to go for the Niobrara shale formation.

"It's been an interesting evolution over the last year," he said. "I think we’re still in the early days in this play, and I think there’s still a long way to go."