Oil and gas company Noble Energy downsizes in Denver

Noble Energy is moving 100 employees out of its Denver headquarters.

The Greeley Tribune reported Wednesday that employees will have the option of relocating, mostly to the independent oil and natural gas company’s main headquarters in Houston and some in Greeley.

Noble Energy, the second-largest oil and gas drilling company in Colorado, has about 770 employees in Colorado — 300 in Denver and 470 in Greeley.

The employee shuffle comes on the heels of a $1.2 billion sale of the company’s Marcellus Shale assets in May.

The Marcellus sale brings the company’s total sales for the year to $2 billion and will help cover the costs of acquiring Clayton Williams Energy Inc., according to company documents. That deal was a $2.7 billion acquisition.