The Haynesville Shale formation is a rich natural gas field underlying northwest Louisiana with extensions into eastern Texas and southwestern Arkansas.
A few of the more prolific Haynesville Shale wells were drilled in the parishes of Bossier, Caddo, DeSota, & Natchitoches Parishes of Louisiana, and Harrison County of eastern Texas. Additionally, leasing activity has increased in some counties of southwestern Arkansas.
As development wells are completed and leasing activity increases, it is apparent that the expanse of the Haynesville Shale natural gas field is expanding. Reserve estimates for the field range from a low of about 30 trillion cubic feet to over 100 trillion cubic feet. Some way-out estimates actually go to over 300 trillion cubic feet. So, this is a very big natural gas strike and the Haynesville natural gas field is almost certain to become the U.S. largest gas field .(The Marcellus natural gas field of the eastern U.S. may challenge that statement....It's growing also!). It is conceivable that the natural gas contained in the Haynesville field could constitute the largest natural gas field in the world but that is far from proven.
In any event, the Haynesville shale field is big and is growing in leaps and bounds. Some experts are calling this one "The Big One!"
The Louisiana parishes most blessed by the Haynesville Shale strike are Caddo, Bossier, DeSoto, Red River, Bienville, Natchitoches, and Webster. As more development wells are drilled, it is likely that other parishes will join the above.
It should be noted that, as the Haynesville Formation extends to the north (toward Arkansas), the formation appears to become more sandy. This sand may contain oil and natural gas but is not considered as rich as the predominantly shale formation to the south. This general statement may also be true for the extensions of the Haynesville Formation into Texas. (however, the general statement may be refuted by a recent well completion in Harrison County of eastern Texas which produced a bonanza of natural gas.)
The truth is the dimensions of the Haynesville Formation are not known for sure as of now!
A decade or so ago, the oil patch had little use for shale. Now shale is being eagerly sought! Both for natural gas and oil (Bakken Shale Formation).
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Back to Basics!
Up until recent years, vertical wells were the conventional way to drill (and produce) both natural gas and oil wells. With the discovery that previously ignored shale formations contain large quantities of natural gas and that the natural gas can be recovered efficiently using horizontal drilling, a substantial number of shale formations throughout the U.S. were made available for recovery of natural gas. The use of horizontal drilling has become the norm for developing shale formation gas reservoirs.
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The development of the huge Haynesville Shale natural gas field (and other shale oil & gas fields) has been made possible due to recent major advances in drilling techniques.
Horizontal drilling is becoming the norm for the Haynesville Shale Formation. The shale formation is located about two miles below the surface so vertical drilling is used to reach the shale formation and then horizontal drilling is used to drill alone the shale formation for up to a mile. The shale is then fractured using huge quantities of water. Once cracked open, proppants are generally used to hold the formation open so that the natural gas can flow out of the formation and be produced. The fact that the Haynesville shale is an amazing 200 feet thick helps with the natural gas recovery. Two hundred feet of shale can contain a lot of natural gas.
Also helping natural gas recovery in the formation is the higher-than-usual permeability of the Haynesville shale.
All-in-all, this is an enormously rich natural gas deposit and modern techniques make it easy to produce. The natural gas field is making a lot of folks very rich.
Chesapeake Energy, one of the nation's largest natural gas producers, is leading the way in leasing land in the Haynesville Shale. Chesapeake has about 550,000 acres under lease. Chesapeake has stated that this natural gas filed could have a larger impact on the company bottom line than any oil or gas field with which it has been involved in.
Petrohawk Energy has also been very aggressive in leasing land in the Haynesville.
Still another company - EnCana Oil & Gas - is jumping in with both feet and is having success in its drilling program as well as in its leasing program.
Chesapeake has also been aggressive in forming joint ventures with other oil firms for the purpose of developing the field. Two of the firms Chesapeake has become affiliated with are Plains Exploration & Production and Goodrich Petroleum Co.
Petrohawk Energy and Mainland Resources have partnered on some Haynesville Shale projects
Three other power players in shale formation production (oil & gas) - XTO Energy, EOG Resources, & Devon Energy - are bulldozing their way into the Haynesville Shale play.
A more complete listing of the oil and gas companies that are getting involved in the Haynesville Shale follows:
Chesapeake Energy (CHK)
EnCana Oil & Gas (ECA)
Petrohawk Energy (HK)
KCS Resources - Merged with Petrohawk, above
EOG Resources (EOG)
XTO Energy (XTO)
Hunt Petroleum Corporation - Merged with XTO
Devon Energy (DVN)
EXCO Resources (XCO)
Mainland Resources (MNLU.OB)
Forest Oil Co. (FST)
Plains Exploration & Production (PXP)
El Paso E & P (EP)
Cabot Oil & Gas Co. (COG)
Cubic Energy (QBC)
St. Mary Land & Exploration (SM)
Continental Resources (CLR)
Goodrich Petroleum Co.(GDP)
Questar (STR)
Encore Operating (EAC)
Comstock Oil & Gas (CRK)
GMX Resources (GMXR)
Dynamic Resources (DYRFF)
Live Oak Energy
Pinnacle Operating Co.
Sklar Exploration
Shell Western,
Cherokee Horn Production,
J-W Operating Co.
WSF Inc.
Diamond Oil
Will-Drill Production Co.
Empresa Energy
Classic Petroleum
Matador Resources
Camterra Resources
TMR Exploration
Sampson Resources
Petrochem Operating Co.
The rush is now on and numerous other oil & gas companies will be entering the leasing/drilling activity in the Haynesville Shale. These new companies will be added to the above list.
In addition to the lease bonuses being paid to its citizens, the Haynesville Shale natural gas strike is having a great effect on the Shreveport -Bossier area. First of all, the area is now swarming with land agents active in leasing the various various properties; Second, rig operating personnel are beginning to arrive as wells are drilled; and, third, pipeline and other facilities for treating and transporting the natural gas will have to be constructed thereby providing plenty of new jobs!
But, most important, there is a sense of new vigor and vitality to the Shreveport - Bossier area. The area officials and many citizens realize that the newly-discovered natural gas field will be large enough to play a major role in the nation's struggle to achieve energy independence. Shreveport - Bossier has long been an almost forgotten part of the Louisiana mix as Baton Rouge and New Orleans took center stage. Now it will be Shreveport - Bossier's moment upon the stage. I am happy for them even though I now live in the New Orleans area.
Another benefit of the natural gas discovery is the sudden growth in mutual cooperation by citizens in the Shreveport - Bossier area. Thousands of folks are trying to get their land leased by the oil & gas companies and the leasing can be a very complex and tedious process. Self-help groups are being formed throughout the Shreveport -Bossier Area with the sole objective of helping each other with the leasing process.
People working together!
As described above, the immediate Shreveport - Bossier area and surrounding parishes are benefiting hugely from the Haynesville Shale development. Unfortunately, I don't see Louisiana, as a whole benefiting to the same extent. I think they are missing a great opportunity to jump to the front of the energy crisis fight and establish Louisiana as the kingpin of the natural gas industry. More specifically, I believe Louisiana should strive to develop a strong LNG exporting trade. Japan and numerous other natural gas-poor nations around the globe would be more than happy to import Louisiana (Haynesville) natural gas.
This LNG exporting concept is covered in more detail in LNG Exporting. (I intend to push this idea. Your thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated. It is time for Louisiana to wake up to the LNG exporting opportunity!)
Disclosure: My Personal Stake in the Haynesville Shale. I was recently pleased to learn that I possibly have a stake in the Haynesville natural gas field. I am from Shreveport in Caddo Parish and my father once owned a company with about 50 or so acres in adjacent Bossier Parish on the banks of the Red River. Bossier Parish expropriated the land for a freeway. Since, the expropriation only included surface rights, the mineral rights remained in the family's possession. The family has apparently just leased the mineral rights.
In addition to mineral rights under land, the family has an undetermined amount of mineral rights under the adjacent Red River. We are still trying to figure out who owns what in the river. For example, the State apparently owns river bottoms. Also, the Red River is constantly changing its course with important implications for landowners adjacent to the river. Have we lost or gained land due to river changes since we bought the land 40 years ago?
It should be noted that other landowners will be dealing with the same above problems if their land is adjacent to the Red River which flows though the center of the Haynesville play.
A decade ago, oil and gas companies were not particularly pleased to find shale when they were looking for natural gas. How the times have changed! How the technology has changed! Now, everyone is looking for shale! Shale is now considered the mother lode for both natural gas and oil. It is possible, though not probable, that shale formations containing oil and natural gas will rescue us from our dependence on foreign oil and gas. If the shale formations do not completely rescue us from our dependence, the formations will still help an awful lot.
Some of the more famous shale formations are listed below:
Shale Formations Containing Predominantly Natural Gas:
Haynesville Shale - (The subject of this web site). Possibly, the richest natural gas field (250 trillion cubic feet or more) in the U.S. .
Marcellus Shale - This Eastern natural gas field competes with the Haynesville Shale for the no. 1 size spot of shale formations.
Barnett Shale - Texas - Another very rich natural gas field. Almost fully developed.
Fayetteville Shale - Arkansas natural gas. The Chinese are getting involved.
Conesauga Shale - Alabama shale formation....relatively new as far as development.
Antrim Shale - Michigan - Earliest shale formation to go into production.....produced since the 1940s.....9,000 wells.
Woodford Shale - Oklahoma shale formation
Pearsall Shale - South Texas shale formation
Utica Shale
New Albany Shale
Ohio Shale
Bakken Shale - Who said that North Dakota was not an oil state? The Bakken shale formation has one of the richest accumulations of high-quality oil in the U.S. We need it.
Some of the above shale formations will be producing natural gas and oil at such prolific rates that pipeline capacities in the formation areas will be exceeded.
1. Barnett Shale. Until the Haynesville Shale was discovered, the Barnett Shale was the largest natural gas field ever found in the U.S.
2. Bakken Shale. Possibly, the largest oil field in the world. And, it is a shale formation like the Haynesville Shale formation.
The Haynesville Shale Formation natural gas strike in northwest Louisiana is huge and growing. The natural gas reserves in the Haynesville field appear large enough to make a major difference in the U.S. struggle against the energy crisis. The twin cities of Shreveport and Bossier are being revitalized by the Haynesville Shale natural gas strike.
Updated: 11/27/2009
e-mail me @ vanc13@cox.net