Fracking in to the Haynesville Shale in north Louisiana has proved a lucrative dig for the energy industry here for the past couple of years, and now the same process to tap into once unreachable resources could bring even more job opportunities to the state.
A Sunday Times-Picayune article reports on the progress of the Brown Dense Shale, which lies under Claiborne, Morehouse and Union parishes and also encompasses portions of Arkansas. Though leases and wells are springing up to explore the area, it won’t be known whether the successful and sometimes controversial hydraulic fracturing technique will uncover significant discoveries.
If the fracking works, however, the Brown Dense could be a better find than Haynesville because the wells may be striking both oil and natural gas. Haynesville only produces natural gas:
Houston-based Southwestern Energy Co. announced in an earnings report in July that it has leased 460,000 acres in the Brown Dense area for $150 million, or about $326 per acre. Last month, Southwestern drilled its first well in the formation in Arkansas, and the company plans to drill a well in Claiborne Parish by the end of this year.
Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corp. confirmed in an Aug. 3 earnings call that it has secured 40,000 acres in the Brown Dense area. The company, which has also been active in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale area, has received a permit to drill a well in Morehouse Parish, Angelle said.
The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale area, which stretches from Texas through the center of Louisiana and into southwest Mississippi, has also garnered attention in recent months as a potential oil-and-gas producing region, becoming attractive as the price of oil has skyrocketed. In May, Devon said that it had accumulated 250,000 acres in the play, at about $180 apiece.
Source: The Independent Weekly
For Energy News or Shale Investments
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