Haynesville Shale Play: On pace, top gas shale in the USA - 4th Largest Natural Gas Shale in
the World If you follow the Energy, Oil, or Natural Gas Market.....you've probably heard of The Haynesville
Shale Natural Gas Field Formation, also referred to as the Shreveport Shale ( Louisiana Shale ), which is located in Northwest
Louisiana, East Texas, and extending into Arkansas. Back in 2008, this Natural Gas Formation made landowners
rich when companies would buy mineral rights from a property owner. Researchers were saying that the Haynesville Shale Play could be as big as the
Barnett Shale Play, which is estimated to produce around 29-39 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the future. This would
make Haynesville Shale one of the biggest U.S. Natural gas finds in history. According to a Wood Mackenzie research report, the Haynesville Shale Play, if developed in our most bullish case, could be bigger than the current
size of the Barnett within five years. What makes the Haynesville Shale prospects so exciting? The Haynesville
Shale is very deep and thick, and with all of this brings a pressure that is REALLY high! This allows more natural gas
to be packed into the Shale. How deep is the Haynesville Shale? Researchers say the shale can found below
the ground at depths between 10,000 and 14,000 feet. All of the above combined with well data coming from the different
well drilling companies in the Haynesville Shale has industry experts thinking this could be " The Big One." The Cotton Valley Field is also producing big results. This formation is located just above the Haynesville Shale. If
you are looking for a job in the Haynesville Shale, check out the Job Listings page I set up. The Haynesville Shale in 2009 is much different then it used to be due to the recession. I go
into detail below.
The Haynesville Shale Rock Formation ( Shreveport Shale ) is based on shale as the subsurface source of natural gas. Geologists have known for
a long time that the Haynesville Shale Field has held Natural Gas, but the rock was considered the source rather then a gas
reservoir. It was also not economical because Natural Gas prices remained very low for many years. Haynesville well drilling
is very expensive! Now with Natural Gas trading below $5.00, companies have been cutting back on drilling the Haynesville Shale. When Natural Gas prices spike back to $6-$9, the Haynesville will
be very profitable again for oil and gas companies just like we saw back in July of 2008. I expect as we move into later 2009,
natural gas prices will be between $6-$9. Chesapeake now estimates that the haynesville shale could hold as much as 245 tcf's
of natural gas.
History:
The Haynesville shale is a rock formation composed of clay-sized particles deposited and buried in the north Louisiana geological
area more than 170 million years ago during the Jurassic time. The Shale discovery going on in North Louisiana has been compared
to the gold rush as companies scramble to lease land and contract mineral rights in the area. Local residents in the Shreveport area were striking it big with the land they held back in 2008. Since the
economic recession has really hit the United States, natural gas prices have gone down and companies are halting production.
Company Interest: The Haynesville shale has been one hot zone for Natural
Gas Companies as gas shale has been proven to hold a lot of Natural Gas. Many companies started buying acres of land in and the Shreveport
area two years ago in hopes to strike it big. Petrohawk Energy was already drilling a gas deposit known as Cotton Valley, a separate deposit that runs above parts of Haynesville’s depositswhen it became aware of the Haynesville Shale play
in 2006. PetroHawk Energy must use special technology to access the Haynesville project as it is below 10,000 feet. Companies
drill the haynesville shale formation vertically and then drill across horizontally. New technology has helped these companies
fracture the shale in a timely fashion. They use millions of gallons of fresh water which is pressurized to fracture the shale.
In some cases, these haynesville shale operators will use a fresh water/sand combination. This new fracturing technique releases
the natural gas trapped in the shale. County & Field Locations: The Haynesville Shale Formation has been predicted to
be around 200 feet thick below the Elm Grove Field. Other fields that run above Haynesville Shale Natural Gas Field in addition
to Cotton Valley and Elm Grove fields are: Caddo Parish Shale Field, Bossier Parish Shale Field, DeSoto Parish Shale Field, Greenwood Waskon
Field, Sligo Field, Caspiana Field, Johnson Branch Field, LongStreet Shale Field, LoganSport Field, Bethany Longstreet Field,
Red Rock Field, Kingston Shale Field, Central Pine Island Field, Longwood Field. View this Map
It is important to note that the majority of all activity can be found in four parishes which is known
as the " sweet spot. " The parishes are Caddo, Red River, DeSoto, Bossier.
The Haynesville Shale
in 2009: It's 2009 and the Haynesville Shale has died down significantly. The credit crisis has not only halted bank
lending to the companies drilling in the haynesville shale, the credit crisis caused a huge recession and has caused natural
gas prices to fall. What has also caused natural prices to go down are huge supply builds in the resource itself. With natural
gas being extracted from many shale plays throughout the USA and Canada, supplies are building rapidly. When the economy starts
to improve again, natural gas prices will see a bounce upward and this will cause drilling to start up again. The wild card
over the next decade would be for us to switch from gasoline to natural gas fueled vehicles. We have enough natural gas supplies
and natural gas burns cleaner. The haynesville shale has enough reserves for atleast the next 10 - 20 Years. In April 2009,
Natural Gas prices appear to have bottomed out in the low $3.00 range. This should set up a great second half of the year
for the clean burning resource.Although they are in the early stages of this project, they will get a grasp on things in many
months and years to come. The Haynesville Shale Play has caused these companies stock prices to skyrocket over the years! As I continue to research this Geologic Shale Project, I will post it here. Don't
forget to check out these other shale plays just as hot as haynesville. Marcellus Shale - Horn River Shale - Bakken Oil Shale - Fayetteville Shale - Brazil Oil Field - Woodford Shale - Barnett Shale - Chattanooga Shale - Utica Shale
Recent Haynesville Shale News:
February 24, 2009 -First Haynesville Shale Well drilled
in Shreveport City next to Clyde Fant Memorial Parkway to begin this week by Petrohawk Energy ( HK )
October 30th, 2008- The recent natural gas decline has taken effect on the Haynesville Shale
Mineral Rights prices.
October 22nd, 2008 - PetroHawk Energy HK announces huge natural gas well finds.
Haynesville Shale Maps,
Pictures - Maps of the Haynesville Shale by Parish
July 31st, 2008.....Southwestern Energy SWN plans to test Shelby, San Augustine County - East Texas - Haynesville Shale. This is the first I've seen
East Texas Counties Shelby and San Augustine be targeted for the Haynesville Shale play.
July 1st, 2008.... Chesapeake Energy CHK and Plains Exploration PXP announce Haynesville Shale join venture North Louisiana
and East Texas. PXP will aquire 20% interest in leasehold for 1.65 billion in cash. Chesapeake CHK has 550,000
Haynesville Shale acres, PXP will hold 110,000 acres while CHK will continue to hold 440,000. Chesapeake says it
will continue to aquire acreage and Plains will have the option to participate at 20%. This is HUGE Haynesville
Shale News!
June 30th, 2008.... Petrohawk Energy HK Petrohawk Energy Corporation Reports Haynesville Shale Result and Leasehold
Update - Petrohawk Energy Corporation today announced that it has completed its initial horizontal well in the Haynesville
Shale. On June 27, 2008, the Elm Grove Plantation #63 (100% working interest) was placed on production. On June 29, 2008,
the well produced at an average rate of approximately 16.8 million cubic feet of natural gas per day with 5,600 pounds flowing
casing pressure on a 26/64 choke. The pilot hole drilled on the well encountered approximately 212 net feet of Haynesville
Shale. The targeted interval in the reservoir was at 11,005 feet true vertical depth, and a lateral of 3,880 feet in length
was drilled. The completion of the well included eleven stages of fracture stimulation. The Elm Grove Plantation #63 is located
in Section 9 - Township 16 North - Range 11 West, Bossier Parish, Louisiana
June 23rd, 2008 - Goodrich Petroleum GDP has entered into a definitive agreement with a private company for the right to acquire a fifty percent non-operated interest in 5,800 gross
acres (2,900 net to the Company) in the Central Pine Island field, adjacent to its Longwood field in Caddo Parish, Louisiana.
The Haynesville Shale Field could potentially be the biggest U.S gas
field in history, beating out even the Barnett Shale Field. Click here for Full Detailed Map
