Oil & Gas Pro

Haynesville Gas Minerals: A Ground War For Mineral Rights!

Haynesville Gas Minerals: Check Mate Strategies

From a Linkedin post.  It echos a couple of articles I've seen lately but are pay walled so I didn't try to post them to the site.  Anyone considering a sale of mineral rights should know this and read through my Seller Beware! discussion here on the Main Page.  Always remember, the first offer is a low ball and never share with any buyer the amount of offers you have received or the companies that made those offers.  Avoid collusion between mineral buyers.

In the heart of East Texas and Northwest Louisiana, a quiet revolution is unfolding beneath our feet, and it’s anything but subtle.

The Haynesville Shale, once a frontier of exploration, has now become a ground war for mineral rights. With LNG demand surging and natural gas prices climbing, the race is on to secure a shrinking inventory of mineral assets. But this isn’t just a land grab, it’s a high-stakes game of capital, creativity, and calculated risk... real life chess in action.

Here’s what’s driving the heat:
- Tight Supply, Tighter Competition – Most core acreage is locked down. Fewer willing sellers mean mineral owners are commanding premium deals or holding the cards entirely.


- LNG at the Helm – With Haynesville’s gas riding shotgun to Gulf Coast export terminals, proximity equals power. LNG demand is set to hit record highs in 2025-26, making this basin more strategic than ever.


- Consolidation Amplifies Tension – As giants merge and assets change hands (think Chesapeake Energy + Southwestern Energy, Chevron + TG Natural Resources LLC), the basin has become one of the most consolidated in North America. The result? Fewer operators. Higher stakes.


- Shifting Ground Strategies – With core acreage scarce, innovators are pushing into riskier flank zones, betting on tech, cost efficiencies, new completions designs and first-mover advantage.

This is no longer about who drills deeper, it’s about who thinks smarter, moves faster, and executes sharper.

The future of the Haynesville will be written by those who see opportunity in complexity and scarcity not as a constraint, but as a catalyst.

If you're investing, operating, or advising in the mineral space this is the moment to watch.

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Oil & Gas ProPermalink Reply by Rock Man on September 27, 2026 at 6:44

Here is the plugging report for this well. No other info out there as to testing, logs, etc.

Well reported to have produced 125 BO from an unknown interval (probably shallow zone). 

Attachments:

landownerPermalink Reply by Lance Oliver on September 27, 2026 at 13:21

From what I can find out, the BBX operated the well for 3 months in 2015. As you said, they did extract some oil, but since that was not the focus of their efforts, they capped it after running out of funds to finish the hole to the shale depth needed.


landownerPermalink Reply by Lance Oliver on September 27, 2026 at 6:37

Oil & Gas ProPermalink Reply by Rock Man on September 27, 2026 at 15:57
Actually reached TD around 16,000. Didn't find what they were looking for. Were not planning to drill deeper to "see" Haynesville. Ran production casing and made shallow completion in oil zone to try to salvage something from wellbore.

Odds are oil zone was in Austin Chalk- BBX was a chalk player during their time.

landownerPermalink Reply by Lance Oliver on September 26, 2026 at 17:01

I'm just extremely excited to hear the land war going on. I've gotten tons of calls, emails and letters asking me to sell my shares. One offer started sounding decent, except I'm not looking for one year retirement! At least ExxonMobile sent me Division Orders last week for ongoing oil extraction in Reagan County. When I mentioned my family's 91 mineral right acres in Angelina County to the Owner Relations rep, the line went silent for a moment then told their Landman Team would get with me about any questions I have regarding the Reagan lease, as well as the Haynesville Shale Play. In short, if Exxon makes a good lease offer, I'll strongly consider it.


landownerPermalink Reply by Lance Oliver on September 27, 2026 at 10:52

Here's a bit more into I learned, the mineral acres we own is in the A-19 section of the Chandler-Johnson survey. This is the location where the Bigfoot 1 well was capped, after reaching the 16,000 foot depth, due the Boarder To Boarder Explorations going out of business. I was further informed that the Haynesville Shale in our 90 acreage is thought to be located at a 17,500 or deeper level. 


Oil & Gas ProPermalink Reply by Rock Man on September 29, 2026 at 15:51

Re: BBX Big Foot Well / Haynesville Shale in Angelina Co / Other Deep Well Control

Lance,

  • Second try at posting this info / first pass was "lost in the ether".

I did some digging and research and pulled together the following info on the subject line items.

HAYNESVILLE SHALE (HV) IN ANGENLINA COUNTY

The Hz HV Shale drilling play is limited to the northern part of Angelina County.

  • The reason for this is that there is an E-W trending graben area (low block) that was active during HV deposition in that area. This "low" allowed for thick, highly organic HV section to be deposited.
  • The present-day Hz HV drilling reflects this graben area.
  • The southern edge of which is about 10 miles north of the BBX Big Foot well.

BBX BIG FOOT WELL

After digging deeper into the history of this well, the following facts are clear:

  • BBX permitted this well to 20,000' - a depth that about 2500' below the top of the Jurassic Lime / Smackover top
  • BBX already had info on the Bossier / HV section prior to drilling the Big Foot well (more on that later in this post)
  • BBX actually drilled this well to a depth of 19,500'
  • This was done after losing a drilling assembly in the hole and having to sidetrack drill around that "fish" since it could not be recovered.
  • BBX got full open hole log suite to 19,500 ' (temp of 4oo degrees F but low pressure
  • These logs are unavailable from my normal sources
  • Considering the depth, casing, drilling problems and other things, I estimate that it cost BBX $3-$4 million to get this well drilled to its TD of 19,500'

The attached PDF includes info I found on the Tx RRC site (GIS Mapping Option) / free information

  • Note the letter from BBX to Tx RRC (July 2015) indicating that this well was a dry hole in its initial target formation
  • Which I believe was some sort of structure / reef / porosity development in the Lower Jurassic / Smackover section

Note that BBX encountered shallow oil shows while drilling but did not have rights to those depth intervals

They then acquired those depths and perforated / tested three separate intervals (Austin Chalk, Georgetown & Glen Rose)

  • The 124 BO posted in other reports is the total result of shallow testing
  • Well was then plugged and abandoned / P&A report attached - note the details on depths and casing as well as plugs

BBX continued to drill new wells and have operated production for several years after the Big Foot well was drilled. They eventually had to file bankruptcy in 2025 and were forced by the courts to sell all assets to satisfy liens.

  • It is clear to me that BBX did NOT run out of money while drilling and testing the Big Foot well - they were flush and all operations were the result of "need" with nothing omitted due to cost concerns.

OTHER DEEP WELLS IN THIS AREA

As noted above, BBX ran full log suite to 19,500' in the Big Foot well

  • Which includes logging the entire Bossier and HV section interval

There are two other deep wells drilled in this immediate area that penetrated the HV section and obtained log data

  • Mobil (TD 19,775' in 1992) and Range Resources (TD 17.911' in 2009)

I have seen the log data on these wells

  • The Bossier section is very thick and sandy (i.e. not a shale zone)
  • The HV section is very thin - at most about 100' thick / with indications of it being sandy and not very organic rich
  • Thick Jurassic Lime / Smackover section underlies the HV in both wells

Range was ready to P&A their well - but BBX (probably a WI partner) took over operations of that vertical well and made a completion in a 40' Bossier Sand interval.

  • Post frac IP of 2 MMCFPD with 124 MMCF of production over three years before being depleted and abandoned

So BBX had in depth knowledge of the deep section in this area prior to drilling their Big Foot well.

With these three deep wells having log info thru the HV section, it is very logical to assume that other HV players have uncovered this data and determined that it is not worthwhile to drill Hz HV wells in this area.

  • The 100' total thickness of the HV seen in this area is way too thin to provide sufficient Gas in Place to support the economics of what would probably be a $10+ million D&C program for the Haynesville Shale in this part of Angelina County.

Lots of info here but results from these three deep wells plus the overall geologic depositional setting of the HV section explains to me why operators have not been chasing after this part of the county.

Attachments:

landownerPermalink Reply by Lance Oliver on September 29, 2026 at 21:16

Thanks so much for all those details! 


landownerPermalink Reply by Steve P on September 30, 2026 at 9:01

Skip:  I'm still getting lots of solicitations to sell my minerals.  Those solicitations are the only encouraging thing I see for the NW La part of the HS.

When I re-read your post April 2025, it would be hard to believe that here we are with our gas still below $3.00.


Oil & Gas ProPermalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on September 30, 2026 at 10:48

Steve,  the price per mcf has little to do with the mineral market.  Competition is fierce and the pool of HA minerals left to acquire has shrunk considerably.  The business opportunity for mineral companies is quite different than that of the individual mineral owner.  Did you read my Seller Beware discussion?


landownerPermalink Reply by Steve P on October 1, 2026 at 8:28

yes, I read it.  My conclusion is that the mineral buyers are trying to buy when the price is low, like buying stock during a "dip" in the market.  My frustration is with how long this "dip" has gone on, and how much longer it may last.


Oil & Gas ProPermalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on October 1, 2026 at 8:33

I can attest from current experience that mineral companies have not stopped making offers because of the price of natural gas.  Mineral companies are constantly making offers even in the periods of lowest monthly settlement prices.  You are missing what drives them and it is not price.

I think those waiting for higher prices will be largely disappointed.

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