Directional drilling company opens Stonewall location
By Vickie Welborn • vwelborn@gannett.com • January 16, 2009 2:00 am

Buzz up! STONEWALL — "Location, location, location" is the phrase often associated with real estate, and if that's the case then DeSoto Parish is in the right spot when it comes to luring businesses associated with the Haynesville Shale.


On Thursday, Professional Directional Ltd. opened a 4,800-square-foot building on U.S. Highway 171 in Stonewall primarily because of the town's location and its proximity to the four-lane highway and interstates 49 and 20.

"We picked Stonewall because of its location," said Jerry Callens, one of the company's partners. "Most of the Haynesville Shale is in this area and in DeSoto Parish."

A ribbon cutting Thursday attended by Stonewall and DeSoto Parish officials welcomed the newest business to the growing Stonewall landscape.

Professional Directional is as its name suggests. The company, founded in 2001 provides directional drilling services for the "major players" involved in the Haynesville Shale natural gas play.

It also works with companies that continue to tap vertically into the Cotton Valley formation.

Chesapeake Energy, XTO, J-W Operating, EnCana, Petrohawk, Exco, Pinnacle and TMR Exploration are just some of Professional Directional's customers.

Professional Directional's job starts after the initial hole is drilled into the ground.

The company's team of experts steps in to direct the bore into the underground shale so natural gas can be released.

"We have our own directional drilling tools and equipment so we do the whole package," Callens said.

More than 30 years of experience is found among each of the company's charter partners, who include Callens, Charlie May, Pat Sparks, Karen O'Neal and Mark Miller, along with Harren Equity.Satellite locations are found in Ridegeport, W.Va., Denver, Colo., Casper, Wy., and Midland, Texas.

Stonewall is the newest location and will provide an office complex and storage facilities.

Professional Directional employs 190 companywide. About 40 to 50 are working in the area.

Stonewall Councilman Charles Waldon said the new company is a sign of continued economic development for the growing part of the parish.

It also will result in additional tax dollars going into the town's coffers. That ultimately will equate to improved roads and police protection.

"But it's good for the whole parish. The more businesses that come to Stonewall, the more we will eventually see," Waldon said. "All of this activity just creates more interest. It's really a boost to Stonewall."

Even more is on tap for the town. Developer Kirk Dickson, who built Professional Directional's building, is developing another 49.5 acres on the same side of the highway. A 24-hour fitness center should be open by late February and the Gunslinger restaurant, which is moving from another location on the south side of town, by summer.

Additional retail space located in a 3,750-square-foot addition to an existing retail strip that he also developed will be ready for lease later this year. Dickson said he's already receiving calls about available space.