Advocate Staff report  Aug. 06, 2015

Goodrich Petroleum Corp. will narrow its focus in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, dropping leases on 50,000 acres by the end of the year and concentrating drilling efforts in the Tangipahoa and Washington parishes area.

During a Wednesday conference call, Chief Executive Officer Gil Goodrich said the company will focus on a 150,000-acre core area that covers parts of Wilkinson and Amite counties in Mississippi and extends into Tangipahoa and Washington parishes.

Wells in Tangipahoa area seem to go smoothly, and Goodrich has been able to drill them more quickly, President Rob Turnham said.

Leases in East Feliciana and West Feliciana parishes have lots of potential, but it will take much higher oil prices or sharply lower well costs for Goodrich to drill more, he said.

The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale is an oil-rich formation that crosses the middle of Louisiana and extends into Mississippi. The shale contains an estimated 9 million barrels of oil.

Goodrich has been the biggest player in the formation, with more than 300,000 acres under lease. But the company’s performance, like other energy companies, has suffered with oil prices about half of what they were in June 2014.