Aethon leaving Haynesville Shale, selling northwest Louisiana assets to Japanese company

Aethon leaving Haynesville Shale, selling northwest Louisiana assets to Japanese company

• BY LIZ SWAINE | Staff writer   shreveportbossieradvocate.com

https://www.shreveportbossieradvocate.com/business/mitsubishi-purch...

A company that has been part of the Haynesville Shale since 2017 is in the process of selling out to Japan-based Mitsubishi Corporation.

MC said subject to regulatory approval, they plan to purchase all the upstream and other assets and interests of Aethon Energy Management for $5.2 billion. The company is reportedly also taking on $2.33 billion of Aethon debt. Mitsubishi said the transaction “marks MC’s entry into the U.S. shale gas business across the value chain.”

Aethon has had a presence in northwest Louisiana.

“Aethon has probably done more refracking of old wells than any other major player in the Haynesville Shale,” said Shreveport mineral consultant Skip Peel.

“There’s also midstream assets, pipelines and treating facilities. Aethon has been trying to sell their Haynesville assets for at least four years, maybe five, and haven’t been successful up until now.”

Aethon’s holdings may have become more valuable to MC because of a couple of things, said Peel.

“The Japanese need a lot of LNG (liquified natural gas) and want to lock down supply for pricing reasons.” Mitsubishi is a key partner in the Cameron LNG plant on the Calcasieu ship channel.

Also, “The Louisiana Haynesville is getting old, it doesn’t have a long future. But the western Haynesville does, and the western Haynesville has become a priority for a lot of companies just in the last couple of years.”

The western Haynesville is located in the area around Freestone, Leon, Limestone and Robertson counties, which are to the south and east of Dallas. Hearne, which is north of Bryan and College Station, is the largest town in the region. Operators began to lease mineral rights in that region in 2020. 

“Now that Mitsubishi, who has plenty of money to pursue the Western Haynesville, has that footprint, you can bet that they're going to start trying to lease more land and be competitive.”

He said Japanese companies such as TGNR (Tokyo Gas), Mitsui and now, Mitsubishi, were a bit late to the game, but are aggressive and have the financial ability to expand existing footprints.

“The western Haynesville is getting really competitive for leasing,” Peel said, “and when competition ramps up, that means good things for mineral owners.”