DUC and Cover: Haynesville Crosses 60 Rigs as Producers Bank Wells

DUC and Cover: Haynesville Crosses 60 Rigs as Producers Bank Wells

ArkLaTex, Expand Energy, Haynesville, Natural Gas, The Daley Note

Posted by:  East Daley Analytics  May 5, 2026

https://eastdaley.com/daley-note/duc-and-cover-haynesville-crosses-...

Drilling in the ArkLaTex Basin (Haynesville) has staged a sharp recovery over the past 18 months, reaching a multi-year high of 60 active rigs. And while the recovery is real, the behavior of operators behind the numbers tells a more interesting story.

Historical and forecasted rig activity is available in the ‘ArkLaTex Basin Production Outlook’ dashboard in East Daley Analytics’ Energy Data Studio. Haynesville rig counts bottomed at 36 in December 2024, down from 54 at the start of the year. Rig counts since then have steadily marched higher, passing 60 in February and holding near that level in our latest weekly count (see figure below).

Apex Natural Gas is the headliner of the current cycle. The operator (formerly Paloma Natural Gas, now under Citadel ownership) ran essentially no rigs in the Haynesville entering 2024, but has since executed the most aggressive ramp-up in the basin’s recent history. Apex became the most active Haynesville operator by early 2026, deploying as many as 13 rigs at a time. That program has generated 40 drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs), nearly all spudded after mid-2025. In 1Q26 alone, 17 wells drilled by Apex have been left uncompleted.

Expand Energy (EXE) entered 2024 as the clear basin leader, running ~13 rigs. It has since shed 8 rigs. Despite pulling back on drilling activity, Expand holds 33 DUCs, the second-largest inventory among the five largest operators in the basin. Accounting for the quality of EXE’s acreage, those DUCs edge out Apex for first place in terms of total latent supply. Comstock Resources (CRK; 31 DUCs), Aethon/Adamas combined (27 DUCs), and TG Natural Resources (18 DUCs) round out the picture.

Across the five producers, 149 wells sit drilled and uncompleted as of April 2026. The recent DUC build is consistent among Haynesville operators and is not incidental. The decision to stockpile wells reflects a coordinated industry posture: drill to prepare supply ahead of time, then manage the completion decision based on the price environment. The inventory that has accumulated as a result represents a material call option on near-term Haynesville supply.

See East Daley Analytics’ ArkLaTex Supply & Demand Report for more on the basin outlook. – Oren Pilant Tickers: CRK, EXE.