Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ronald F. Adams on June 28, 2011 at 18:01

Ida has a Haynesville Shale well that is capped, There has been a section north of Hwy 2 and East of Hwy 71 with a permit to drill, I haven't seen any activity there as of yet. I have heard Petrohawk is the company that has the capped sucessful well in Ida.

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on June 29, 2011 at 1:20

Ronald,  I think you need to check that Ida well again.  There are no Haynesville Shale wells in that area.  And sufficient wells have been drilled between Blanchard and Vivian to establish that the shale is not economic that far north.  Currently the most northerly wells are along the stateline area just west and slightly north of the Rose Center or south of Blanchard in the Cross Lake area.  The Haynesville Shale Play moved south long ago.  The Hosston permit is a Will-Drill Cotton Valley well.  There is no obvious current drilling activity in the vicinity of Jack's property west of Vivian.  There has been some leasing activity in that area that I find curious so I asked Jack to post his comment here in the North Caddo group.

In the early Spring Source Oil, LLC bid on a tract in the state mineral auction located in Sections 28, 29, 32 & 33 of 22N - 16W.  That bid caught my attention because it was for a bonus and a royalty that was high for an area with no discernible development activity.  Since that time I have received several reports of leasing activity in this area and extending west into northern Marion and southern Cass counties.  One or more companies seem to have a new interest in that general area but it is not Haynesville Shale.  I suspect that it is oil related interest as opposed to gas but that's just a guess at this point.  There are not enough pieces of the puzzle to work with at this time and I hoped we could get some additional information by starting this discussion here in the N. Caddo Group.

Permalink Reply by Iris on June 29, 2011 at 3:51

Skip,  you know I respect your opinion & knowledge...yet I am very curious why the sudden interest in this area...it may be oil....I hope at least bumping this discussion will generate more response. 

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on June 29, 2011 at 4:00

Iris, there is a lot of increased development interest generated by the price of crude.  I can assure you that what is being discussed here has nothing to do with Haynesville Shale.  Right now my guess is small operators looking for oil prospects along and near the state line area of Caddo Parish and Cass and Marion counties.  Members with interests in this area should also join and monitor the Marion County group where there is permitting and drilling activity.  We need some additional input to help clarify the nature of this recent activity.

 

http://www.gohaynesvilleshale.com/forum/topics/7-drilling-permits-p...

Permalink Reply by Ronald F. Adams on June 29, 2011 at 6:31

Skip,

The supposed completed Shale well is just east of the Brown's property in Ida. One of the Brown brothers is an employee of Petrohawk. Are you saying that the Haynesville Shale is not going to be produced between Vivian and the Red River along Hwy 2 because it is too expensive to successfully drill there. Why?

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on June 29, 2011 at 6:44

Ronald, if you can give me a section-township-range for the Ida well, I can tell you more about it.  However, I specialize in the Haynesville/Bossier Shale Play and can assure you that it is not a Haynesville Shale well.  There are about 6 completed Haynesville Shale wells in the Longwood and Caddo Pine Island fields and all were disappointing.  The rest of the well permits expired without being drilled.  Those wells were completed over two years ago so this is not new news.  The consensus is that the high clay content in the shale that far north makes it difficult to fracture successfully.  The more clay the shale contains the more plastic and less brittle it is.  The wells I think you are speaking of  between Hosston and the Red River are ETOCO wells.  They are producing from the Cotton Valley formation, not the Haynesville although at the time they were drilled many of us thought they were likely testing the Haynesville.  If those wells have shown any potential for the Haynesville there would have been more wells drilled.  There has been no activity in that area until Will-Drill's recent Cotton Valley permit.  If you wish to read more about the north Caddo wells I have mentioned there are numerous discussions in the archive for the North Caddo Parish Group.  At the bottom of the discussions on the Caddo Main Page, click on "View All".

Permalink Reply by Ronald F. Adams on July 1, 2011 at 9:33

Skip, Shale is sedimentary rock formed by clay particles and whatever other minerals that are suspended in shallow sea water sinking to the bottom of the sea and over a period of time hardening into sedimentary rock. The Haynesville Shale was formed approximately 150 million years ago during the Jurassic Period. The Haynesville shale is colored black, this is because it is saturated with hydrocarbons, oil and/or natural gas. You may want to check the geologic maps that are available. This shale formation stretches from the coastal region of south Louisiana up into southwest Arkansas and along the Cass County and Marion Counties of east Texas. It is expensive to drill down two mile and then drill horizotally and then Fracture the fissile shale rock with high pressure water or other fluids that the drilling company uses to crack the shale rock into a state that allows this dense rock to shed its hydrocarbons. I took several graduate courses in Geology and I think that the Haynesville Shale is mainly the same type of shale from end to end. The reason that drilling stayed south of Shreveport was and is the price of natural gas dropping down to around $4 /1000cft. When the price of natural gas rises and demand for additional natural gas becomes a reality, we should see a few of these capped discovery wells opened and production be started in the northern parts of this geological shale gas field. Meanwhile remember that shale is shale and it is all mostly clay particles that have been compressed into sedimentary rock.

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on July 1, 2011 at 13:44

Ronald,  portions of the Haynesville Formation are shale, others are sand and still others a combination of the two.  There are numerous Haynesville Sand wells in N. LA.  They are long lived vertical wells and wherever you find them you have found sand and not shale.  Only a portion of the Haynesville Basin is shale and only a portion of that is economic.  Owing to the plastic nature of the Haynesville Shale where higher clay content is present, it is less brittle and therefore will not fracture sufficiently to make it economic even at $6 or $7 per mcf.  This has been stated by numerous operators and they have backed it up with their actions.  We'll just have to disagree on this topic.  I'll would be happy to be proven wrong but I do not suggest anyone consider holding their breathe.

Permalink Reply by Ronald F. Adams on July 4, 2011 at 17:47

Skip, you are a land man, your expertise is leasing land for oil and gas companies.

Stick to what you know best, Physicians take an oath to do no harm. They stick to their specialty. I believe you are a good guy, just a little confused about the geology of rocks, the Haynesville Shale is sedimentary rock, not sand alone. There can be varying amounts of quartz particles entrapped in the layers of shale.

Demand for cng must increase before the Chesapeakes and Petrohawks start the clock ticking on shale leases that will not be drilled unless they find additional customers for their gas production.

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on July 5, 2011 at 1:58

Ronald, my expertise is research specifically database and title. You may lump me in a landman category if you wish but I think you will find my posts here on the website are numerous and accurate. Three years worth.  My statements reflect what the industry has announced regarding the shale in North Caddo Parish and what qualified experts have posted on GHS.  You're a little late to this topic but you can catch up by reviewing the prior discussions that took place in late 2008 and early 2009 when the wells were drilled and completed.  I'll stick to the facts that clearly state that price is not the primary challenge in areas of the Haynesville Play with high clay content.  The ability to frac the shale and maintain the the fracture fairways will be required to make those areas economic.

Permalink Reply by Jay Rossi on July 30, 2011 at 1:59

Mr Linson,

I just ran across your post and thought I would clear up some anxiety you were having over the "unexplained interest" in your property. I am one of the "4" prospects that inquired about your property. I believe that the "sudden interest" in your property was no more than coincidence in receiving several inquiries in a short period of time. I cannot speak for the other 3 prospects showing interest, but I have a very high level of confidence in saying that none of the "4" prospects were trying to cash in on some new oil and gas play on your property or in your area. I do not know of any new interest with regard to exploration in your area. Hopefully, I have put some of your anxiety in thinking that you were making a mistake because something major was about to occur. Also, I was negotiating under an LLC that I started with my wife several years ago, named Land Endeavors, which is not a large company as you had stated with a web site.... it is simply an LLC that holds our land and mineral interest. Take Care and good luck in the future.