A Texas company described as “a major independent” in oil exploration has confirmed its plans to drill for oil over one mile  below the wooded forests of Morehouse Parish.

A spokesman for Devon Energy Production Co. LP said little more than the company is moving forward with its plans to drill on an area off Long Lonesome Road north of Bastrop.

“Right now we plan to start drilling the first well in early September,” said spokesman Chip Minty. “It’s a very new play. We’re still in the assessment phase.”

The term play in petroleum exploration refers to how much product geologists estimate may be in a particular rock formation.

 The permit issued to Devon by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources lists the company’s well - Crossett 31 No. 1 - as being in the Monroe field.

 Monroe geologist Stuart Causey said it’s likely the well will go through the Monroe field, “which is really just gas rock,” in hopes of finding oil in what is called the Smackover dense.

 West Monroe geologist Troy Watters - a Bastrop native - said Devon has relative assurances they’re going to find something beneath the land owned by Louisiana Holdings, a subsidiary of George Pacific.

“They’re a major independent who must feel confident they’re going to find something,” Watters said. “With advances in technology, they’ll be able to get into areas that weren’t possible to explore before.”

 The company’s permit allows them to drill to a depth of 8,250 feet. Morehouse Parish Tax Assessor John Hill said that depth is more than three times deeper than any previous attempt to find oil in Morehouse Parish, the most recent being over 30 years ago.

Watters said if Devon finds oil at any depth, they can begin vertical drilling.

 “In the past, if you hit a 20 foot show, that was it,” Watters said. “With technology available today, that 20 feet also has width that can be explored.”

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