Fourth year brings Haynesville Shale slowdown

It’s been four years this month since the Haynesville Shale’s presence was made public, and for the first time since the rich deposit of natural gas was tapped a slowdown is occurring in drilling activity in northwest Louisiana, The Shreveport Times reports. Companies such as Chesapeake, EnCana and Shell are slicing their rig counts in northwest Louisiana, though they continue to service the thousands of wells already drilled there. Industry officials predict that once natural gas prices rise and stabilize, the dry gas fields like the Haynesville will be hot again, especially as markets are developed overseas for liquefied natural gas. “Over the past four years, the Haynesville Shale has brought thousands of direct jobs and created billions of dollars in new business sales for the state of Louisiana,” says Don Briggs, Louisiana Oil and Gas Association president. “The Haynesville Shale is responsible for stabilizing the state economy during a trying financial climate in the United States. While the rig count has split in half from its peak of 139 in 2010 to now around 60 rigs in north Louisiana, we will see certain companies remain in the Haynesville for years to come.” Sales tax collections in DeSoto Parish—which encompasses much of the Haynesville Shale activity—zoomed past $120 million during fiscal year 2010-11, blasting the previous year’s collections of $84 million. To date this year, more than $68 million has been collected, about $9 million less than this time a year ago. Read the full story here.