Houston Chronicle said last week more than five weeks have passed since an oil company has filed for a drilling permit for a new horizontal well in Barnett Shale with the Railroad Commission of Texas. Baker Hughes said in its latest rig count that there is one active drilling rig in the natural gas-rich geological formation in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The Chronicle said the last five-week drought for Barnett Shale permits was spring 2019.
The Chronicle said a 2013 study estimated that the Barnett has 44 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas reserves, but “it might have to remain in the ground for financial reasons… Drilling and hydraulic fracturing in much of the region isn’t cost-effective.” Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy had been the region’s top horizontal driller, but it cut activity, sold assets and exited the shale play in December. Houston-based Lime Rock Resources has emerged as the region’s top horizontal well driller with 21 permits filed in 2019.