On its Q2 2026 earnings call held July 30, Comstock Resources reported second-quarter production averaged 1,243 MMcfe/d, up 16% vs. Q1 2026 and up 1% vs. Q2 2025, as the late-March turn-in-lines (TILs) that depressed Q1 2026 volumes reached full production. Comstock held full-year 2026 production guidance at 1,250-1,400 MMcfe/d and guided Q3 to 1,300-1,400 MMcfe/d, but raised its 2026 capital budget guidance to $1.45-1.55 billion from the $1.40-1.50 billion guided in May, a 3.4% increase with no offsetting increase in volume guidance.
The added capital does not buy more wells however, as Comstock now expects to drill 70 operated wells in 2026, one fewer than the 71 in its Q1 outlook. First-half volumes averaged just 1,166 MMcfe/d, well below the full-year guidance range. Well results held up: the 11 Western Haynesville wells turned to sales year-to-date averaged 31 MMcf/d on 10,331-foot laterals, matching 22 legacy TILs on longer 12,052-foot laterals.
Costs are the sticking point, as the Western Haynesville D&C reductions Comstock flagged as a 2026 priority last quarter have yet to materialize. Q2 drilling costs rose 13% sequentially to $1,738 per lateral foot and completion costs rose 5% to $1,609/ft, putting combined D&C near $3,350/ft — roughly 2.4x legacy Haynesville costs and a level that has not seen significant reduction since 2024 (see chart below). COO Dan Harrison attributed the increase to steering difficulties in two laterals and wells drilled about 1,200 feet deeper in true vertical depth than the Q1 group. One bright spot: the quarter's first "big hole" long lateral, the Dolly Jones, achieved a drilling cost of $1,306 per lateral foot, 25% below the quarter average and Comstock's cheapest well at 16,000 feet TVD or deeper. Two more are drilling to confirm repeatability, with another dozen targeted. The company expects higher-temperature-rated drilling motors within two to three months, with its first 10k psi Western Haynesville rig deploying in October.
Source: Comstock Q2 2026 earnings presentation
Asked whether the current (nine rig, four frac) activity pace would continue into 2027, management said it has been "disappointed with the gas prices" this summer, would want to see "stronger prices" to support that level of activity next year, and will not set 2027 plans until late in the year.
