Much like a cowboy venturing into uncharted territory, E&Ps are roaming Northeast Texas and the far-western sections of the Haynesville Shale in search of more natural gas. It’s a challenging adventure, and while there’s a lot of hope and hype, the recent history of developments outside the Haynesville’s main producing areas shows that success is far from guaranteed. In today’s RBN blog, the second in a series on the Western Haynesville, we’ll discuss how some companies are handling the high-pressure, high-risk environment.
We have written extensively about the Haynesville Shale (see Say You’ll Be There, Don’t Call It A Comeback and, most recently, Sitting, Waiting, Wishing). The Haynesville, one of the OGs of shale development, burst onto the scene in 2008 during the early days of the Shale Revolution. The most popular gas development areas (blue-shaded region in Figure 1) have been Bossier, Caddo, DeSoto and Red River parishes in Louisiana along with Harrison and Panola counties in Texas.
Figure 1. The Haynesville and Surrounding Areas. Source: RBN
But the core part of what we and the broader market generally refer to as the Haynesville has been heavily drilled, and with natural gas prices widely expected to rise as new LNG export capacity comes online along the Gulf Coast (see All Shook Up), producers are expanding outward to non-core areas. In Part 1 of this miniseries, we discussed how oil and gas exploration is venturing into the far-western parts of the Haynesville — particularly the recent activity in Freestone, Leon, Limestone and Robertson counties (dark-green-shaded area in Figure 1), which is quite a distance (about 200 miles) from DeSoto Parish and closer to Dallas. These four North Texas counties are not the core of the Haynesville, but there are Haynesville formations present, and the area is referred to by many as the Western Haynesville.
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About the song
“Should’ve Been a Cowboy” was written by Toby Keith and appears as the first song on Keith’s eponymous debut album. Released as the first single from the album in February 1993, it went to #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and #93 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and has been certified 4X Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song has since become a staple at sporting events held at Oklahoma State University (home of the Cowboys). Personnel on the record were: Toby Keith (lead vocals), Mark Casstevens, Don Potter (acoustic guitar), Michael Crossno, Jim Kimball, John Willis, Reggie Young (electric guitar), Sonny Garrish (steel guitar, dobro), Clayton Ivey, Troy Turner (keyboards), Chuck Goff Jr. and Gary Lynn (bass), Scott Marcha and Milton Sledge (drums), and Michael Black, Thom Flora, Dennis Wilson and Lonnie Wilson (backing vocals).
The album, Toby Keith, was recorded during 1992-93 at Alpine, Music Mill, and Scruggs studios in Nashville, with Harold Shedd and Nelson Larkin producing. Released in April 1993, it went to #17 on the Billboard Top Country chart and #99 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. Four singles were released from the LP.
Toby Keith was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and businessman. His chart-topping debut single, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” was released in 1993. He released 21 studio albums, eight compilation albums and 70 singles. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and received the National Medal of Arts. Keith appeared in two motion pictures. He died at his home in Oklahoma in February 2024 from stomach cancer at the age of 62.
