A horizontal drilling drought has gripped a region of North Texas credited as the birthplace of the shale revolution.
The Barnett Shale has now gone more than a month without an energy company filing for a horizontal drilling permit in the natural gas-rich region.
Pioneered by legendary Houston oilman George Mitchell, the Barnett Shale became the first major shale formation to be successfully developed in the United States after he paired horizontal drilling with modern hydraulic fracturing techniques in the early 2000s. Nearly 20 years later, filings for horizontal drilling permits in the region have all but dried up.
Fort Worth natural gas company TEP Barnett USA LLC was the last company to seek a horizontal drilling permit in the Barnett Shale form the Texas Railroad Commission. The company filed on April 9 to develop three horizontal wells within Arlington city limits.