The Barnett Shale

Our 100-year legacy and financial strength have allowed us to help thousands of mineral owners get closer to where they want to be by offering our clients the right to secure a competitive cash settlement upfront, instead of waiting for operators to produce from the formation. 

Barnett’s Significance

According to the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council, the 24-county field encompasses 5,000 square miles in North Texas and is the largest and most developed onshore natural gas field in the state and, what many experts believe, in the United States.

Although it was first discovered in 1981, it wasn’t until the late 1990s that it became commercially productive to drill the Barnett Shale due to fracture technique breakthroughs necessary to penetrate the tight shale.

While the Barnett Shale is predominantly a natural gas play, and has become less attractive to some due to a significant decrease in natural gas prices, we still see tremendous value in these assets. We have been aggressively acquiring Barnett minerals since 2007 and our pace has not slowed, purchasing more than 26,000 acres in the last few years.