by:  April L. Rolen-Ogden

Currently, the talk of the town in North Louisiana is the “Haynesville Shale.” Experts describe this mineral formation “as one of the richest fields of natural gas ever discovered in this region.” Technically speaking, the Haynesville Shale is defined as “a layer of sedimentary rock more than 10,000 feet below the surface.” The Shreveport Times reports that “[a]t least 40 rigs are running now and 70 or more are to be in place by the end of next year . . .” This has been coined as the largest domestic find of natural gas in recent history.

The first Haynesville Shale EXPO, which is free to the public, is being held on November 21, 2008 at the Shreveport Convention Center. Persons and businesses interested in learning more about the Haynesville Shale and the opportunities it presents to landowners and the oil and gas exploration and production industry alike will benefit from this EXPO.

The EXPO is being presented by Petrohawk Energy, Chesapeake Energy, The Times, Devon Energy, EnCana Energy, and XTO Energy. For more information, please view the Shreveport Times article entitled First EXPO on Haynesville Shale Set for Nov. 21 at this link: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080916/NEWS01/80916026.