Poking

Southwestern Energy Co. has proven itself in the Fayetteville Shale and is now successfully poking holes in the Marcellus. However, it hasn’t been as adept at getting utility gas buyers to put pen to long-term supply contracts.

Mainland Resources Inc. is poking around in a portion of the Haynesville Shale in Mississippi that has been largely unexplored. The Houston-based independent said its Burkley-Phillips No. 1 well on the Buena Vista prospect in Jefferson County has penetrated the top of the target Haynesville at a depth of 19,980 feet.

Mainland Resources Inc. is poking around in a portion of the Haynesville Shale in Mississippi that has been largely unexplored. The Houston-based independent said Thursday its Burkley-Phillips No. 1 well on the Buena Vista prospect in Jefferson County has penetrated the top of the target Haynesville at a depth of 19,980 feet.

Gas producers who’ve traveled around the country poking holes in the ground know that the flavor of what they get varies from basin to basin; some gas is wetter, some has a higher heat content, etc. Over the years since the manufactured gas industry evolved into the natural gas industry, consumers — residential, industrial, process, power generation — and their equipment have grown accustomed to the flavor of gas most prevalent in their particular region. One industry expert described this as an “accident of history.”

Gas producers who’ve traveled around the country poking holes in the ground know that the flavor of what they get varies from basin to basin; some gas is wetter, some has a higher heat content, etc. Over the years since the manufactured gas industry evolved into the natural gas industry, consumers — residential, industrial, process, power generation — and their equipment have grown accustomed to the flavor of gas most prevalent in their particular region. One industry expert described this as an “accident of history.”