La. natural gas speculation padding pocketbooks, hopes (2/4ページ)

The shale's boundaries are still up for interpretation. But the hot zones appear to include all of DeSoto Parish, the mid to southern regions of Caddo and Bossier parishes, the southern tip of Webster, the western end of Bienville Parish, most of Red River Parish, the upper parts of Sabine and Natchitoches parishes and sections of east Texas.

What if the Haynesville Shale turns out to overshadow the Barnett Shale?

"We don't know how that will look. It's going to take a little time," Briggs said. "However, there's obviously enough evidence with the preliminary test that certainly has sparked an immense fever of excitement about drilling in the Haynesville Shale, and it could be very big."

He expects that as many as 70 gas drilling rigs could be running on the site next year, up from 40 now. Each rig employs about 184 people.

"So indirectly you're talking about a lot of new employment, sales taxes to the parishes," he said. "You're talking about royalty payments to the landowners and you're talking about leasing to the landowners."

It could take several years before the potential, or lack thereof, of the Haynesville Shale is realized. Drilling likely will shift from the standard vertical wells to more expensive horizontal wells, requiring more manpower, equipment, expertise and time. Predictions are it will take another year or so before knowing if it's a viable commercial opportunity.

With Chesapeake ahead in the play for land, other companies are wasting little time catching up. Petrohawk Energy Corp of Houston has acquired more than 70,000 acres in northwest Louisiana.

Other companies snatching up lease acreage include Encana, Questar, Camterra, Fossil Operating and Shell Western, according to the Louisiana Office of Conservation. An informal list at the DeSoto clerk's office adds Comstock, El Paso, Pin Oak, Sun Coast, Audubon Gas and Winchester.