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The Barnett shale in north-central Texas lies in the Fort Worth Basin. Discovered in the 1950s, the Barnett was not commercially viable until the 1980s. Some geologists believe the formation could hold 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. A significant part of the drilling has occurred in the Fort Worth metro area, and Chesapeake Energy actually secured rights to drill beneath the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Drilling in the Barnett shale intensified in the past decade as modern horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques were perfected for drilling in shale. Devon Energy, Chesapeake Energy, XTO Energy, and EOG Resources are among the larger players in the Barnett shale. Two years ago, 70% of all US gas shale production came from the Barnett, but that percentage of the total has been declining as production has risen in other plays.
Building an E&P company and making exit decisions
Oct 1, 2005
Peak Energy Resources Inc. was formed in November of 2002 with an initial equity commitment from Yorktown Energy Partners of $10 million.
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Industry is awash in capital, but faces different set of challenges
Jun 1, 2005
In this article, I will describe several macro-economic forces that are in play within the energy business as well as several economic trends worldwide.
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A&D market expected to heat up in 2005
Apr 1, 2005
With many of the large independent and major integrated oil and gas companies facing stagnant reserve replacement or falling reserves, industry observers are predicting that asset acquisition and divestiture activity will intensify in 2005.
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Independents' innovations pay off in prolific Barnett shale play
Mar 1, 2004
Petroleum geologists and engineers worked for decades to unravel the secrets of economically producing natural gas from the enormous Barnett shale formation in north central Texas, and the efforts are paying off.
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The “natural gas revolution” is changing global energy dynamics, including the outlook for energy security in the United States and elsewhere. 
In his keynote speech to the annual 31st annual CERAWeek Executive Conference in Houston, Peter Voser, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell plc, outlines what the industry and policymakers must do to ensure society fully leverages the many benefits of natural gas. He calls for well-targeted and robustly enforced regulations to ensure tight and shale gas production meets the highest standards. He also urges the industry to do a better job of listening and responding to public concerns about the environmental and operational challenges associated with gas production.
Read the full speech by Peter Voser here.