Fracking Is Back in the Haynesville Shale

American shale drilling has returned to Haynesville Shale, boosting a building boom along the Gulf Coast. When gas prices plunged over a decade ago, Haynesville fracking fizzled out. Now as companies with positions in the area find it efficient to drill again, Haynesville is back in business.

Gas production from the Haynesville has risen more than 20% so far this year, to more than 7 billion cubic feet a day from less than 6 billion in January, according to the U.S. Energy Department. The number of rigs active in northern Louisiana parishes and the Texas portion of the field has more than tripled in the past year to 44, according to oil field services companyBaker Hughes Inc

Apparently, the payouts on these wells are very attractive to companies. Private companies backed by private equity firms have spent billions buying property in the area from Roya Dutch Shell PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp.

“If you have Haynesville acreage, it’s a good time to drill,” said Clay Lightfoot, an analyst with energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.
Regional producers can now also export their liquefied natural gas. Cheniere Energy Inc . LNG +0.46% ’s Sabine Pass LNG plant, a major exporting facility that opened in Louisiana last year, is sending cargoes of liquefied natural gas to Asia, Europe and South America. A dozen other LNG projects are under construction or are permitted and planned in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Maryland.
That’s a potential drawback for industrial users in the area, such as petrochemical plants, of which there are almost 80 under construction along the Gulf Coast. They fear the price of gas—their main feedstock—could rise as America ships more to foreign buyers.

What do you guys think of this? Do you guys support fracking? Many in the industry do due to its lower cost and lower carbon footprint (replacing coal with natural gas) Now that regulations are being toned down over the business, it will thrive and prosper. Is this necessarily good?