Shreveport
Shreveport
Search
bossier Visit
Our
Sister
Site!

Last Modified: September 12, 2008Oil & Gas

Shreveport has enjoyed a rich and profitable relationship with the gas and oil industry that dates back to 1870 when a night watchman who was working at an ice plant in Shreveport accidentally discovered natural gas leaking from an old artesian water well. The gas was piped to the plant to provide fuel for lighting and the event signified the first use of the kind of natural gas that now heats most of the homes and businesses in Louisiana. The next significant development occurred on Sept. 21, 1901, when the first oil gusher was discovered at the Heywood well near Jennings. The event sparked rapid development of Louisiana’s gas and oil industry culminating in 1969 with a total state production of 728.5 million barrels of crude and condensate oil. Within a 25 mile radius of Shreveport, 20 oil and gas fields currently producing at profitable levels are:

·        Shreveport Oil Field

·        Honore Gas Field

·        Sentell Oil and Gas Field

·        Dixie Oil Field

·        Sentell Gas Field

·        Sligo Oil and Gas Field

·        Walnut Bayou Gas Field

·        Greenwood Gas and Oil Field

·        Metcalf Oil and Gas Field

·        Gayles Gas Field

·        Longwood Oil and Gas Field

·        Longwood Oil and Gas Field

·        Benton Oil and Gas Field

·        Elm Grove Oil and Gas Field

·        Rock Point Oil Field

·        Bellevue Oil and Gas Field

·        Longwood Oil Field

·        Caspiana Gas Field

·        Johnson Gas Field

·        Atkins Gas Field

 

The Haynesville Shale near Shreveport represents a huge economic windfall

 

Shale is a thinly laminated type of rock consisting of tiny sedimentary particles of clay, silt or mud. Shale is often subject to high heat and pressure over millions of years that cause carbon deposits to turn into large quantities of natural gas and oil. The Haynesville Shale Natural Gas Field Formation, also called the Shreveport Shale because it is located in the region surrounding Shreveport, is believed to be the 4th largest natural gas shale field in the world. Recent land purchases in the Haynesville Shale area by oil development companies could mean that an increase in natural gas production in northwestern Louisiana may be imminent. An economic boon caused by significantly increased natural gas production would mean more jobs would be created, many different types of businesses would profit from the trade, and the increase in taxes collected would eventually reach the school systems and benefit Louisiana’s students. In July, 2008, the Louisiana Mineral Board collected $48.7 million from 8 leases in the Haynesville Shale area. 7 of those leases are located in Caddo Parish and it is estimated that $46.4 million in bonus payments will be received by the Caddo Parish Commission.