With low natural gas prices, Northern Louisiana towns are left empty from oil field workers leaving to more oil rich parts of the country.

1. Oil Field Workers Abandon Northern Louisiana Towns
For the past few years Northern
Louisiana residents have seen a flood of
people and jobs to the region but recently
their streets have become a little quieter.
With natural gas prices hovering around
$3.00, drilling has slowed down in the
Haynesville Shale which brought many jobs to
the area. Business was booming not just for
the oil and gas industry but for everyone that
lived in the Haynesville Shale region.
Today local businesses that just a year ago was flourishing with lots of business are now just
struggling to stay afloat. Everyone now is desperately needing the price of natural gas to raise to prices
that will make drilling in the Haynesville economic once again. The housing market has returned back to
normal prices after it saw its demand sky rocket from the increase of people in the area. Restaurants
that were full the past few years are now looking deserted and roads that use to be cluttered with trucks
and oil field workers are now much more empty.
Many of the workers and energy
companies that were once concentrated
in Northern Louisiana and Eastern Texas
can now be found in areas where oil is
much more prominent. The focus for
now is in parts of the Eagle Ford Shale
play in South Texas, the Permian Basin
in West Texas and the Bakken in North
Dakota. These regions have now
benefited from the prices of natural gas
being low with oil prices still remaining
high because of their large
concentrations of oil.
Until prices of natural gas reach higher values, the towns that are located in the Haynesville
region will remain empty and business will be slow. Landowners especially those who own mineral
rights or royalties are learning the hard way how much the oil and gas industry can fluctuate. Because
of this, having their investments locked up in this industry can cause lots of problems which is why many
people have been looking to companies that will buy their mineral rights or royalties.

2. Residents and businesses are remaining hopeful that their streets will once again be backed up
with workers and trucks hauling drilling supplies. This site will be a welcomed one not just for the
people involved in the energy business but for everyone in this region. Prices of natural gas are
expected to raise back up to around $4.00 within the next year. For another flood of people to the area
to occur, prices of natural gas will need to reach around $4.50 which would make drilling the Haynesville
economic once again.