For East Texas mineral owners
Haynesville, Cotton Valley and Travis Peak: what is under your East Texas land
If you own minerals in East Texas, there is a good chance your royalty statement or a landman has mentioned the Haynesville, the Cotton Valley or the Travis Peak. Here is what those names mean, how they sit on top of each other, and why it matters when you lease or sell.
Stacked zones, in plain words
Underneath much of East Texas, oil and gas is not in one layer. It is in several, stacked like floors in a building. Each floor is a different rock formation, laid down at a different time, and each one is drilled and produced differently. Owning the minerals under a tract usually means owning every floor, unless something in your deed or lease says otherwise.
From shallower to deeper, the three that matter most in the gas counties are the Travis Peak, the Cotton Valley, and the Haynesville. The Bossier shale sits between the Cotton Valley and the Haynesville. In the northern counties, shallower formations like the Paluxy, Rodessa and Woodbine do more of the work.
Travis Peak
The Travis Peak, also called the Hosston in some places, is a set of tight sandstones above the Cotton Valley. It has been produced in East Texas for decades, usually from vertical wells, and it is often drilled through on the way to deeper targets. Operators frequently produce it alongside the Cotton Valley in the same wellbore.
On our county pages, the Travis Peak shows up as a producing formation in counties like Rusk County, Smith County, Upshur County and Cherokee County.
Cotton Valley
The Cotton Valley is a thick section of tight sandstone below the Travis Peak. Tight means the gas does not flow easily on its own. For a long time, a lot of Cotton Valley gas was known to be there but was hard to produce at a profit. Better fracturing techniques and higher gas prices changed that, and operators went back into old fields to produce it.
The result, for owners, is a lot of long-lived wells with gentle decline. A Cotton Valley check tends to be steady. It is the backbone of the royalty income in counties like Panola County, Harrison County, Gregg County, Wood County and Marion County.
Bossier
The Bossier is a shale just above the Haynesville. In parts of the deep gas fairway it is a target on its own. On our county pages it is listed as a producing formation in San Augustine County, Nacogdoches County and Angelina County.
Haynesville
The Haynesville is the deepest of the group and the one most people have heard of lately. It is a shale, drilled with long horizontal wells and large fracture treatments. It became a major gas play in the late 2000s, starting on the Louisiana side and extending into East Texas.
Haynesville wells are expensive and come on strong, then decline steeply in their early years before flattening out. That shape matters a great deal for owners. A brand new Haynesville well can produce a very large first check that will not last. We explain how buyers handle that in how a mineral buyer prices your royalty.
The Haynesville fairway on our map covers counties like San Augustine County, Shelby County, Sabine County, Panola County, Harrison County, Nacogdoches County and Angelina County.
Why a new deep well matters to an old shallow owner
Here is where stacking pays off. Say your family has received a small Cotton Valley check from the same old well for thirty years. If an operator later drills a Haynesville well in your unit, that is new production from a different floor of the same building. Unless your lease or deed limits it, you can be paid on both.
That is why we always look below the well you are being paid on. Sometimes the most valuable thing about an East Texas interest is what has not been drilled yet underneath it. The Texas Railroad Commission publishes permits and well records, so you can check what has been filed near your tract.
Depth clauses: read before you sign
Leases and deeds sometimes split rights by depth. A lease might only hold the depths that are actually producing, with deeper rights released when the primary term ends. A deed might convey "all minerals" or only rights down to a certain depth.
This matters in two directions:
- When you lease, depth limits can leave deeper rights free to lease again later, possibly on better terms.
- When you sell, make sure you know whether you are selling one zone or every zone. A buyer offering on your Cotton Valley check should not quietly get your Haynesville rights for free. Read the legal description, and if it is not clear, ask.
If a depth clause is doing something important in your situation, an attorney who does oil and gas work can read it with you.
The northern counties are different
Not every East Texas county is gas country. In Titus County, Camp County, Franklin County, Bowie County and Red River County, our county pages list shallower formations like the Paluxy, Rodessa and Woodbine, and the wells are mostly older and smaller. The interests there are often modest, steady and overlooked. That can be a good reason to get a fresh look at them.
What to send us
If you want to know what is under your land, call or text (936) 289-3438, or send us the basics through the form on our home page. The county, a recent check stub or division order, and the name on the deed are enough to start. We will tell you which formations are producing under you, what has been permitted nearby, and what that means for value. No charge to look.
You can also start from your county page.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Talk to your own attorney or accountant about your situation.