It turned an energy update luncheon into a celebration of Texas energy. Mitchell Energy's got 15 drilling rigs working in Denton and Wise Counties right now. The company's goal is to complete 280 wells in 2001. New technology enables Mitchell to extract natural gas from tight places. Sand and water, at extremely high pressure are forced into a well to fracture deposits of Burnett shale to free up natural gas.
Demand is up for natural gas to fuel new power plants.
And the price has tripled in three years. Rig counts are up. The biggest problem now is finding enough qualified people to work in the oil field. Helen Renshaw is getting a nice payoff. She sold her land but held onto the mineral rights.