Apex expands, Comstock repositions in Haynesville shale

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(The Center Square) – A series of recent deals are reshaping gas production in the Haynesville shale basin, with established companies repositioning themselves and a new player emerging.

Apex Natural Gas, a Shreveport-based exploration and production company owned by hedge fund giant Citadel, bought assets in the Haynesville basin on both sides of the Texas-Louisiana border in two transactions in early December, and is fast becoming one of the leading operators in the region.

Citadel acquired Paloma Natural Gas for $1.2 billion in February 2025, renamed the company Apex Natural Gas and in December paid $430 million to buy Haynesville shale gas acreage in Louisiana and Texas from Comstock, majority-owned by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, according to a report in Bloomberg.

In a separate transaction, Apex announced it paid an undisclosed amount to Houston-based Azul for shale gas assets in northwest Louisiana.

Apex currently operates nine rigs in northwest Louisiana, up from one in March, making the company the most active driller in the state, according to the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association’s most recent drilling report. Five of the active Apex rigs were in Desoto Parish while there was one each in Bienville, Bossier, Caddo and Red River parishes.

Apex’s owner, Citadel, is one of the biggest traders of natural gas financial assets in the U.S. but previously did not own pipelines, drilling rigs and other production assets.

Comstock, owned 71% by Jones, sold assets in Louisiana to reposition itself to focus more on opportunities on the Texas side of the border in the Haynesville basin.

Comstock sold four gas producing wells and acreage to Apex and will now focus on developing its production in east Texas, where the company is working with NextEra Energy on a plan to supply natural gas to a data center campus about equidistant from Dallas and Houston.

Comstock is actively drilling in Nacogdoches, San Augustine and Shelby counties in Texas. The company remains active on the Louisiana side of the border as well, with active rigs in the Haynesville Shale region in early December, according to the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association drilling report.

Demand for natural gas in the U.S. is rising, driven by increased domestic consumption from data centers and manufacturing and high demand for domestically produced liquified natural gas in global markets.