BSM, Caturus advance Haynesville expansion with multi-year drilling pact

(WO) - Black Stone Minerals, L.P. has signed a major development agreement with Caturus Energy covering 220,000 gross acres across the Shelby Trough and Haynesville Expansion area—a move aimed at accelerating long-term natural gas development to meet growing Gulf Coast demand.

The multi-year plan establishes a structured drilling program operated by Caturus. Activity begins in 2026 with two gross wells and is expected to ramp to roughly a dozen gross wells annually by year six. Drilling progression will be guided by minimum yearly lateral-foot commitments, all net to Black Stone’s mineral position.

Black Stone currently controls about 40,000 undeveloped net acres within the contract footprint and sees room for further acquisitions to grow its interest.

Chairman and CEO Thomas L. Carter Jr. said the partnership aligns capital, technical expertise, and a constructive gas-market outlook with Black Stone’s century-long strategy of aggregating and managing high-interest mineral acreage in East Texas.

“With substantial mineral ownership and control of the resource, we can meaningfully shape development timing and partner with strong operators,” Carter said. “Caturus brings front-line operating capability to accelerate the extraction of BSM reserves.”

Caturus, backed by Kimmeridge and integrated with the Commonwealth LNG project in Louisiana, said the agreement supports its broader strategy of building a wellhead-to-water natural gas platform.

“The addition of this Haynesville opportunity advances our ability to deliver responsibly sourced gas to domestic and international markets,” CEO David Lawler said.

Including this agreement, Black Stone now has over 200,000 net acres covered by announced development partnerships, representing an estimated two decades of drilling inventory in the Haynesville and Bossier plays.