Empire Petroleum completes deepest modern subsurface evaluation in Western Haynesville play at 21,006 feet for $4.4 million by re-entering a 1959 wellbore

Empire Petroleum Corporation just completed a 21,006-foot re-entry and subsurface evaluation of the Wakefield-Harrison GU B #1 well in Madison County, Texas—making it the deepest modern open-hole evaluation on record in the Western Haynesville play. The microcap energy company pulled that off for around $4.4 million. For context, other operators in the area are spending $30–$45 million to drill new ultra-deep wells from scratch.

Empire completes 21,006-foot re-entry in Madison County, Texas

The Wakefield-Harrison GU B #1 sits in the Fort Trinidad field, about 100 miles north of Houston. Empire drilled, underreamed, and cleaned out the wellbore to 21,006 feet measured depth—20,949 feet true vertical depth—exposing fresh formation along the way.

At depth, the company ran a full open-hole logging suite and recovered sidewall cores. Hydrocarbon shows—gas and liquids both—were recorded across the logged interval. Temperatures reached up to 434 degrees Fahrenheit, which adds real technical complexity to any downhole operation.

Other active operators in the broader area include Mitsui E&P USA, Hilcorp Energy, Caturus Energy, and Adamas Energy, a Mitsubishi Corporation subsidiary.

Empire describes itself as the first microcap energy company to reach this depth with modern logs and sidewall cores in the Western Haynesville. That distinction puts a small-cap operator alongside—and in some ways ahead of—much larger competitors chasing the same stratigraphic targets.

Re-entry strategy enabled deep access at a fraction of typical drilling costs

Empire’s cost advantage comes down to what it didn’t have to do. Rather than spudding a brand-new ultra-deep well, the company re-entered a wellbore originally drilled in 1959 and deepened twice over the following decade. It was never plugged and abandoned, so the legacy infrastructure was still there.

By underreaming and cleaning out that existing hole, Empire obtained modern log and core data at depths exceeding those publicly disclosed by offset operators—without the capital outlay, scheduling headaches, or surface infrastructure demands of new drilling. Total cost: roughly $4.4 million.

That’s seven to ten times cheaper than the $30–$45 million other operators in the Western Haynesville report spending on new ultra-deep wells. Comstock Resources and Expand Energy are among those drilling new wells in the area at those reported costs. Empire’s re-entry surpassed their publicly disclosed depths while spending a fraction of what those programs require.

Well opens approximately 11,000 feet of previously untested formation

The Fort Trinidad field has a long production history, but that history has a ceiling. Development there historically topped out around 10,000 feet, leaving everything below largely untested with modern tools.

Reaching 20,949 feet TVD, the Wakefield-Harrison GU B #1 opens roughly 11,000 feet of section below the historical development limit—a substantial column of rock now under modern log and core control for the first time. Hydrocarbon shows turned up across multiple intervals. The gas chromatograph detected both C1 and C4-plus, pointing to dry gas and liquids-bearing zones within the logged section.

The depth comparisons are worth noting. At 20,949 feet TVD, the Wakefield-Harrison GU B #1 sits approximately 1,713 feet deeper than Comstock Resources’ McCullough GLR #3 and about 2,398 feet deeper than Expand Energy’s Bobby Yancey #1 pilot well. Other active operators in the broader area include Mitsui E&P USA, Hilcorp Energy, Caturus Energy, and Adamas Energy, a Mitsubishi Corporation subsidiary.

Data from the well will guide Empire’s two-zone development strategy

The immediate value here isn’t production—it’s information. Modern well logs and recovered core samples will feed into a reprocessing of Empire’s existing 3D seismic data, sharpening resolution and subsurface clarity across the company’s acreage.

Two additional wells are currently being deepened. Those operations will add modern logs, vertical seismic profile data, and core samples to the picture—further refining the 3D seismic interpretation and helping establish landing points and design parameters for future horizontal laterals.

Empire’s development strategy targets two production zones. The Intermediate Production Zones, or IPZ, cover the Lower Glen Rose, Rodessa, James Lime, Pettet, and Upper Travis Peak intervals. The Deep Productive Zones, or DPZ, cover the Lower Travis Peak, Cotton Valley Sand, Bossier, and Haynesville intervals. Both zones now have modern subsurface control within reach.

The company also owns supporting midstream infrastructure: 49 miles of pipeline, 9.5 million cubic feet per day of new compression capacity, and two takeaway outlets in the field. Those assets position Empire to move gas if deeper development advances to production.

11,000 feet of untested formation

Empire Petroleum Corporation re-entered a 1959 wellbore in Madison County, Texas, reaching 21,006 feet measured depth for around $4.4 million—the deepest modern open-hole evaluation in the Western Haynesville play. The well recorded hydrocarbon shows across multiple gas and liquids intervals and opened roughly 11,000 feet of previously untested formation below the field’s historical development limit.

That re-entry cost a fraction of the $30–$45 million offset operators report spending on new ultra-deep wells in the same play. Modern logs and sidewall cores will support seismic reprocessing and shape the company’s two-zone development strategy across IPZ and DPZ targets. Two more wells are being deepened to build on that data foundation.

Kelly Lippke

Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.