The Barnett formation
Geology, footprint, and mineral-owner context for the Barnett, drawn from public USGS and state survey sources. Resource figures describe the play as a whole and are not a per-acre value. Every figure on this page is an estimate subject to verification of your specific interest.
Last updated June 2026.
What is the Barnett?
The Barnett is a Mississippian-age shale in the Fort Worth Basin and the play that launched the modern shale era, developed by Mitchell Energy in the Newark East field beneath Tarrant, Johnson, Wise, and Denton counties. It is a mature dry-gas and liquids play. The USGS has assessed the Barnett and the Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin for undiscovered, technically recoverable gas, a play-wide figure rather than a per-acre yield.
The Barnett is the shale that started it all. In the Newark East field of the Fort Worth Basin, Mitchell Energy combined hydraulic fracturing with horizontal drilling in the 1990s and early 2000s and proved that a tight shale could produce gas at commercial rates, which set off the shale boom across the country. The play sits beneath the Dallas-Fort Worth area, concentrated in Tarrant, Johnson, Wise, and Denton counties, and ranges from dry gas in the core to a more liquids-rich character toward the basin edge. The Barnett is now a mature play, so much of the activity is steady production and refracturing of existing wells rather than a wave of new drilling. For a mineral owner, a Barnett royalty is mostly gas-weighted and is valued on the income the wells actually pay, on the standard income multiple, not on any play-wide resource number.
Barnett geology
- Age and lithology
- Mississippian-age organic-rich shale, both a source rock and a reservoir, in the Fort Worth Basin. Source: USGS Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin assessment and the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology.
- The play that launched the shale era
- The Newark East field, developed by Mitchell Energy, proved horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing in the Barnett and set the template for modern shale development.
- Where it produces
- The Fort Worth Basin beneath the Dallas-Fort Worth area: Tarrant, Johnson, Wise, and Denton counties, dry gas in the core and more liquids-rich toward the edge.
How much oil and gas the Barnett holds
The USGS has assessed the Barnett Shale and the Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin Province for undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas, reported across the basin's continuous accumulations. The reported figures are undiscovered play-wide estimates, not proven reserves and not a measure of any individual property.
Source: USGS Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin Province assessment (Fact Sheet); Texas Bureau of Economic Geology.
Counties in the Barnett play
These are the counties and parishes we cover where the Barnett produces. Each links to local value context and the operators active there.
What the Barnett means for your minerals
A resource estimate for a play is not the value of your acreage. Your mineral and royalty interest is valued on the income your wells actually pay, roughly 36 to 72 times your average monthly royalty check, the same as 3 to 6 times your annual royalty. Where you land in that band depends on your wells decline, the operator, your royalty rate, and any undeveloped drilling upside. For the full method and a free on-screen estimate, see what are my mineral rights worth.
The Barnett is part of the Fort Worth Basin. For the basin-wide value bands and the counties we buy in, see the Fort Worth Basin page.
Barnett questions
- What is the Barnett Shale?
- The Barnett is a Mississippian-age shale in the Fort Worth Basin beneath the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It is the play that launched the modern shale era, developed by Mitchell Energy in the Newark East field across Tarrant, Johnson, Wise, and Denton counties.
- Is the Barnett still active?
- The Barnett is a mature play, so much of the activity is steady production and refracturing of existing wells rather than a wave of new drilling. It is mostly gas-weighted, so royalties track natural-gas prices.
- How are Barnett minerals valued?
- A Barnett interest is valued on the income it pays, roughly 36 to 72 times your average monthly royalty check. USGS resource figures describe the whole Fort Worth Basin, not your property. This is an estimate, subject to verification, not an offer.
Sources
See what your Barnett minerals could be worth
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