https://webapps.rrc.state.tx.us/DP/drillDownQueryAction.do?name=VALLIER-SESSIONS&fromPublicQuery=Y&univDocNo=498043252
Maximus is Key Exploration’s drilling operation. Maximus drilled this as a vertical well back in 2022. This new permit says they are re-entering to drill a Haynesville horizontal with a TVD of 15,000 feet. I did a W-1 search and this the first horizontal well that Maximus has ever permitted in Texas.
The lateral runs through the Musquiz A-37 and Cook A-161 Surveys. Both these surveys contain acreage included in Key’s two-year seismic options that were converted into leases. In addition, CHK had permitted a vertical well in the Musquiz Survey back in 2007.
Is Maximus fronting for Expand? Maybe. Could be something else. Regardless, it appears we are getting close to finding out who has been leasing acreage in Cherokee County since February 2021.
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I got some input on this situation from people more knowledgeable than me, and their comments have led me to this conclusion: The Maximus vertical well drilled in 2022 was a science well designed to collect data on the Bossier/Haynesville interval in Cherokee County.
Here are some factors that lead to that conclusion:
The well unit was only 40 acres; too small for a producing well.
Drilling was completed on November 7, 2022, but the completion report and other required RRC documents were not filed until September/October of 2025. Definitely kept things secret!
The only casing set was surface casing. Large wellbore to TD with plenty of room for re-entry and sidetracking for horizontal well.
The completion report showed Bossier at TVD of 12,348 and top of Cotton Valley Lime (base of Haynesville) at 13,433. So the Bossier/Haynesville segment is 1,000 feet thick.
The fact that they are proceeding with a horizontal well indicates that the test results were positive.
Whoever is behind this has done a super job of keeping things secret. I still lean toward Expand, but it is also possible that Key has put together a consortium of investors or smaller E&P companies.
We will learn more as facts emerge in the coming days…
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