If one uses the Haynesville shale and Bossier shale interchangeably, (as many are starting to do) then operators will target the Lower Bossier in East Texas and the Haynesville shale in Louisiana. On that score, this play keeps getting better--and bigger. So says analyst Subash Chandra of Jefferies & Co., in his recent report titled 'Resource Chronicles.' People still ask if this play is "real" and he answers that yes, it is. These two appear to be sides of the same coin--just located on either side of the state line. Based on their shale thickness, natural faulting and fracturing, and high organic content, the Bossier and the Haynesville look good, "confirming the Haynesville as the most dynamic play since the Barnett shale," Chandra says. He uses the two terms interchangeably and includes, therefore, the Texas side of the coin (the Lower Bossier). "If the Haynesville was confined to a 5-county area in northwest Louisiana, the play would be one-third smaller than the Barnett. Instead, the play most certainly overlaps into East Texas, perhaps over a much larger area than just the border counties." The analyst says a horizontal well drilled by Penn Virginia (PVA) in Harrison County, Texas, is a "defining moment" for the play. The Fogle 5-H extends it into Texas and more important, confirmed expectations with a high flow rate--one that can be produced at between 10- and 15 million cubic feet per day. The well hints that the prospective area for gas production may be larger than anyone thought, because this kind of flow rate was expected in Louisiana first, not necessarily on the Texas side. Now we just need many more data points--that is, well results--to define the areal extent of this play and what the recoveries will be per well and per section. No worries there--many more wells are to be drilled this year on both sides of the state line. --Leslie Haines, Editor in chief, Oil and Gas Investor, lhaines@hartenergy.com