When one thinks of the Fayetteville shale, one company name comes to mind immediately – Southwestern Energy. Houston-based Southwestern was the earliest entrant in the Fayetteville shale play and today still has nearly three times the natural gas production of its nearest competitor in the formation. The Fayetteville shale is located on the Arkansas side of the Arkoma Basin and cuts a swath through the north-central part of the state east to the Mississippi River.

Experts believe the Fayetteville shale could hold up to 20 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy is the second-largest lease holder in the Fayetteville shale play, followed by Petrohawk Operating Co. and XTO Energy, which was recently acquired by Exxon Mobil Corp. Southwestern has sold some of its Fayetteville assets to XTO.