Soon after the original organizers of the Lacassane Company purchased the property, they began to investigate revenue sources other than cattle ranching. One of the first OGM leases obtained by the company was from Shell Oil. The resulting well was the first among a long history of successive wells, resulting in continual oil and gas production since. Improvements in hydraulic fracturing technology created a major shift from conventional hydrocarbon exploration to shale exploration throughout the U.S. The resulting resource allocation of exploration companies shifted from South Louisiana, where we have few hydrocarbon bearing shale formations or fracturing opportunities. This new domestic drilling focus, coupled with historically intensive oil and gas operations on Company land has temporarily tempered exploration activity.