Comstock Resources has put forward a two-part financing plan that could materially reshape its balance sheet without surrendering control of its Haynesville natural gas operations. The company said Tuesday that Azerbaijan’s state energy group SOCAR may pay $1.65 billion in cash for minority interests in upstream and midstream assets, while a partnership owned by the family of Comstock’s majority shareholder, Jerry Jones, will fund most of a separate $450 million drilling program.
The structure matters because it addresses the central tension facing capital-intensive gas producers: how to accelerate development without allowing debt and upfront drilling costs to absorb too much of the future commodity upside. Comstock estimates that proceeds from the SOCAR transaction would reduce net debt from $3.1 billion to $1.5 billion, measured as of June 30. That is a company projection, and the asset sale remains subject to a definitive agreement and required approvals, but the potential reduction is large enough to change the risk profile of the equity.
SOCAR would acquire 20% of Comstock’s interest in its Legacy Haynesville upstream assets, 15% of its Western Haynesville interest and 15% of Comstock’s 73% stake in Pinnacle Gas Services. The Western Haynesville share would decline to 7.5% after five years and after SOCAR earns a 15% return on that investment. Comstock would remain operator of the upstream assets and continue to manage and control Pinnacle, preserving decision-making authority while bringing in outside capital.
That balance between ownership and control is the transaction’s most important feature. Comstock is monetizing part of its asset base, but not exiting it. SOCAR would also receive rights to participate at agreed percentages in future opportunities in the two Haynesville areas, while offering Comstock potential access to international gas customers through SOCAR’s marketing network. For SOCAR, the proposal adds exposure to a major U.S. gas basin without requiring it to become the operator.
The second agreement pushes the risk-sharing model into the drilling budget. Beginning September 1, a Jones-family partnership will fund 85% of drilling and completion costs for 18 Western Haynesville wells and 80% for nine Legacy Haynesville wells over the next 12 months. Once the partnership achieves a 15% return, half of its interest in the wells will revert to Comstock. In practical terms, Comstock reduces its upfront funding burden while retaining a path to recapture half of the outside interest after the investor’s return threshold is reached.
The financing arrives as Comstock is already expanding production. The company reported second-quarter output of 113.1 billion cubic feet equivalent, up 16% from the first quarter and 1% from a year earlier. It generated $170.2 million of operating cash flow during the quarter and $245 million of adjusted EBITDAX. Those figures show a functioning operating base, while the scale of the planned drilling venture illustrates why outside capital can be consequential.
The wider market backdrop supports development, but not without price risk. The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects Haynesville production to rise 9% in 2026, helped by the region’s proximity to Gulf Coast LNG export terminals and major industrial customers. The agency also forecasts record U.S. marketed gas production and an average 2026 Henry Hub price of $3.44 per million British thermal units. EIA says Haynesville drilling remains economical at that price, but its record-production forecast keeps supply growth central to the investment risk.
Investors should therefore view the announcement as a financing and execution story, not a completed deleveraging event. The SOCAR arrangement is currently a letter of intent, with the parties targeting a definitive agreement by October 31 and closing by year end. If it proceeds on the announced terms, Comstock will have exchanged minority economics for lower leverage, lower near-term capital intensity and continued operational control. The payoff will depend on disciplined drilling and realized gas prices, but the proposed structure gives the company more room to pursue both without placing the entire funding burden on its own balance sheet.