Mitchell Energy had a near-monopoly in drilling Barnett Shale wells in the early years of the field. In 1995, for instance, Mitchell completed 70 Barnett wells, while all other operators combined completed three. This was largely because the Barnett was marginal economically: according to a former CEO, Mitchell had invested about $250 million in the Barnett from 1981 to 1997, and had not recouped its costs. But after 1997, competitors realized that Mitchell had discovered how to extract gas profitably, they, too started buying leases and drilling Barnett wells, at a pace that Mitchell could not match. In 2001, for the first time, Mitchell completed fewer than half the Barnett Shale wells (258 wells, versus 260 by other operators).