?1 Just in time for the holidays, Clay Baird, with headquarters in Clarksville, Ind., has staked a wildcat near Santa Claus, Ind. The wildcat will evaluate Bethel sand in the southeastern Illinois Basin. The #1 Isaacs is projected to reach about 1,200 ft. in Section 19-5s-5w, Spencer County. The well lies about a mile south-southwest of the closest producer in now-abandoned Lincoln Park Field.

2 Kentucky USA Energy Inc. and gas-distribution company Atmos Energy Corp. of Houston have entered a contract for Atmos Energy to purchase Kentucky USA’s production from its New Albany shale wells in western Kentucky. According to London, Ky.-based Kentucky USA Energy, its initial five wells are in completion or testing stages, and drilling continues on #1 J&J Johnston in Christian County. The company expects to deliver gas from its wells into the Atmos pipeline by the end of this year.

3 Jordan Development Co. LLC, headquartered in Traverse City, Mich., has scheduled a 5,300-ft. wildcat that will target Brown Niagaran on the western end of the northern reef trend in southeastern Benzie County, Mich. The #6-36 Lonn will be drilled in Section 36-25n-14w, west of Thompsonville in Weldon Township, about a mile from abandoned Colfax 31A-25n-13w Field. The discovery for that field was completed in late 1988 pumping 150 bbl. of oil with 75,000 cu. ft. of gas and 30 bbl. of water daily from Brown Niagaran at 4,976-5,010 ft. It made about 30,500 bbl. of oil between December 1988 and January 1991.

4 West Bay Exploration Co. of Traverse City, Mich., has completed a step-out in southern Michigan in Albion-Scipio Field, about a mile west of Albion. The completion is producing 60 bbl. of 42-gravity oil and 15,000 cu. ft. of gas per day, with no water. The #2-32 Starr Commonwealth was drilled in Section 32-2s-4w, Sheridan Township, northeastern Calhoun County, and is producing from an acidized, open-hole Trenton interval at 4,200-05 ft. It is near an abandoned Trenton producer, #3 A Marathon. West Bay has staked the location for another Trenton test, #1-29 Starr Commonwealth, in Section 29-2s-4w. IHS Inc. reports no activity at that site.

5 Independent operating company Savoy Energy, based in Traverse City Mich., has completed a step-out from a new Black River oil pool in Hillsdale County, Mich. The #1-31 Witsaman, in Section 31-6s-1w, is producing an undisclosed amount of oil from 3,984 to 4,005 ft. in Trenton-Black River. It’s within a half-mile of Albion-Scipio 6S Field, near Hillsdale, Mich., a Black River oil pool opened in late 2007 by Continental Resources Inc. with the completion of its #1-36 McArthur in Section 36-6s-2w, Adams Township. The #1-36 McArthur well flowed at an initial rate of 207 bbl. of oil and 67,000 cu. ft. of gas per day, with no water, from the Van Wert zone of Black River at 3,928-38 ft.

6 Two drilling permits have also been issued to Savoy Energy for step-outs that target southern Michigan Trenton-Black River zones, about eight miles northeast of the town of Hillsdale. The Hillsdale County ventures are #1-22 Fitton in Section 22-5s-2w, with a proposed 4,400-ft. bottomhole location in the same section of Moscow Township, and half a mile south, #1-27 Stoll, which will be drilled to a planned depth of 4,350 ft.?Log tops in the area include Trenton at 3,627 ft., Black River at 3,948 ft. and Prairie du Chien at 4,252 ft.

7 Jackson, Miss.-based Spooner Petroleum Co. is drilling an exploratory test north of Range Northwest Field in the southwestern portion of Alabama’s Conecuh County. The #1 Daubert-Blackstone-Callon 1-15 is in Section 1-4n-7e and was spudded in September 2008. The well targets Smackover at a projected depth of 13,500 ft.

8 Sklar Exploration of Shreveport, La., recently completed a directionally drilled well on the eastern flank of Little Cedar Creek Field. The field is in Conecuh County, Ala., and #1 Craft-Rails is in Section 4-4n-13e. It was reported as flowing 104 bbl. of 43.3-gravity oil per day with 74,000 cu. ft. of gas. Open-choke flowing tubing pressure was 3,750 psi. The #1 Craft-Rails was drilled to 11,325 ft., and 51?2-in. casing was run to 11,224 ft. for completion.

9 The Southeastern Oil Review is reporting a southern Alabama offset completion discovery by Spooner Petroleum of Jackson, Miss. A potential test was run on #1 Powell-Rabon, in Section 3-1n-8e, Escambia County, Ala., and 49.8-gravity oil flowed at 200 bbl. per day, along with 8,000 cu. ft. of gas per day, at a flowing tubing pressure of 727 psi, with no water. The #1 Powell-Rabon is producing from Lower Moye sand through perforations at 6,575-81 ft., with 51?2-in. casing set to a depth of 8,577 ft. for completion.

10 NGAS Resources Inc., Lexington Ky., reports its Leatherwood Field 2008 development program in Harlan County, Ky., has been focused on drilling horizontal wells through Devonian shale, according to IHS Inc. According to the company, its sixth well has been online since September 2008 at an average daily production rate of 246,000 cu. ft. of gas. The company retained a working interest of 50% in the well.
NGAS’ next three horizontal wells in Leatherwood Field have recently been turned on, and a production update will be provided in the near future.?Five additional Leatherwood Field wells have been drilled to total vertical depth; the horizontal section has been drilled on the first of these, and the others are ready for the horizontal rig to complete the drilling phase. Each well is expected to have a single lateral leg up to 3,500 ft. through the Lower Huron section of Devonian shale.

11 According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, Pa., will receive more than $6 million upfront for selling oil and gas rights on about 1,674 acres it owns in Fayette County, Pa. Board members voted unanimously to accept a bid from Houston-based Marathon Oil Co. for $3,679 per acre for rights connected to land surrounding the Indian Creek Reservoir in Springfield Township. The county board also will receive 16% of the royalties for gas extracted from the land. The one-time payment from Marathon is significantly higher than the $1.6 million authority officials estimated in May 2008, when they announced the sale of the rights through an Internet auction.

12 According to the Pennsylvania Geological Survey, some 792 wells suspected to target Marcellus shale have been permitted in the Keystone state. Of those, 571 were vertical and 221 were horizontal locations. Prior to 2003, only a handful of wells produced from the formation outside of Erie County, along the shores of Lake Erie in far northwestern Pennsylvania. The current flurry of Marcellus-directed drilling surged in 2007, when 307 such wells were permitted, versus 54 in 2006. As of this fall, 402 permits had been issued by the state for wells believed to target Marcellus.
Many operators are active across Pennsylvania: EOG Resources Inc., Houston, has locations in Bradford and Elk counties; Rex Energy Corp., State College, Pa., in Butler County; Atlas Energy Resources LLC, Moon Township, Pa., in Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties; CNX Gas Corp., Pittsburgh, in Greene County; Turm Oil Co., Butler, Pa., in Susquehanna County; and Range Resources Corp., Fort Worth, in Washington County, among others, reports IHS Inc.

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