?According to IHS Inc., a drilling permit has been issued to Core Energy LLC of Traverse City, Mich., for a 4,592-ft. Silurian Brown Niagaran wildcat about four miles northeast of Pentwater near Lake Michigan. The #2-32 Beard is in Section 32-17n-17w, Riverton Township, Mason County. The well will be drilled almost two miles north of Pentwater Field, which was opened in 1948 and has produced more than 7 million bbl. of oil from Devonian Traverse and Dundee formations above 2,300 ft. Two miles to the south, a 4,251-ft. deeper-pool test was completed in 1973 at Pentwater Field as a gas discovery in the Silurian A-2 Carbonate. It initially flowed 1.4 million cu. ft. of gas per day from treated perforations at 3,470-3,510 ft. in A-2 Carbonate.

2 Seeking to expand its northern Michigan drilling program, Traverse City independent Presidium Energy LC has scheduled an additional seven, 4,500-ft. Brown Niagaran wildcats east-southeast from the town of Wolverine. Located in southeastern Cheboygan County, Forest Township, the planned wells are #43-33 Black River Ranch, #413-33 Black River Ranch, #412-33 Black River Ranch, and #46-33 Black River Ranch in Section 33-33n-1e and #414-32 Black River Ranch, #42-32 Black River Ranch, and #48-32 Black River Ranch in Section 32-33n-1e. The Presidium drillsites are within two miles of the discovery for abandoned Forest Field, which produced oil from Niagaran zones.

3 IHS Inc. reports that a second wildcat is scheduled by Houston independent Antares Exploration Fund LP in a nonproducing partial township about five miles north-northeast of Alpena, Mich. The #2-19 Anderson is in Section 19-32n-9e, Alpena County, Alpena Township, and is projected to 3,900 ft. in Silurian Burnt Bluff. It will be drilled 100 ft. from Antares’ #1-19 Anderson on the same drill pad in the same section. The #1-19 Anderson was set up as a 5,665-ft. test to Cambrian Trempealeau to evaluate shallower Ordovician Prairie du Chien.

4 A southern Michigan well by West Bay Exploration produced 42-gravity oil at an initial rate of 110 bbl. per day, with 30,000 cu. ft. of gas daily. West Bay’s #2-35 Fischhaber is located about seven miles from Marshall, Mich., in Section 35-1s-5w, Lee Township, Calhoun County. The company reports that the production zone is a treated, open-hole interval in Black River dolomite at 4,610-67 ft. Log tops include Trenton at 4,200 ft. and Black River at 4,540 ft. The #2-35 Fisch­haber is one-half mile northeast of the company’s #1-35, which was completed earlier this year and initially produced 150 bbl. of 42-gravity oil and 50,000 cu. ft. of gas per day, with no water. The latter well was tested in a treated, open-hole interval in Trenton/Black River at 4,525-4,610 ft. West Bay’s headquarters are in Traverse City, Mich.

5 Plateau Mineral Development Inc. (PMD) of Winston-Salem, N.C., and its partner Plateau Mineral Development LLC have begun negotiations with the owner of leases located immediately to the north of PMD’s existing acreage in Deer Lodge, Tenn. The companies are exploring a program involving joint development of PMD leases and neighboring leases that are within two miles of an existing PMD pipeline. PMD Inc. specializes in the exploration and development of gas and oil fields and is currently concentrating its efforts in Morgan County, Tenn.

6 Venture Oil & Gas Inc. of Irving, Texas, has an active wildcat in the eastern portion of Alabama’s Monroe County near the town of Excel. The Laurel, Miss.-based company spudded #1 Sims 11-4 in Section 11-5n-7e and is scheduled to reach total depth of 13,000 ft. in Smackover. Comparable production has been recorded in Excel Southwest Field, about two miles to the southwest. There, the vertical #1 Nettles 9-12 was drilled to 12,850 ft. and had test flows of 765 bbl. of 55-degree crude and 106,000 cu. ft. of gas per day through perforations at 12,497-12,510 ft. in Frisco City (Upper Jurassic). Delco Operating Co. LP operated this well through June 2008, and it produced 156,245 bbl. of oil, 82.53 million cu. ft. of gas and 900,871 bbl. of water. Excel Southwest Field was brought online in 1995. It produced from Frisco City a cumulative 320,699 bbl. of crude, 179.12 million cu. ft. of gas and 1.66 million bbl. of water through June 2008.

7 South of Red Level, Ala., Midroc Operating Co. is working a wildcat in the southeastern portion of Conecuh County. The Dallas-based company spudded #17-16 Hamiter in Section 17-4n-13e. Plans call for the well to be drilled to an undisclosed depth in Jurassic.?Midroc has several tests in the vicinity including #17-12 McMillan in the same section. The #17-12 McMillan was drilled to a total depth of 11,600 ft. in the last quarter of 2008.?Midroc’s headquarters are in Dallas.

8 The #1 Kelly 12-15, operated by Gilbertown, Ala.-based Pruet Production Co., has reached total depth in the north-central portion of Escambia County, about 12 miles south of Repton, Ala.?The horizontal exploratory well is in Section 12-3n-8e and was drilled to 13,900 ft. The #1 Kelly 12-15 was originally permitted as a 14,100-ft. horizontal Smackover test. Comparable production is less than one-half mile away, from #1 Attic 13-3, which was completed in 1989. Part of Wallace Field, that well was originally tested flowing 429 bbl. of oil and 656,000 cu. ft. of gas per day through perforations at 13,481-92 ft. in Smackover. Recovery totaled 6,811 bbl. of crude and 931 bbl. of water through 1990.

9 A CNX Gas Corp. horizontal Marcellus shale well in Sycamore Field, #GH6CV Consol, is flowing 6.5 million cu. ft. per day. Located in Section 9, Rogersville Quad, Greene County, Pa., the well had an initial production rate of 1.2 million cu. ft. per day. After a significant amount of backpressure was reduced, daily production rose to about 4 million cu. ft., and after new surface equipment was installed, production increased to 6.5 million cu. ft. per day. Originally drilled to a vertical depth of 8,140 ft. in Huntersville Chert, the well penetrated 83 vertical feet of Marcellus shale and then a horizontal section of 3,395 ft. was cut to a total measured depth of 10,738 ft. Pittsburgh-based CNX Gas has a 100% working interest and a 100% net revenue interest in the well. The company is currently drilling its second vertical Marcellus well and will be fracturing its second and third horizontal Marcellus wells. The #GH6CV Consol is the company’s first horizontal Marcellus test, but it has drilled 160 horizontal coalbed-methane wells.

10 Rex Energy, headquartered in State College, Pa., announced two vertical completions in Westmoreland County, Pa. The wells, drilled in the deeper portion of the Marcellus play, had peak flow rates of 400,000 and 1.2 million cu. ft. per day and each well continues to stabilize at daily production rates between 300,000 and 5 million cu. ft. per day. According to IHS Inc., the company is currently drilling two wells in Westmoreland County, #2 Zajdel and #3 Zajdel, in New Alexandria Field, Section 1, Derry Quad, Derry Township, and both wells have planned total depths of approximately 9,000 ft.

11 In Highlands County, Fla., United Energy Conservations LLC is drilling three Sunniland test wildcats in Section 20-38s-30e. According to The Southeastern Oil Review, #20-4 Bob Paul Inc. is located in the northeast corner of the section, and the planned bottom-hole depth is 13,722 ft. The #21-3 Smoak Groves Inc. is in the southeast corner of the section with a planned bottom-hole depth of 13,530 ft. The #28-2 Smoak Groves Inc. is in the western part of the section and the planned total vertical depth is 12,800 ft. No additional details are available at this time. United Energy Conservations’ headquarters are in Ft. Myers, Fla.

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