1 A rank wildcat, some 40 miles east-southeast of the nearest production, earned a drilling permit for Dominion Black Warrior Basin Inc., Houston, in northern St. Clair County, Ala. The company's #1 Dawson 34-3 is scheduled to Paleozoic formations in Section 34-13s-4e, about 1.5 miles northeast of the town of Ashville. Only 13 wells have been drilled in the county to date, with no producers, although the #2 J.J. Young 34-2 was drilled in the section in 1993 and abandoned. And, about 150 ft. south, the #1 J.J. Young 34-2 also was drilled and abandoned. The nearest producer in Cullman County flowed only 17,000 cu. ft. of gas a day from Lower Tuscumbia between 1,196 ft. and 1,218 ft. and was never brought online. The nearest commercial production is about 50 miles southwest, from coalbed-methane wells in the Oak Grove coal-degasification field in Jefferson and Tuscaloosa counties, IHS Energy says. 2 United Energy Conservation LLC, Fort Myers, Fla., reached total depth at 12,500 ft. at its remote wildcat in Highlands County in southern Florida. The company's #20-4 Paul Bob Inc., in Section 20-38s-30e, is only the fourth well drilled in the county. Last December, the company proposed four horizontal wells, including the #20-4 well, all with surface locations within feet of the others. To date, the proposed #29-1 Paul Bob Inc., #21-3 Smoak Groves and #28-2 Smoak Groves wells haven't been permitted, however. The #29-1 well was proposed to 13,722 ft, bottoming in Section 290; the 13,530-ft. #21-3 well was to bottom in Section 21; and the #28-2 well was to bottom beneath Section 28 at 12,800 ft. The nearest previous well was drilled and abandoned 2.75 miles southwest. That well reached the Sunniland Lime, the main producing zone in this part of Florida, at 10,305 ft. Hendry County hosted the nearest commercial production, about 40 miles south-southwest. There, Townsend Canal Field produced 548,297 bbl. of oil, 18,000 cu. ft. of casinghead gas and 2 million bbl. of water from the Sunniland Lime between 1982 and 1997. 3 Michigan's southern Niagaran reef trend is the target for a 4,100-ft. wildcat staked about two miles south of the town of Mason. Woodfield Resources Inc., Chicago, will drill the #1-29 State-Vevay & Kranz directionally from Section 29-2n-1w, Vevay Township, in west-central Ingham County to the south to a bottomhole location in the same section. Approximately a mile north is the abandoned Vevay 20-2n-1w Field, in which the #1 Robert V. Danto produced 17,013 bbl. of oil and 126.5 million cu. ft. of gas a day from Niagaran at 3,939 ft. between March 1972 and December 1975. In the same field, the #1-20A Vevay & Danto was a directional redrill of the initial well. It produced 2,886 bbl. of oil, 20.7 million cu. ft. of gas and 7,942 bbl. of water from Niagaran between 4,064-70 ft. between January 1998 and June 2003. 4 Jordan Development Co. LLC, Traverse City, Mich., staked a wildcat well to Trenton at 3,500 ft. in southwestern Branch County, Mich. The #3-2 Pridgeon Land, in Section 2-8s-5w, California Township, is about three miles northwest of Montgomery. The well location is about four miles southwest of abandoned Reading Field in adjacent Hillsdale County, which produced 5,431 bbl. of oil from Trenton in the early 1970s. Initial production of the #1 R&D Whitaker in that field was 25 bbl. of oil and 160,000 cu. ft. of gas a day. Another test was tried in the same section as the Jordan well, but it recorded only shows of gas. 5 Larry A. Hudson, Olney, Ill., plans to evaluate formations through Trenton at approximately 4,400 ft. at its #1 Philbrook Heirs wildcat, a half-mile east of St. Elmo in Fayette County, Ill. The site, in Section 35-7n-3e, is three miles east-southeast of Illinois' second-largest oil field, Louden Field. That field has produced some 400 million bbl. of oil from Mississippian, Devonian and Trenton zones, including 45,700 bbl. in January. The nearest drilling to a comparable depth is almost four miles southeast at a 5,100-ft. dry hole. 6 Lawrenceville, Ill., independent Pioneer Oil Co. Inc. has scheduled a wildcat to test Silurian gas at 1,700 ft. in Owen County, Ind. The #1 George Egenoil, in Section 20-9n-5w, is slightly more than five miles north of the town of Worthington and 2.5 miles west of the discovery for Arney Field. That well, in Section 22 of the same township, was tested flowing 1 million cu. ft. of gas a day from Devonian sand between 1,314-20 ft. The operator never confirmed the discovery. Pioneer, however, staked an 1,100-ft. Silurian test about two miles northeast of its Egenoil well late last year, but hasn't yet drilled the well. The nearest production is from Arney North Field, a two-well Devonian gas field about four miles east-northeast of the #1 Egenoil. 7 Harken Energy Corp., Dallas, through its Gulf Energy Management Co. subsidiary, signed an exploration and development agreement with Indiana Posey LP to exploit coalbed methane in the Posey prospect area. That area includes some 400,000 acres in Posey, Gibson and Venderburgh counties in southwestern Indiana. The subsidiary entered a similar agreement, also involving approximately 400,000 acres, with Ohio Cumberland LP in eastern Ohio. Both Posey and Ohio Cumberland are run by Harvey R. Risien Jr. of San Antonio, and both deals designate Ute Oil Co., which does business as A.C.T. Operating Co., as the operator. The target #3 coal in the Posey area tops at 703 ft., according to logs from a well in the area. The deepest #1 coal can occur at depths of 3,000 ft. The Ohio properties are in Guernsey, Noble, Muskingum, Washington and Morgan counties. 8 CGas Exploration Inc., Charleston, W.Va., plans a test of Trempealeau to 8,500 ft. about nine miles southwest of Jefferson in Ashtabula County, Ohio. The company's #1 Pallant Unit is in Trumbull Township, East Trumbell Quad, and the company plans to drill in an area of Trumbull Field that currently produces from Clinton. 9 Two Trenton-Black River wildcats have been staked in Steuben County, N.Y. Columbia Natural Resources Inc. Charleston, W.Va., plans to drill the #1 Nistock to 7,720 ft. in Section A, Rheims Quad, Prattsburg Township, about 1.4 miles west of an unnamed Black River field and 8.5 miles northeast of the town of Avoca. Fortuna Energy Inc., Horseheads, N.Y., has permitted the #1 Mayes to 9,050 ft. in Section I, Savopna Quad, Bradford Township, more than 1.5 miles south of an unnamed Oriskany field, says IHS Energy. 10 Englewood, Colo., independent MegaEnergy & Operating Inc., plans a wildcat well in southern New York to look for Ordovician Trenton-Black River potential in southern Tioga County. The company will drill its #1 Pimpinella to 11,350 ft. in Owego Township, Owego Quad, south of the town of Owego. The nearest production is almost three miles south in Stagecoach Field, which produces from Lower Devonian Helderberg. A directionally drilled Trenton-Black River well was drilled just west of Owego last fall in Tioga Township, Owego Quad. The operator set casing at 10,482 ft. but didn't release details. 11 Mercer County, Pa., has attracted new wildcat wells from three operators. Vista Operating LLC, Pittsburgh, plans the #2 T. Knauff as a Boulder Sand test in Section I, Greenville East Quad, Perry Township, almost five miles southwest of Shaekleyville, Pa. The nearest production from Boulder is 1.5 miles north in Hadley Field. D&L Energy, Youngstown, Ohio, has scheduled the #1 Downing Unit to look at Medina at 5,500 ft. in Section C, Greenville West Quad, Sugar Grove Township, about 1.1 miles north of Sheakleyville Field, which produces from Medina, and 4.2 miles east of Jamesown. In the area, Cobra Resources LLC, Ellsworth, Ohio, staked the #1 Taylor to Medina at 5,200 ft. That well is in Section A, Sharpsville Quad, West Salem Township, about 3.5 miles northeast of Orangeville, Ohio, and almost two miles northwest of Maysville Field, which produces from Medina. 12 Pennsylvania General Energy Co. LLC, Warren, Pa., plans a remote wildcat in south-central Pennsylvania about five miles west-northwest of Saltillo, according to IHS Energy. The company's #1 Hess is scheduled to 11,175 ft. in Todd Township, Saltillo Quad in nonproducing Huntingdon County, Pa. The nearest production is 27 miles southwest at an Oriskany gas pool operated by Pennsylvania General in eastern Bedford County and about 11 miles southeast of the town of Bedford. The nearest previous drilling to the new well was almost six miles south-southwest at an 11,743-ft. dry hole drilled in 1954. 13 Mountain V Oil & Gas Inc., Bridgeport, W.Va., successfully drilled and completed 43 wells in its 2004 drilling program with activity concentrated in Upshur, Lewis, Harrison, Ritchie, Doddridge, Nicholas, Clay, Kanawha and Logan counties in West Virginia. 14 The EKD-JM #1 Joe Mills wildcat is on the drilling schedule for Heartland Operating Co. Inc., Bowling Green, Ky. The well is scheduled to test Corniferous Lime for natural gas to 2,490 ft. in Calf Quad in Knox County, Ky., about 1.2 miles northeast of an unnamed Waverly field and more than 11 miles north of Barbourville.

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