Western US

?1 A permit was submitted to the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas for an ocean-bottom cable 3-D marine seismic survey during the 2008 open-water season offshore the Alaskan North Slope. PGS Onshore will conduct the project in the general area of Oliktok Point and Nikaitchuq, Oooguruk, Milne Point and Kuparuk River oil and gas units. The proposed survey will cover 117.6 sq. miles on state land and water near Thetis, Spy and Leavitt islands from the beginning of July through the end of August. Water depths for the survey area are generally less than 65 ft.

2 The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approved a drilling permit for a coalbed-methane well in south-central Alaska’s Matanuska Valley. A similar permit was issued by the Mat-Su borough in October 2007. Palmer, Alaska-based Fowler Oil & Gas Corp. will explore the region with its #1 Kircher. The well is on 840 acres of farmland in the Four Corners area of the valley.

3 Gas sales have commenced from Royale Energy Inc.’s #21-1 Gobel in its Lonestar Field in the Sacramento Basin. Currently just one of three formations is producing, with two remaining zones expected to by completed and produced later. According to the company, the well is producing 700,000 cu. ft. per day with a flowing tubing pressure of 1,700 psi on an 8/64-in. choke. The San Diego-based company plans to drill seven new wells in California’s Sacramento Basin through the third quarter.

4 Development was started on Titan Oil & Gas Inc.’s 480-acre Edison project in Kern County, Calif. The lease area is prospective for Edison, Northeast Edison and Ant Hill formations. The Austin, Texas-based company’s project is in 29s-29e.

5 Tonopah, Nev.-based Makoil Inc. has received a drilling permit for a step-out well from Sans Spring Field in eastern Nevada’s Railroad Valley approximately 30 miles southwest of the town of Currant. The #15-41 Sans Spring is in Section 15-7n-56e, northeastern Nye County. It is permitted to a depth of 6,000 ft., and will apparently evaluate Garrett Ranch oil zones. The proposed well is less than a half-mile northwest of three-well Sans Spring Field, a Garrett Ranch pool between 5,623 and 5,875 ft. This field has produced 268,980 bbl. of oil and 4.09 million bbl. of water since it was discovered in 1993, reports IHS Inc.

6 Anadarko Petroleum Corp., The Woodlands, Texas, is waiting for state approval to increase drilling in the 77-sq.-mile Greater Natural Buttes Field in Uintah County, Utah. The order will give Anadarko permission to down-space from 40 acres to 10 in Uintah County on acreage in the South Canyon and Hatch areas of the Natural Buttes Field on federal, state and private land, a company spokesperson says. The wells will be drilled to depths of up to 11,000 ft. within Wasatch and Mesaverde formations. Anadarko plans to drill 200 gas wells in the county this year.

7 A 14,300-ft. Uinta Basin wildcat has been slated by Calgary-based Petro-Canada business unit Petro-Canada Resources (USA) Inc. about 15 miles northeast of Sunnyside in northeastern Carbon County, Utah. The #12-14 Twin Hollow-Federal is in Section 12 of partial township 13s-15e. The well will evaluate gas zones through Dakota. It’s approximately two miles south of Wasatch and Mesaverde gas producers in Nine Mile Canyon Field and two miles southwest of Peters Point Field. The closest deep production in Peters Point Field is five miles east-northeast, where #5-2D-13-16 Peters Point-State was completed a year ago. It is now producing at an average rate of 9 million cu. ft. of gas equivalent per day from Navajo, Entrada and Dakota. Petro-Canada plans to drill 14 more exploratory tests in townships 13s-15e and 13s-16e on its Twin Hollow, Dry Creek and Cottonwood federal leases.

8 Fort Smith, Ark.-based Hanna Oil & Gas Co. will drill a 4,400-ft. wildcat about 20 miles east of the town of Conrad in northwestern Montana. The Sweetgrass Arch venture is in Section 18-28n-2e, eastern Pondera County. This nonproducing township is approximately eight miles north-northwest of Hardpan Field and 11 miles southeast of Ledger Field. Dakota and Sunburst production has come from Conrad South Field about 16 to 17 miles west-southwest. The closest comparable drilling took place in 1957 when #1 Hall was completed as a dry hole at 3,644 ft. approximately 4.5 miles from the new venture.

9 Four horizontal Bakken wildcats have been scheduled by Fidelity Exploration & Production Co. on the eastern flank of the Nesson Anticline near Powers Lake in northwestern North Dakota. The company will drill its #44-29H Andersen in Section 29-159n-92w, Burke County. A second well, #11-28H Weinmann, has been staked approximately seven miles north in Section 28-160n-92w.
Enget Lake Field is about 4.5 miles southwest of the first well. There, #1-11H Nelson was completed as a Bakken discovery in June 2006. Although it is currently shut in, the well produced 5,000 bbl. of oil, 3.2 million cu. ft. of gas and 4,150 bbl. of water.
The second well is about 10 miles northeast of Enget Lake Field and three miles east of Gros Ventre Field, which was discovered in 1960 and produced 32,400 bbl. of oil and 79,500 bbl. of water from two wells before it was abandoned in 1981. The company’s other two wildcats, #11-14H Thronson and #11-25H Paulson, are in northern Mountrail County approximately two to four miles southeast of #44-29H Andersen.

10 Fort Worth, Texas-based Encore Acquisition Co. is continuing its Madison development program in North Dakota’s TR Field. The company completed the first of three offsets to its TRMU #21X-14H, which has an estimated ultimate recovery of 500,000 bbl. of oil per day. The TRMU #34X-23H is producing about 260 gross bbl. per day and the company is drilling its second Madison offset.

11 Tulsa, Okla.-based Zenergy Operating Co. LLC has staked a horizontal Red River wildcat on the southeastern end of the Cedar Creek Anticline in northwestern South Dakota approximately 25 miles northwest of the town of Buffalo. The #1-1H Lakota-Federal is in Section 1-22n-2e in northwestern Harding County. Red River oil production comes from Table Mountain Field approximately 3.5 miles southeast of the new project. The now-abandoned Fox Hill Dome Field produced from Red River about three miles northwest of the proposed venture. There, #13-23 Harding County pumped 15 bbl. of oil with 6,000 cu. ft. of gas and 28 bbl. of water per day from Red River, reports IHS Inc.

12 Energas Resources Inc., Oklahoma City, has started drilled its #5 Finley in Niobrara County, Wyo. Target depth is 6,200 ft. and objectives are Muddy, Dakota, Lakota, Morrison, Sundance and Leo zones. The well is near #1 Finley, which initially flowed 1,516 bbl. of oil per day out of Dakota and Lakota zones.

13 Gainesville, Texas-based Kaler Oil Co. will drill a 4,600-ft. wildcat on the Cambridge Arch approximately nine miles east-northeast of town of Benkelman in southwestern Nebraska. The #4-3 Rickard is in Section 3-1n-36w in southeastern Dundy County. Millenium Field is 2.5 miles west of the new venture, and Burntwood Creek Field is almost three miles southeast. Both are Lansing-Kansas City oil pools. Millennium Field produced 808,997 bbl. of oil and 1 million bbl. of water since it was discovered in 1999. Burntwood Creek Field has produced about 19,000 bbl. of oil and 19,000 bbl. of water since it was discovered in 1982.