1 Noble Energy Inc. has received drilling permits for two wildcats in the company’s northeastern Nevada exploration program, both to be drilled from a common drillpad in Elko County. The #11B-M2C-M2 Humboldt will be in Lot 2 of Section 2-34n-58e and is projected to 12,489 ft. About 75 ft. east, #21B-M2C-M2 Humboldt will be in Lot 3 of Section 2-34n-58e and is projected to 12,422 ft. The state permits didn’t indicate the objectives or hole directions of the two wildcats. The company holds about 350,000 net acres in Elko County. The Nevada prospect contains three potential plays—a rollover anticline play, a Tertiary resource play and a Paleozoic trap play. Prospective producing zones range in depth from 6,000 to 12,000 ft. and have a gross thickness of 1,500 to 2,000 ft. According to the Houston-based company, the play has a P75-P25 gross unrisked resource range of 190 million to 1.4 billion bbl. of oil equivalent with a 55% chance of geologic success. The Nevada play is similar to the Tertiary Green River play in Utah’s Uinta Basin.

2 A vertically-drilled Greenhorn shale completion by Denver-based Anschutz Exploration Corp. was announced on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Glacier County, Mont. The #1-8-32-12 Flat Iron is in Section 8-32n-12w. It initially pumped 49 bbl. of oil with 8,000 cu. ft. of gas per day from 20 fracture-stimulated stages between 6,610 and 8,489 ft. in Marias River. State production records indicate the discovery is producing from the Cone calcareous member of Marias River. The discovery was drilled to 8,676 ft. Log tops include Marias River at 1,180 ft.; Cone, 7,718 ft.; Floweree, 7,768 ft.; Blackleaf, 7,822 ft.; Flood, 8,223 ft.; and Kootenai at 8,523 ft. The Flat Iron discovery is the first well to be drilled in its township, which is five miles north-northwest of East Glacier Field, an Upper Cretaceous Greenhorn oil reservoir.

3 A Mississippian Humbug lime producer in Carbon County, Utah, had an average daily production rate of 55 bbl. of oil, 465,230 cu. ft. of gas and 272 bbl. of water. The Whiting Oil & Gas Corp. wildcat, #15-11-18E Wellington Flats, was set up as a 8,890-ft. Humbug test in Section 18-15s-11e. The Denver-based company has not released additional details. Whiting’s discovery is about five miles south of shallow Ferron coalbed methane producers in the Helper Field area.

4 Bill Barrett Corp. completed a stepout from a Uinta Basin discovery in Uintah County, Utah, that initially flowed 287 bbl. of oil, 98,000 cu. ft. of gas and 33 bbl. of water per day. The #3-32-2-2 FD is in Section 32 of irregular Township 2s-2e. Production is from eight fracture-stimulated intervals—six in Green River between 7,451 ft. and 9,255 ft. and two in Wasatch between 9,281 ft. and 9,884 ft. Flow was gauged on a 30/64-in. choke with a casing pressure of 500 psi. It was vertically drilled and cased to a total depth of 10,025 ft. Bill Barrett is based in Denver.

5 SWEPI LP completed a horizontal Niobrara discovery in the Sand Wash Basin. The #1-16 Deal Gulch is in Section 16-5n-90w, Moffat County, Colo. The prospect initially pumped 46 bbl. of 42-degree-gravity oil per day, with no water, and gas was flared at the site. It was tested in an untreated, openhole horizontal lateral in Niobrara extending from 4,468 ft. southwestward to 7,797 ft., 4,665 ft. true vertical. The well’s vertical pilot hole was drilled to 5995 ft. SWEPI’s headquarters are in Houston.

6 A Power River Basin discovery by Chesapeake Operating Inc. produced 365 bbl. of oil, with 1.4 million cu. ft. of gas and 625 bbl. of water at an offset to a Powder River Basin discovery. The #35-33-70 A 2H York Ranch Unit is in Section 35-33 n-70w of Converse County, Wyo. The prospect is producing from a horizontal lateral in the Niobrara B zone. The well extends south-southeastward to 16,076 ft. and the true vertical depth is 11,271 ft. It was tested following 12-stage fracture stimulation and acidizing between 11,262 and 15,922 ft. Flow was gauged through a 14/64-in. choke with a casing pressure of 3,900 psi. Chesapeake’s headquarters are in Oklahoma City.

7 According to IHS Inc., Chesapeake Operating Inc. completed two horizontal exploratory tests in a Powder River Basin area in Converse County, Wyo. The #1H Wyoming 36-34-69 ST A initially flowed 590 bbl. of 45.2-degree-gravity oil, 1.45 million cu. ft. of gas and 2,322 bbl. of load water per day and is in Section 36-34n-69w. Production is from a horizontal Niobrara lateral extending northward to 14,475 ft. It was tested in a horizontal Niobrara interval at 10,554-14,310 ft. after 13-stage fracture stimulation. Gauged on a 26/64-in. choke, the casing pressure was 2,000 psi. True vertical depth is 10,311 ft. The #1-33-69 A 7H Crawford is in Section 1-33n-69w and initially flowed 1,067 bbl. of oil, 2.46 million cu. ft. of gas and 1,152 bbl. of water per day. Production is from a horizontal Niobrara interval at 10,506-14,462 ft. The lateral extends northward to 14,582 ft. and the true vertical depth is 10,369 ft. Chesapeake’s headquarters are in Oklahoma City.

8 ConocoPhillips completed a horizontal exploratory test drilled just outside the company’s Lowry Range in the Denver-Julesburg Basin as a Niobrara oil and gas producer. According to IHS Inc., #34-4H Grimm is in Section 34-4s-64w, Arapahoe County, Colo. During the first six months of production, the well produced 10,338 bbl. of oil, 11.35 million cu. ft. of gas and 16,316 bbl. of water. It was set up as an 11,873-ft. horizontal Niobrara test. The true vertical depth was anticipated at 7,650 ft. The Houston-based company has not released additional completion details.

9 Whiting Oil & Gas Corp. completed a horizontal exploratory test on its Redtail prospect in Weld County, Colo., that initially produced 149 bbl. of 29-degree-gravity oil, 26,000 cu. ft. of gas and 515 bbl. of water per day. The #12-0141H Razor is in Section 12-10n-58w. Production is from a horizontal Niobrara lateral extending from 6,227 ft. northward to 12,745 ft. and bottomed in Section 1-10n-58w. It was tested on a 24/64-in. choke following 32-stage fracture stimulation; the true vertical depth is 5,880 ft.

10 Nighthawk Production LLC announced more results from two offsets at the company’s Mississippian oil discovery in Lincoln County, Colo. The #1-10 Taos is in Section 10-6s-54w and was drilled to 8,315 ft. According to the London-based company, the well is producing in the range of 400 to 500 bbl. of oil per day, with no water, from Spergen. The new producer began production in mid-June 2013. It’s a north offset to Nighthawk’s #8-10 Steamboat-Hansen, which was completed in late 2012 and opened Arikaree Creek Field. The discovery well is producing from three untreated Spergen intervals at 8,027-40, 8,049-55 and 8,055-65 ft. Nighthawk has also completed a northeast offset to #8-10 Steamboat-Hansen, #4-11 Big Sky, in Section 11-6s-54w. The company reported that #4-11 Big Sky is initially producing 400 to 500 bbl. of oil per day, with no water, from Spergen. It hit 32 ft. of gross pay interval at 8,030 ft. The #4-11 Big Sky was placed into production in May 2013. It was drilled to 8,350 ft. and also had a number of stacked-pay opportunities up-hole in Mississippian.

11 Murfin Drilling Co. announced a Cambridge Arch discovery is Section 25-1n-37w in Dundy County, Neb. The #1-25 Stamm initially pumped 27 bbl. of oil and one bbl. of water per day from two acidized intervals—the Pennsylvanian Lansing-Kansas City B zone was perforated at 4,143-52 ft. and the Lansing-Kansas City D zone was perforated at 4,254-58 ft. The 4,850-ft. Stamm Field opener was completed after seven drillstem tests. Murfin is based in Wichita, Kan.

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