1 El Paso Production Oil & Gas Corp. has completed two Cretaceous deeper-pool discoveries in Uintah County, Utah. IHS Energy Group says one of them-the #11-3 Glen Bench-Federal in Section 22-8s-22e-gave up a flow of 1.173 million cu. ft. of gas and 31 bbl. of water per day on an 18/64-in. choke from Mesaverde, perforated at 8,386-8,438 ft. It's in an area of 8,140-ft. Tertiary Wasatch production in the Glen Bench area of Natural Buttes Field. At the other well-the #9-27 Wonsits State in Section 32-7s-22e-the company tested a flow of 920,000 cu. ft. of gas and 27 bbl. of water per day on a 1-in. choke through perforations at 13,470-80 ft. in Mancos. It's on the northeastern flank of Wonsits Valley Field, in an area of production from Tertiary Green River and Wasatch above 6,000 ft. 2 Work is under way at wildcats in Utah's Carbon and San Juan counties. In Carbon County, EDP Resources LLC, Park City, Utah, is drilling toward a projected depth of 8,200 ft. in Pennsylvanian at the #2 EDP, Section 9-15s-12e. The San Juan County venture is the #7-15 Headwaters-Federal, Section 15-28s-23e, where Denver-based Anschutz Exploration Corp. is rigging up rotary tools to drill to about 7,050 ft. Permian and Pennsylvanian zones are to be evaluated. 3 Lyco Energy Corp., Dallas, pumped 267 bbl. of oil and 33 bbl. of water, with 112,000 cu. ft. of gas, per day at the #30-16-H Rocky Pederson, Section 30-24n-57e, a Richland County, Mont., discovery that's producing from Mississippian Bakken. Perforations are between 10,845-13,652 ft. at the wildcat, which is part of the company's extensive horizontal Bakken program on the Montana side of the Williston Basin. A second Bakken discovery completed in Richland County is the Armstrong Operating Inc. #29-BR that initially flowed 150 bbl. of oil and 73,000 cu. ft. of gas per day through perforations at 9,970-80 ft. It's in Section 29-24n-55e. The Dickinson, N.D., independent tested Ordovician Red River, perforated at 11,767-73 ft. and 11,842-49 ft., apparently without success. 4 In North Dakota's Stark County, Westport Oil & Gas Co. pumped 110 bbl. of oil and 84 bbl. of water per day at completion of the #41-19 Hanson, a horizontal Mississippian Fryburg (Mission Canyon-Madison) discovery in Section 19-139n-99w. According to exhibits presented at a hearing before the North Dakota Industrial Commission, the Denver firm's well is producing from an openhole horizontal interval between 9,575 and 14,700 ft., measured total depth. 5 The #1-9 Rau is a remote wildcat staked by Samuel Gary Jr. & Associates Inc., Denver, in Section 9-147n-71w, in nonproducing Wells County, N.D. IHS Energy Group notes the new test is 90 miles southeast of Pratt Field and 95 miles southeast of Starbuck South Field. 6 Wyoming's Campbell County is the site of a new-field opener completed by Trend Exploration LLC pumping 347 bbl. of oil and 236 bbl. of water per day from Pennsylvanian Minnelusa "C" Sand. Trend's well is the #28-1 Trend-Fee in Section 28-55n-72w. It's producing through perforations at 8,442-44 ft. The Midland firm plans to drill a west offset. 7 The Pinedale Anticline in Wyoming continues to be in the news, this time due to the completion of the discovery #36-1 Petrogulf-State by Petrogulf Corp. flowing 3.34 million cu. ft. of gas, 35 bbl. of condensate and 95 bbl. of water per day. The new producer, in Section 36-31n-109w, Sublette County, is producing from six Cretaceous Lance/Mesaverde intervals between 11,460-13,050 ft. Denver-Based Petrogulf tested the well on an 18/64-in. choke. 8 Also in Sublette County, field reports credit Shell Oil Co. with testing 3.5 million cu. ft. of gas per day at the #B3-33 Pacific Creek Federal in Section 33-27n-103, according to the Rocky Mountain Oil Journal. Production at the indicated discovery is said to be coming from Upper Cretaceous Erickson at depths below 12,000 ft. Shell set pipe on bottom at 13,041 ft. 9 Wyoming's Snowbank Field was extended to the northeast when Houston independent Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. completed the #40-30 Lookout Wash Unit for a flow gauge of 1.103 million cu. ft. of gas and two bbl. of condensate per day. IHS Energy Group says the stepout is in Section 30-15n-93w, Carbon County, a mile northeast of the field discovery. The new well, which was tested on a 30/64-in. choke, is producing from two Almond (Mesaverde) intervals-11,181-11,285 ft. in Middle Almond and 11,336-11,449 ft. in Lower Almond. The field was opened in 1995 when the #1 Snowbank Unit, Section 30, was completed producing gas from Almond. A mile east of the discovery, Cabot in late 1999 completed the #10-32 Lookout Wash, Section 32, flowing 699,000 cu. ft. of gas and 16 bbl. of condensate per day from Almond. 10 Advantage Resources Inc., Denver, is nearing 8,000 ft. at the #16-33 Cousins-Near et al., a Paleozoic wildcat it's drilling in Section 33-14n-56w, Kimball County, Neb. The venture is to bottom at 8,600 ft. in Pennsylvanian Virgil. It's designed to evaluate Permian Wolfcamp. The closest production from Paleozoic zones is three miles south, in Anna Field. 11 Two successful outposts have extended Andy's Mesa Field in San Miguel County, Colo., reports the Rocky Mountain Oil Journal. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. initialed the #7 Fossil Federal, Section 19-44n-16w, flowing 3.071 million cu. ft. of gas and 11 bbl. of condensate per day from a perforated interval in Pennsylvanian Honaker Trail between 7,700-8,400 ft. To the north, in Section 18, Cabot has cased the 1-19 Fossil Federal, which, if successfully completed as a producer, would extend Andy's Mesa Field another half-mile north. The other extension of the field, the #13 Andy's Mesa Federal in Section 20-44n-16w, was completed by Tom Brown Inc. as a commingled producer from Permian Cutler-Arkose and from Honaker Trail in the gross interval between 6,432-8,556 ft. The Denver firm recorded initial production of 1.527 million cu. ft. of gas, one bbl. of condensate and one bbl. of water per day. 12 Dugan Production Corp., Farmington, completed at exploratory test in the northwestern New Mexico portion of the San Juan Basin producing 40 bbl. of oil, 100,000 cu. ft. of gas and 5 bbl. of water per day from an Upper Cretaceous Gallup Sand interval between 4,739-5,181 ft. The well is the #6 Turk's Toast in Section 18-30n-14w, San Juan County. It extends Basin-Gallup Pool 1.25 miles north. The new producer is in an area of deeper gas production from Cretaceous Dakota below 5,600 ft. in Basin-Dakota Pool. 13 The Alaska Department of Natural Resources has approved Marathon Oil's application to form Ninilchik Unit in the Cook Inlet Basin, reports IHS Energy Group. The 25,167-acre unit contains both onshore and offshore acreage and lies between Clam Gulch and Ninilchik on the Kenai Peninsula. The acreage surrounds the Ninilchik Anticline, which stretches for more than 16 miles along the coastline. A number of wells have been drilled on the anticline since the 1960s, and gas has been tested from the Miocene Tyonek formation. Marathon and Unocal, its partner in the unit, plan to drill a new well and reenter an existing well in an attempt to establish commercial Tyonek production. Unocal has also applied for two units in the same area. The South Ninilchik Unit covers 9,328 acres of uplands, tide and submerged lands northeast of the town Ninilchik. Unocal proposes to drill one exploratory well to 9,200 ft. in Section 24-1s-14w, Seward Meridian. The Deep Creek Unit covers 22,216 acres and consists of uplands that lie approximately five miles inland from Ninilchik and Happy Valley. Unocal, owner of a 100% interest in the unit, proposes to drill an 11,200-ft. exploratory well in Section 11-2s-13w, Seward Meridian. 14 Phillips Petroleum Co. plans to drill 40 exploration wells worldwide this year, a $350- to $400-million investment. The company notes 10 of those wells will be in Alaska, including satellites to existing North Slope fields and wildcats in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Phillips Alaska Inc. has a number of existing permits and is also applying for permits for additional prospects.

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