WESTERN U.S.

1 Shell Offshore Inc. lined up 11 wildcats to test six Beaufort Sea prospects offshore Alaska over the next three years, according to IHS Inc. Four of the wells will evaluate the Sivulliq prospect during 2007. Next year, Shell will drill two Sivulliq appraisal wells and one wildcat on its Lonestar prospect. It plans one exploratory well each in 2009 on its Fireclaw, Fosters, Cornell and Olympia prospects. The Sivulliq, Lonestar and Olympia prospects are near Flaxman Island near the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. Fosters and Fireclaw are near Barter Island and Cornell is in Harrison Bay.

2 Three exploratory units received approvals in Alaska's Cook Inlet area from the state oil and gas division. The Corsair Unit for Forest Oil Corp., Denver, is an Upper Cook Inlet prospect east of Tyonek village and 12 miles southwest of North Cook Inlet Field. The Kitchen Unit for Escopeta Oil Co. LLC, Houston, is offshore in Cook Inlet, north of East Foreland on the Kenai Peninsula. The North Alexander Unit for Escopeta is on the Susitna Flat state game refuge some 26 miles northwest of Anchorage.

3 Plains Exploration & Production Co., Houston, has received permits for two wildcats in White Pine County, Nev. The first, #21-1 Pancake Summit, is scheduled to 6,000 ft. in Section 21-18n-56e., in an undrilled township some 60 miles south-southeast of Blackburn Field. Approximately 30 miles east, #27-1 Pluto-Federal is planned as a 12,000-ft. test about 14 miles northwest of the town of Ely, in Section 27-18n-61e approximately 80 miles southeast of Blackburn Field.

4 A remote wildcat, #1-33 Gigante, will be drilled to 5,000 ft. for Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Westar Oil Inc. about eight miles northwest of Gabbs in Gabbs Valley in Section 33-13n-35e in northwestern Nye County, Nev. Gabbs Valley has never produced hydrocarbons, and the closest production is some 140 miles east-southeast in Railroad Valley. The nearest drilling was a 6,500-ft. dry hole offset to the south, IHS Inc. reports.

5 Salt Lake City-based Questar Exploration & Production Co. plans a pair of deep wildcats in the Uinta Basin in Uintah County in northeastern Utah. The #6D-5-8-23 WRU-EIH, in Section 4-8s-23e, is scheduled to Morrison at 16,400 ft. about 22 miles south-southeast of Vernal, Utah. It is immediately south of a 7,767-ft. Wasatch producer in the same section. That well, #7 Red Wash Unit, showed in initial potential of 2.35 million cu. ft. of gas a day. The other wildcat is a 16,700-ft. test about nine miles west-northwest. There, #3M-35-7-21 SU Purdy will be drilled to Mancos about 18 miles south of Vernal in Section 35-7s-21e and 1.5 miles north of production shallower than 6,400 ft. in Wonsits Valley Field

6 EOG Resources Inc., Houston, tested 535,000 cu. ft. of gas, 32 bbl. of condensate and 17 bbl. of water a day from a wildcat discovery in Section 26-15s-23e, about 34 miles north of Cisco in southeastern Uintah County, Utah. The #1-26 Lindisfarne produced from intervals in Mancos B, Tununk, Dakota and Salt Wash through a 17/64-in. choke. The discovery is two miles northwest of Black Horse Canyon Field's discovery well. The #31-1 Black Horse Canyon has produced a cumulative 273 million cu. ft. of gas, 238 bbl. of condensate and 334 bbl. of water between 1981 and September 2006.

7 Four wildcats will reach for Cretaceous Eagle in separate nonproducing areas of north-central Montana. Lonewolf Energy Inc., Billings, Mont., will drill #36-12 LWE-State in Section 36-24n-29e to 2,050 ft. in southern Phillips County, some 35 miles east-southeast of Hays and 45 miles south-southwest of Bowdoin Field. The #11-14 LWE-Coulter Ranch is a 2,751-ft. test in Section 11-21n-34e in northwestern Garfield County, about 50 miles south of Bowdoin Field. The #33-31 LWE-Fogle will drill to 2,808 ft. in northeastern Garfield County. It is about 12 miles northeast of Jordan and 45 miles west-southwest of Weldon Field, a Kibbey oil producer. The final wildcat in the series is #6-13 LWE-State, scheduled to 3,066 ft. in Section 6-20n-44e in southwestern McCone County. That well is 28 miles west-northwest of the town of Circle and 18 miles southwest of Weldon Field.

8 Ptarmigan Lands LP, Calgary, plans a third wildcat in a nonproducing area in western Yellowstone County in south-central Montana. The #1 Bar Diamond 2-21 will drill to 3,618 ft. in Section 21-2n-25e, about seven miles north-northwest of Billings. Total depth is in Pennsylvanian Amsden, but the well also will look at Greybull and Tensleep. The well is 18 miles northeast of the abandoned Laurel Field, a Dakota, Muddy and Greybull producer.

9 Northwestern North Dakota will host a wildcat looking for pay in Devonian Winnipegosis for Samson Resources Co., Tulsa, Okla. The company will drill #16-1- Silver Oaks in Section 10-161n-98w in south-central Divide County, N.D. The closest production came from the #14-23-161-98H Nordstog discovery 1.5 miles southeast. That well tested 23 bbl. of oil, 10,000 cu. ft. of gas and 20 bbl. of water a day from a single, open-hole Bakken lateral.

10 North Dakota activity is paying dividends for operators. Houston Exploration Co. completed #14-32 Fancy Butte discovery in Section 32-151n-96w about 12 miles east-northeast of Watford City in northeastern McKenzie County. The 15,220-ft. wildcat reached Cambrian Winnipeg sand, but no completion details were disclosed. About 29 miles south in eastern Williams County, Denver-based Whiting Oil & Gas Corp. completed a Red River discovery at its #12-11 Foss in Section 11-156n-97w. No completion details were released on that 13,615-ft. well either. The closest Red River production is two miles south.

11 Veteran North Dakota operator Continental Resources Inc., Enid, Okla., brought in a Bakken discovery producing 164 bbl. of oil, 63,000 cu. ft. of gas and two bbl. of water a day from two open-hole laterals about 16 miles northwest of Dickinson. The #1-18 Gloria is in Section 18-141n-98w in eastern Billings County, N.D.

12 Wesco Operating Inc., Casper, Wyo., found a discovery producing 49 bbl. of oil, 25,000 cu. ft. of gas and 106 bbl. of water a day from Meeteetse when it reentered a 17,060-ft. dry hole some 19 miles east-northeast of Cody in northwestern Wyo­ming. The #2A Bridger Trail is in Section 2-53n-98w in northeastern Park County. It produced from two Upper Cretaceous intervals between 11,206-46 ft. and tested through an 18/64-in. choke.

13 Houston-based Noble Energy Inc. chalked up a discovery with its #11-34B Iron Horse-Federal wildcat 23 miles east of Shoshoni in northeastern Fremont County, Wyo. The well, on the northern flank of the Wind River Basin in Section 34-38n-90w, tested 839,000 cu. ft. of gas, seven bbl. of condensate and 439 bbl. of water a day from three fractured Fort Union zones from 8,996 to 9,831 ft. through a 23/64-in. choke. The discovery is two miles north of Frenchie Draw Field, according to IHS Inc.

14 Yates Petroleum Corp., Artesia, N.M., will drill a wildcat to evaluate Mesaverde gas to 11,500 ft. about 45 miles northwest of Wamsutter in the Red Desert Basin in southwestern Wyoming. The #1 Wynn-Federal is in Section 17-24n-98w in northern Sweetwater County and is about three miles west-northwest of the 1997 Jade Field discovery well that produces from fractured Lewis. Three miles southeast, a discovery, #27-6 Vermillion-Federal, tested 522,000 cu. ft. of gas and 60 bbl. of water a day from Lewis and Mesaverde.

15 A discovery in Baxter, Frontier and Dakota resulted from a wildcat drilled by Questar Exploration & Production Co. about 50 miles south-southeast of Rock Springs, Wyo., in Moffat County, Colo. The #1 Sparks Ridge Unit in Section 5-11n-101w in the Vermillion Basin tested 636,000 cu. ft. of gas, 296 bbl. of condensate and 768 bbl. of water a day from perforations between 9,004 and 12,760 ft. after fracturing. Questar tested the well through a 28/64-in. choke. The closest production from the same zones came from another Questar well six miles north and slightly west.

16 Petroleum Exploration Inc., Denver, plans a wildcat on the Las Animas Arch in Cheyenne County in southeastern Colorado. The #1 Rother Farms in Section 23-16s-43w will look at Morrow sand at 5,800 ft. some 14 miles southeast of Cheyenne Wells. There is no production from the township, according to IHS Inc. The well is about 4.5 miles south-southwest of the abandoned White Woman Field discovery well, which tested 2 million cu. ft. of gas a day from Morrow.