Bill Barrett Corp., Denver, (NYSE: BBG) reports during the second quarter, the company drilling eight wells in the Paradox Basin in Colorado targeting the Gothic shale.

Bill Barrett has 55% working interest in the Yellow Jacket shale gas discovery and continues to adjust completion and production techniques in an effort to avoid salt precipitation in the wellbore, maximize exposure to the shale formation and improve well performance. The company has five wells on production. One well, the Oliver 13H, was expensed in the second quarter as a dry hole due to the impact on completion of a cross-cutting fault that encountered nominal H2S, a circumstance unique to this well. The company has approximately 307,000 gross (140,000 net) undeveloped acres in the prospect.

At the Green Jacket prospect (100% working interest), targeting the Hovenweep shale, Bill Barrett completed its first horizontal well during the second quarter. The well did not encounter the salt issues that are present in the Yellow Jacket wells and is currently shut-in due to its distance from the pipeline and as the company focuses its efforts on the Yellow Jacket well completions. The company has approximately 150,000 gross (110,000 net) undeveloped acres in the prospect.

In the Montana Overthrust in Montana, the company began completion work and testing on three vertical wells that were drilled during 2008 targeting the Cody shale and is permitting a Cody shale horizontal well. Testing was completed on the Draco and Leviathan wells, which were drilled in 2007 and originally targeted structural features below 7,000 feet, and the remaining well costs were expensed as dry holes. Targeted zones in these wells were not related to the Cody shale. Bill Barrett has a 50% working interest in this prospect.

Bill Barrett has gas and oil operations in the U.S. Rockies.