1. V.F., Neuhaus Properties, McAllen, Texas, and Makoil Inc., Las Vegas, Nev., both plan wildcats in Railroad Valley, Nevada's most prolific producing region. The Neuhaus 36-1 Little Giant is in Section 36-10n-56e, and the Makoil 36-33E Inselberg is a half-mile (.8 km) south in the same section, according to IHS Energy. Neither company disclosed the projected depth or target formation for its well, but the wells are about 2¼ miles (3.6 km) north of Trap Springs field, which produces oil from Tertiary Garrett Ranch volcanics at depths shallower than 4,600 ft (1,403 m). That field has produced 13.7 million bbl of oil and 65.2 million bbl of water.

2. Gasco Production Co., Englewood, Colo., plans two exploratory wells, both to 11,800 ft (3,599 m) between 14 miles and 15 miles (22 km and 24 km) south of Randlett, in eastern Uintah County, Utah. Both wells will aim at Mesaverde gas. The Uintah Basin wells are the 24-14-9-19 Lamb Trust in irregular Section 14-9s-19e and the 24-22-9-19 Lamb Trust in Section 22-9s-19e, about a mile and a half (2.4 km) to the southwest. The company completed the 22-22-9-19 Lytham-Federal discovery in Wasatch/Mesaverde in Section 22-9s-19e last year flowing 2.28 MMcf of gas, 4 bbl of condensate and 362 bbl of formation and load water per day from eight Wasatch and Mesaverde sections between 6,777 ft and 11,490 ft (2,067 m and 3,504 m). Gasco tested the well through a 26/64-in. choke with 700 psi of flowing tubing pressure. The well produced 84.5 MMcf of gas, 624 bbl of condensate and 10,049 bbl of water in its first 5 months online. The company also drilled the 23-21-9-19 Federal a mile (1.6 km) west-southwest of the Lytham-Federal well. It produced 126 MMcf of gas, 1,204 bbl of condensate and 19,060 bbl of water in 13 months, according to IHS Energy.

3. Headington Oil Co. L.P., Dallas, Texas, produced 3,655 bbl of oil and 909 bbl of water in 7 days in April at its 44X-31 Williams discovery in Section 31-24n-55e in Richland County, Mont. The well produced from an openhole horizontal Bakken zone from 10,366 ft to 16,068 ft (3,162 m to 4,901m). The well bottomed in Section 8-23n-55e. The new well is about 1½ miles (2.4 km) north-northwest of an inactive Bakken producer in Red Water field. There, the 8-11X Nevins produced 42,743 bbl of oil from Bakken between Jan. 1991 and Jan. 2000. It previously had produced from deeper Duperow.

4. Hunt Oil Co., Dallas, Texas, has scheduled two 13,500-ft (4,118-m) wildcats to look for Mesaverde gas in an undrilled township in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming. The Big Horn County wells are approximately 28 miles (45 km) southeast of Cody. The 34-15 HOC-USA is in Section 15-50n-97w and the 24-15 HOC-USA is a half mile (.8 km) to the west in the same section. The nearest production is from Fritz field some 11 miles (18 km) to the east. That field produced Frontier, Muddy and Dakota gas.

5. SEECO, Inc., based in Fayetteville, Ark., scheduled a third wildcat in southwestern Van Buren County, about 12 miles (19 km) southwest from the town of Clinton, Ark. Located in Section 26-10n-16w, the 1-26 Knowles will evaluate formations through the Hunton. Total depth is slated to 3,750 ft (1,144 m). Abandoned Clinton Northeast field is the closest previous producer, about 2 miles (3.2 km) west-southwest of the well. The wells in the field cumulatively produced 22 MMcf of gas through December 1997, according to IHS Energy.

6. EOG Resources Inc., based in Houston, Texas, completed the 32#4 NW Freeman Ranch flowing gas at an initial rate of 4.68 MMcf/d, with no liquids. Located in the Oklahoma Panhandle in western Texas County in Section 32-3n-12e, about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of the town of Goodwell, the well was tested through untreated perforations in the Cherokee between 5,408 ft and 5,537 ft (1,649 m and 1,689 m). Flowing tubing pressure was gauged 214 psi on a 48/64-in. choke. The closest production is 2¼ miles (3.6 km) to the north, at a triple-zone Eva Southeast field well. The Cities Service 2 Stonebraker produced a total of 2.81 Bcf from reservoirs between 4,428 ft and 6,252 ft (1,350 m and 1,907 m).

7. Devon Energy Production Co. LP., based in Oklahoma City, Okla., staked a wildcat more than 15 miles (24 km) northwest of the town of Jal in southern Lea County in southeastern New Mexico. The 1 Red Bull "31" State, located in Section 31-23s-35e, is slated to reach a total depth of 14,400 ft (4,392 m) in the Morrow. A mile (1.6 km) to the southeast is 1 Antelope "5" Federal that was completed in 1995 pumping 42.2° oil from the Bone Spring between 8,640 ft and 8,698 ft (2,635 m and 2,653 m). The 8,800-ft (2,684-m) well produced 32,563 bbl of crude, 36 MMcf of casinghead gas and 60,595 bbl of water.

8. Amarillo, Texas, independent Riata Energy Inc. has tested a Val Verde Basin discovery in central Terrell County (RRC 7C) flowing 1.9 MMcf of gas daily, with no liquids. The 9401 Kothman, located in Section 94, Block 1, TC Survey,
A-2736, more than 20 miles (32 km) northeast of the town of Sanderson, Texas, was perforated between 7,782 ft and 7,882 ft (2,374 m and 2,404 m). Flowing tubing pressure was 1,285 psi on a 16/64-in. choke. The Caballos wildcat was drilled to a total depth of 8,457 ft (2,579 m). The closest producer is nearly 6 miles (9.6 km) north-northeast. The 69-1 Pakenham was completed in 1993 flowing gas from the Wolfcamp between 7,026 ft and 7,048 ft (2,143 m and 2,150 m). At a total depth of 9,797 ft (2,988 m), the well yielded 526.22 MMcf of gas, 685 bbl of condensate and 2,611 bbl of water, according to IHS Energy.

9. ChevronTexaco, under the Chevron USA Inc. name in San Ramon, Calif., tested the deepest well yet drilled in Hostetter field in McMullen County, Texas (RRC 1), for 17.54 MMcf of gas and 124 bbl of water a day. The company fractured its 4 Yeager Gas Unit and tested the well through a 22/64-in. choke with 7,723 psi of flowing tubing pressure. The well is in Section 44, BS&F (formerly Yeager V) Survey, A-1230 some 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Clegg Ranch. It produced from perforations between 15,098 ft and 15,434 ft (4,605 m and 4,707 m). Chevron's well is just south of a former Hostetter field producer, the 1 C. Yeager, That well was completed and recompleted in three Wilcox intervals from 8,372 ft to 10,266 ft (2,553 m to 3,131 m) for cumulative production of 14.97 Bcf of gas 174,291 bbl of condensate and 370,762 bbl of water, according to IHS Energy.

10. PXP Gulf Coast Inc., Lafayette, La., tested 3.9 MMcf of gas a day with 5 bbl of water and no condensate from its 2 State Lease 17656 Miocene wildcat about ¾ miles (1.2 km) southeast of the New Orleans city limits in St. Bernard Parish, La. The well produced from perforations between 8,312 ft and 8,326 ft (2,535 m and 2,539 m) through a 19/64-in. choke with 2,948 psi of flowing tubing pressure. About a mile (1.6 km) east-southeast, the company's 1 State Lease 17656 is planned to got to 9,800 ft (2,989 m).

11. The 1-17 Adams exploratory well in Section 7-16n-17w, Weare Township in northwestern Oceana County, Mich., will look for Niagaran pay to 4,600 ft (1,403 m). The Ventex Operating Corp. well is 1½ miles (2.4 km) east of Pentwater and 2½ miles (4 km) east of Lake Michigan. The closest production to the Dallas, Texas, company's well is a half-mile (.8 km) south in Pentwater field, which has produced more than 7 million bbl of oil from Devonian Traverse and Dundee zones above 2,300 ft (702 m) since it opened in 1948. A Pentwater field well drilled to the deeper Silurian A-2 Carbonate tested at 1.4 MMcf of gas a day from perforations between 3,470 ft and 3,510 ft (1,058 m and 1,070 m).

12. More wildcats have been staked in New York's Trenton-Black River play by East Resources Inc., Wexford, Pa. The company plans to drill its 1 Hawbaker about 6 miles (9.6 km) south-southeast of the town of South Corning, in the town of Caton, Seeley Creek Quad in Steuben County. The 11,950-ft (3,645-m) directional well will bottom in neighboring Caton Quad at a true vertical depth around 11,800 ft (3,599 m). This well is about 3 miles (4.8 km) south-southeast of a Trenton-Black River discovery the company completed last year in a partnership with Belden & Blake Corp. That well, the 1 Harndon, flowed 3.5 MMcf of gas a day and is expected to go on production at a rate as high as 5 MMcf of gas a day, according to IHS Energy. East Resources also plans to drill the 1 Lubin to 10,700 ft (3,264 m) less than 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Elmira in Elmira Quad, south-central Chemung County, New York. That well is almost 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Columbia Natural Gas Resources Inc.'s 624537 Schmidt, a Trenton-Black River discovery with an undisclosed test rate. East Resources also has staked the 1 Bush a mile and a half (2.4 km) to the north of the Lubin well and the 1 Cotton-Hanlon a mile and a half (2.4 km) east-northeast of the Lubin well, all to Trenton-Black River.

13. The Fort Liard area north of the British Columbia border in Canada's Northwest Territories continues to give up good wells for companies that can decipher its complex geology. Purcell Energy completed a wet gas line connecting its 24% owned M-25 and 2M-25 to the production facility. That allowed the company to production-test its 2M-25 Nahanni well at a rate of more than 25 MMcf/d. It has since shut in the well for a pressure build-up test. It plans to begin work soon on the M-25 well that has been shut in since January. A workover of that well, combined with new production from the 2M-25, should add 35 MMcf/d to area production. Paramount Resources Ltd. is the operator of the Fort Liard gas project. Other partners are Anadarko Canada Ltd., Devon Canada Ltd., Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., EnCana Oil and Gas Partnership, and Talisman Energy Canada.

14. The Marathon Oil Co. subsidiary Marathon Canada Petroleum ULC did not find commercial oil and gas at its Crimson F-81 deepwater wildcat off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. The company drilled the well on the same block as its sucessful Annapolis well, EPL 2377, some 211 miles (340 km) southeast of Halifax in 6,861 ft (2,092 m) of water.

15. ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc., affiliate of ConocoPhillips Inc., Houston, Texas, plans another five wildcat wells on the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska west of Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope of Alaska. The wells are the 1 Noatak in Section 22-12n-5w, Umiat Meridian; the 1 Bounty in Section 17-11n-6w, Umiat Meridian; the 1 Defiance in Section 15-12n-7w, Umiat Meridian; the 1 Kokoda in Section 32-12n-5w, Umiat Meridian, and the 1 Nugget in Section 28-11n-4w, Umiat Meridian. The wells are generally south of Teshekpuk Lake and approximately 14 miles to 20 miles (22 km to 32 km) north and northwest of Total E&P USA Inc.'s Caribou prospect in Section 26-10n-5w. The wildcats are 30 miles to 50 miles (48 km to 80 km) west-northwest of Phillips/Anadarko discoveries made in the petroleum reserve in 2001. One of those wells, the 1-A Spark, tested at 1,550 bbl of condensate and 26.5 MMcf of gas a day from Alpine.

16. Houston, Texas-based Aurora Gas LLC completed a 10 MMcf/d gas producer near the town of Shirleyville on the west side of the Cook Inlet in southern Alaska. The company's 2 Kaloa in Section 26-11n-12w, Seward Meridian, produced from four Beluga zones between 3,158 ft and 3,552 ft (963 m and 1,083 m). According to Aurora, the well pierced 150 ft (46 m) of net pay.