Rancher Energy Corp., Denver, (OTCBB: RNCH) reports that the Wyoming Oil & Gas Conservation Commission has approved the company's Big Muddy River 2nd Frontier Unit.

Rancher Energy chief executive John Works says the commission’s action provides a key regulatory approval for the company to move forward with its development plans in the Big Muddy Field, adding that the 2nd Frontier formation is one of several that the company believes will be productive in the field.

“Unit approval on the Big Muddy is a critical milestone in our overall development plans in the Powder River Basin,” Works says. “We continue to work to secure financing required to execute those plans.”

In addition to the Big Muddy, Rancher Energy also owns the nearby Cole Creek South and South Glenrock B fields—all three of which are historically productive oil fields in the Southwest corner of the Powder River Basin.

Rancher Energy’s targeted strategy is to reinvigorate older, historically productive oil fields in the hydrocarbon-rich Rocky Mountain region of the United States. JAS