Many independents had good reason to celebrate their performance this summer. Strong M&A activity, continued high commodity prices, a nation hungry for more resources and an investment community keenly to everything energy have all helped the group finish strong-though there is trepidation about how long the good fortune can last. All 38 of the companies on the Oil and Gas Investor This Week scoreboard reported revenue growth as compared with second-quarter 2004; nine experienced production dips. The biggest gainers in revenue were Ultra Petroleum Corp., Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Range Resources Corp. at 138%, 82%, and 74%, respectively. Though there were no losers, The Houston Exploration Co. came in last at 2% revenue growth. As for growth in oil and gas output, Ultra and Chesapeake were on top again at 84% and 42%. Kerr-McGee Corp. and XTO Energy Inc. followed closely at 37% each. Ultra is poised to drill around 150 wells this year in the Pinedale Anticline in Wyoming, Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. notes, as the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approved the company's request for five 10-acre pilot programs on the Pinedale acreage. "Ten-acre downspacing in the Pinedale could ultimately give Ultra more than 6-plus trillion cubic feet equivalent of net reserves on the Pinedale Anticline and could provide the company with drilling inventory well through the decade," Sterne Agee reports. It had a Buy on the stock with a target price of $40. To Deutsche Bank analyst Jay Saunders, Chesapeake's success during the quarter was no surprise. "Second-quarter numbers were, to us, a microcosm of the Chesapeake story with solid drillbit performance, acquisitions adding to inventory, significant reserve replacement, and margin expansion amid a low operating-cost structure. While reserve addition costs-both drillbit and acquisitions-are rising, aggressiveness has been rewarded in this price environment and deals have provided an enviable inventory." For more on this, see the October issue of Oil and Gas Investor. For a subscription, call 713-993-9325 Ext. 126.