1 Murphy Exploration & Production Co., El Dorado, Ark., found gas pay with more than 70 ft. of true vertical thickness at its Dachsund South/ Mondo Northwest wildcat sidetrack in Lloyd Ridge 1 in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The #1-OCS-G-10487 discovery, in the northwestern section of Block 2, is in about 8,340 ft. of water. The original well and the sidetrack reached gas in three Miocene reservoirs. Production probably will be tied back to the Independence Hub when it is built on Mississippi Canyon 920. 2 U.S. Oil & Gas Resources Inc., Vancouver, increased its investment in Puckett Field in Smith and Rankin counties in Mississippi. The company earlier agreed to a six-well recompletion program. The latest move gives it a 16% interest in the entire field in Section 18-3n-6e in Smith County. The Canadian company will pay all costs of restoring production from the shut-in well for a 75% net revenue interest before payout and a half-interest after payout. The deal also gives the company the right to reinstate production in six additional wells. 3 ExxonMobil Corp. has completed a high-producing well in Lower Mobile Bay-Mary Ann Field in state water offshore Alabama. The #3 State Lease 347 Tract 76 well tested at 28.89 million cu. ft. of gas and 258 bbl. of water a day from Norphlet perforations between 20,580 and 20,950 ft. after drilling to 21,103 ft., according to IHS Energy. The nearest producer is another well in the same field. That well, the State Lease 347 Tract 76, drilled a third-mile east, tested at 12.2 million cu. ft. of gas a day in 1979. Ten years later, the company completed a lateral flowing 17.91 million cu. ft. of gas a day. The well has produced a cumulative 47.55 billion cu. ft. of gas, 8,105 bbl. of condensate and 472,620 bbl. of water since it was brought online in 1990. 4 Traverse City, Mich.-based Savoy Energy LP brought in a discovery flowing 1.5 million cu. ft. of gas a day about 2.5 miles south of Hersey in Green Township in northwestern Mecosta County, Mich. The #1-6 Haist, in Section 6-16n-9w, produced from Lower Prairie du Chien sand perforations between 9,400-18 ft. with 2,100 psi of flowing tubing pressure. The well tapped three additional intervals with potential pay. The #1-6 Haist is a re-entry of a 1987 well that had gas shows in the Prairie du Chien at a shallower depth. The nearest production from that formation is three miles southwest at the abandoned discovery well for Bevens Lake Field. The well produced 260.8 million cu. ft. of gas and 68,868 bbl. of condensate between August 1988 and April 1996. Savoy also has permitted the 7,600-ft. 2-14 Fenstermacher in Section 14-16n-10w in the Bevens Lake Field area. 5 R.K. Petroleum Corp., Midland, Texas, plans to drill the #1 Barclay-Davis Comm wildcat in Section 4-7n-5e in Effingham County, Ill. The well was permitted to Silurian at a projected depth of 3,900 ft. The wildcat is about 1.8 miles northeast of Keptown Field, which produces from Geneva Dolomite and approximately 6.7 miles northwest of the town of Watson, Ill. 6 In DeKalb County, Ind., operator West Bay Exploration Co., Traverse City, Mich., has staked a wildcat looking for Black River oil at 1,800 ft. The company's #1-20 Dermott is in Section 20-33n-15e. The well is about 10 miles north of Woodburn Field, which produces from the Trenton formation, and 3.1 miles west of the town of Hicksville, according to an IHS Energy report. 7 Independent A.W. Wilson, Oakland City, Ind., staked a wildcat to assess McCloskey formation oil at its #1 Blann Farms. The 2,000-ft. well is in Section 210-5n-10w in Knox County, Ind. Oaktown Field, which produces from McClosky, is 1.4 miles north, and the town of Oaktown is slightly more than two miles northeast. 8 The Fortuna Energy Inc. subsidiary of Talisman Energy Inc., Calgary, is looking for another producer in its string of Black River successes in New York. The company has staked the #1 Cotton-Hanlon with a projected depth of 10,177 ft. in Section I, Etten Quad, Spencer Township, in Tioga County, N.Y. The well site is 3.5 miles southeast of Ven Etten Field, an Oriskany pool, and 3.1 miles southeast of the town of Van Etten. 9 Columbia Natural Resources LLC, Charleston. W.Va., has staked the #1 Warner wildcat in Litchfield Township, Litchfield Quad, about 1.5 miles east of Sayre and a mile south of the New York state line in Bradford County, northern Pennsylvania. The planned directional well is projected to 14,500 ft. with Trenton-Black River gas intervals the most likely objectives. The surface location of the well is four miles west of an unnamed gas field that produces from Helderburg and six miles northeast of an Oriskany discovery made in the mid-1990s. The nearest production from a similar depth is Columbia's Landon Hill Field, about 15 miles northwest. That field produces Trenton-Black River gas in Chemung County in southern New York. CNR also plans to drill the #1 Sullivan wildcat in Athens Township, Sayre Quad, about seven miles southwest of the #1 Warner, IHS Energy said. 10 Pennsylvania General Energy LLC, Warren, Pa., has mounted a two-well campaign to look for Speechley gas at 2,000 ft. in Clarion County, Pa. The company's #1714 Heasley is in Section I, Tylersburg Quad, Farmington Township. It's more than a mile west of Leeper Field, a Speechley producer, and 13.5 miles southeast of Tionesta, Pa. The other wildcat, the #1713 Plum Creek Timber, is in Section F of the same quad and township. It is 1.6 miles northwest of Leeper Field and 13 miles southeast of Tionesta. 11 A couple of wildcats aimed at Oriskany at 5,000 ft. are in the planning stages for Mid East Oil Co., Indiana, Pa. Both wells are projected to 5,000 ft. in Section D, Penfield Quad, Huston Township, Clearfield County, Pa. The company's Bel #12 Chagrin is 1.4 miles south of Boone Mountain Field, which produces from Oriskany, and 7.9 miles east of Treasure Lake. The Bel #13 Chagrin is 1.5 miles south of Boone Mountain Field and 8.2 miles east of Treasure Lake, according to IHS Energy. 12 Noumenon Corp., Dellslow, W.Va., plans a wildcat in Monongalia County, W.Va., in a search for natural gas from Gordon at 3,800 ft. The company's #1 Gilla C. Willis is in Grant District, Morgantown Quad, 2.5 miles south of Westover and 1.4 miles west of Westover Field, a Gantz formation producer. 13 Excel Energy Inc., Bridgeport, W.Va., will check the Fifth Sand for natural gas at 3,244 ft. at its #E-264 James E. Talkington Jr. et al. The wildcat is in Mannington District, Wallace Quad in Marion County, W.Va. It is 1.2 miles west of an unnamed field that produces from the Fifty-Foot Sand and eight miles east of Smithfield, W.Va. In the same county, Meadow Ridge Development LLC, Washington, Pa., has staked its #2 Anne Jenkins wildcat to Fifth Sand at 3,600 ft. in Lincoln District, Grant Town Quad. The well is a little more than a mile southwest of Farmington Field, which produces from Fifth Sand, and 2.4 miles north of Farmington, W.Va. 14 Maintaining its status as an active participant in the West Virginia oil patch, Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, plans wildcats in McDowell and Wyoming counties. The #14 Harman Litz in Browns Creek District, Welch Quad, McDowell County, is aimed at Gordon gas at 4,310 ft. more than a mile northeast of Big Creek Field, a Berea producer, and 2.4 miles southwest of Welch, Pa. In Wyoming County, the #60 USS is projected to Devonian at 3,810 ft. in Barkers Ridge District, Pineville Quad, about two miles southeast of Pineville. The #68 USS borehole will reach for the same formation at 3,890 ft. in Center District, Mullens Quad, some 5.3 miles southwest of Pineville. Nearby fields produce from Ravencliff, according to IHS Energy. 15 Leslie and Harlan counties in Kentucky are the sites for a wildcat campaign by Nami Resources Co. LLC, London, Ky., as it targets Clinton Shale to 4,000 ft. The #89 South Mississippi Electric Power Association well is in Section 14-F-73e, Helton Quad, slightly more than 10 miles north of Wallins Creek in Leslie County. The Nadd #5 Addington Exploration Co. LLC well is in Section 18-F-75e in Bledsoe Quad about 6.9 miles north of Harlan in Harlan County. In the same quad and 6.2 miles north of Harlan, the company plans the Nadd #8 Addington Exploration Co. LLC in Section 23-F-75e. The Nadd #9 well is in Section 24-F-75e, some 6.4 miles north of Harlan 16 NGas Resources (formerly Daugherty Petroleum Inc.), Lexington, Ky., continues its successful Devonian campaign in Bell County, Ky., with a series of wildcats aimed at 4,900 ft. Its #DPI-825 Gatliff Coal Co. is in Section 5-D-71e in Pineville Quad, 4.9 miles northeast of Pineville, Ky. The #DPI-833 Gatliff Coal Co. is in Section 20-E-70e in the same quad and 6.4 miles north of Pineville, and the #DPI-848 Gatliff Coal is in Section 22-E-70e, 6.1 miles north of Pineville. The #DPI-824 Gatliff Coal Co., also in Section 22-E-70e, is 5.7 miles north of the town. The nearest field produces from Big Lime.