1 Hunt Petroleum Corp. plans to bypass a wildcat in 50 ft. of water at the #1 (BP) OCS-G-27196 in the northeast corner of Main Pass 29 off the tip of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. It junked and abandoned the original wellbore recently at an unreported depth below 8,838 ft. It planned to drill to 11,000 ft., according to IHS Energy. This was the only well Dallas-based Hunt planned for the block. The nearest previous drilling is an abandoned well 0.75-mile west-southwest. The closest production is 1.75 miles northeast in Block 115. That 1980 well produced 841.3 million cu. ft. of gas, 569 bbl. of condensate and 4,664 bbl. of water from Upper Miocene between 5,434-49 ft. 2 The first wildcat to produce a discovery in St. Clair County, Ala., gave a financial boost to Dominion Exploration & Production Inc., New Orleans. Only 15 wells have been drilled in the county. The company's #1 Dawson "34-3" in Section 33-13s-4e tested for 147,000 cu. ft. of gas a day from Conasauga perforations between 2,170 and 5,892 ft. in the 5,970-ft. well. Previous production tests performed from an openhole section between 5,954-70 ft. and perforations from 4,850 to 5,852 ft. offered a commingled 280,500 cu. ft. of gas a day. The well is east of Ashville in Section 33-13s-4e. The company spudded another well immediately southwest of the discovery and permitted another Paleozoic test in the same section. The nearest previous well that was completed is in southern Cullman County some 40 miles west-northwest of the Dominion well, but the 17,000-cu.-ft.-per-day well was never brought online. 3 Ready Drilling, Mason, Ill., permitted the #1 Bilyeu wildcat in Montgomery County, Ill., a vertical well to 825 ft. in Section 11-7n-4w to look for oil in the Benoist sandstone. The site is 3.7 miles north of an unnamed field and 2.5 miles northwest of Donnellson, Ill. 4 Bloomington, Ind.-based Mackey Tanner Petroleum Inc. completed an exploratory well in Section 32-2s-12w as a discovery in western Gibson County, Ind., about four miles west-northwest of Owensville. The high-volume #1 Scott tested at 524 bbl. of oil a day with no gas or water from a Cypress interval between 2,203-10 ft. after acidizing and a fracture treatment. The discovery well for Scott Field is a half-mile north-northwest. The well came online initially pumping six bbl. of oil and 20 bbl. of water a day, also from Cypress perforations. Those perforations were between 2,226-32 ft. The nearest wells still active are between 0.75 and 1.5 miles west, where Johnson Consolidated Field has produced 711,000 bbl. of oil from Mansfield at about 1,100 ft. and Cypress from around 2,300 ft. 5 Norstar Operating LLC, Centennial, Colo., permitted a 2,100-ft. wildcat in Section 26, New Riegel Quad, Big Spring Township, in Seneca County, Ohio. The company's #1-26 Feck Unit is 4.5 miles north-northeast of Carey, and is an offset to the company's #1-26 Metzger in the same section. That well was scheduled as a 1,999-ft. Trenton and Black River wildcat. The company hasn't released details on the completion of that well late last year. The wells are almost six miles northeast of Carey Field. That pool produces from Trenton. The discovery well for that field tested at nine bbl. of oil and 25,000 cu. ft. of gas a day from a fractured, openhole zone between 1,371 and 1,432 ft. A dry hole was drilled some four miles east-southeast of the #1-26 Fleck Unit. The well was not cored or drillstem-tested. 6 Four wildcats are in the works for Guardian Exploration LLC, Hunt, Texas, as it investigates Upper Devonian at 2,500 ft. in Potter County, Pa. All four wells are in Roulette Quad, Roulette Township. The #YX-112 Harris is in Section F, 1.2 miles west of an unnamed Devonian field and 8.9 miles east of Port Allegany, Pa. The #YX-113 Potter also is in Section F, and the #YX-116 Lyman and #YX-117 Lyman are in Section I. 7 Armstrong County, Pa., will host three wildcats by different operators, all investigating Devonian gas. US Energy Exploration, Rural Valley, Pa., will drill the #2 Sherry to 5,000 ft. in Section F, Kittanning Quad, Manor Township. That well is 1.1 miles southwest of Ford City Field, an Upper Devonian producer and less than a mile southeast of Applewold, Pa. The second wildcat will be drilled by Snyder Brothers, Kittanning, Pa. That well, the #1-277 Cleo P. Claypool, also will target pay to 5,000 ft., but it will be in Section I, Worthington Quad, North Buffalo Township, about 1.6 miles south of Worthington, Pa., and 1.6 miles north of Slate Lick Field, a Speechley producer. The third well is the #1 Six, scheduled to 2,000 ft. Operator Dannic Energy, Indiana, Pa., will drill the well in Section B, Chicora Quad, Brady's Bend Township. It is 1.2 miles south of West Winfield Field, a Devonian pool, and three miles east of the town of Karns, Pa., according to IHS Energy. 8 Active driller Atlas Resources Inc., Moon Township, Pa., will drill its #4 Consol/USX wildcat to evaluate Upper Devonian gas in Greene County, Pa., in Section D, Carmichaels Quad, Cumberland Township. The test is 1.3 miles west of Carmichaels Field, a Fifth Sand producer, and 1.4 miles east of Rices Landing, Pa. 9 Indigo Drilling, Fairfax, Va., plans three wildcats in Monongalia County, W.Va., to look for Devonian shale gas. All three wells are scheduled to 5,900 ft. in Batelle District, Hundred Quad. The company's #1 Indigo is 2.4 miles north of an unnamed field that produces from Pittsburgh Coal and 4.3 miles northeast of Hundred, W.Va. The #2 Indigo is 2.2 miles north of the unnamed field and 4.3 miles northeast of Hundred. The #3 Indigo is 2.6 miles northeast of the same field. 10 Hard Rock Exploration Co., Charleston, W.Va., will drill to 4,400 ft. in Jackson County, W.Va., in a search for gas from Devonian shale. The #44 James Kiser & Pauline M. Darell will be drilled in Washington District, Gay Quad. Another Devonian field, Elk-Poca-Sissonville, lies 1.2 miles northwest, and the town of Ripley is 11.7 miles northwest. 11 Continuing its aggressive exploration program, J.D. Carty Resources Inc., Salyersville, Ky., plans four wildcat wells in Magoffin County in eastern Kentucky. All will investigate pay in the Black River Lime to 3,999 ft. The company's #2 Ellis Williams is in Section 2-N-77e, Salyersville South Quad, some 1.8 miles north of an unnamed Big Six field and 6.9 miles southwest of Salyersville. The #9 Ellis Williams, in the same section and quad, is 2.3 miles southwest of the unnamed field. The #5 Howard Back, in Section 17-O-77e in Seitz Quad, is 2.2 miles southwest of an unnamed Corniferous field and 5.6 miles southwest of Salyersville. The #6 Howard Back in Section 14-O-77e of the same quad is 2.3 miles southwest of the Corniferous field and 5.7 miles southwest of Salyersville, IHS Energy said. 12 In Hardin County, central Kentucky, one of the state's most aggressive drilling companies, Daugherty Petroleum Inc., a unit of NGAS Resources, Lexington, Ky., will drill the DPI-#2029-19 Walter Sadler to 3,000 ft. to evaluate New Albany shale-gas potential. The wildcat is in Section 19-O-40e in Constantine Quad. It is 6.2 miles west of an unnamed field and 13.5 miles north of the town of Clarkson, Ky. 13 Equitable Production Co., Charleston, W.Va., took out permits to drill four wildcats in Tilford Quad, Perry County, eastern Kentucky. The company's #566461 Equitable Production Co. will drill to Lower Devonian at 4,700 ft. in Section 12-G-77e. The well is 1.5 miles southeast of Big Sandy Field and 8.3 miles northwest of Cumberland. The company will drill to the same target and depth at its #566729 Kentucky River Properties LLC in Section 16-G-78e. That well is 1.6 miles from the field and 5.2 miles from the town. It also will drill the other two wells to Lower Devonian but at 4,600 ft. The #566838 Kentucky River Properties LLC, also in Section 16-G-78e, is 1.2 miles southeast of Big Sandy Field, a Devonian producer, and 5.4 miles northwest of Cumberland. The #566711 Kentucky River Properties LLC, in Section 17-G-78e, is 1.5 miles southeast of the field and 5.2 miles northwest of the town. 14 Signature Oil Corp., Lexington, Ky., plans the #3 Willis Short wildcat in Section 19-B-46e, Union Hill Quad in Clay County, Tenn., to look for oil and gas to Knox at 2,000 ft. The well is 3.1 miles southeast of Mill Creek Field, a Leipers pool, and 6.1 miles south of Tomkinsville on the Kentucky side of the state line. 15 Daugherty Petroleum Inc. has projected its DPI-#461 WPP LLC wildcat to 3,800 ft. in the Clinton Sand. The well is in Section 7-A-68e in Eagan Quad, Claiborne County, Tenn. It is about 1.6 miles south of Hatfield Gap Field and 11.9 miles west of Middlesborogh, Ky. 16 Atlas America Inc., Moon Township, Pa., staked the BR-#1048 Domestic Fund 7 LLC wildcat in Section 3- 04s-61e, Fork Mountain Quad, to look for natural gas in the Sequatchie formation to 3,915 ft. in Scott County, Tenn. The well will be drilled 1.8 miles southeast of an unnamed field and 10.4 miles south of Huntsville, Tenn., said IHS Energy.