1 Shuler Drilling Co. Inc., El Dorado, Ark., will drill to Smackover at 8,600 ft. at #1 Word remote wildcat in southeastern Sunflower County in northern Mississippi. The county has no current production, but #1 Mrs. A.J. Word Sr. well, immediately south-southeast, reached 11,984 ft. before it was abandoned. The new wellsite is about two miles from the Humphreys County boundary line in Section 4-17n-3w. Nearest recovery from a comparable depth is about 10 miles southeast, where the single well in Fomosla Field, #1 Pat M. Barrett, tested at 2.2 million cu. ft. of gas and 132 bbl. of oil a day. Between 1970 and 1989 the well produced 1.48 billion cu. ft. of gas, 135,543 bbl. of condensate and 29,256 bbl. of water from perforations between 9,384 and 98 ft., reports IHS Inc.

2 GeoMet Inc., Helena, Ala., will drill a wildcat to test nonproducing Cullman County in southeastern Alabama. Its #06-07-04 Montgomery, in Section 6-12s-3w, will test Paleozoic zones at 2,500 ft. The new well is less than a mile north-northwest of the nearest of only 12 wells completed in the county. That well, #1 Allbritton/Crawford 8-4 in Section 8 of the same township and range, flowed 17,000 cu. ft. of gas a day from Lower Tuscumbia perforations between 1,196 and 1,218 ft. It never produced commercially. GeoMet permitted three Paleozoic wildcats 15 miles east-southeast in nonproducing Blount County, all to depths of 2,500 ft. or shallower. At another site in northeastern Cullman County, Choctaw Geological Enterprises, a Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians enterprise, based in Choctaw, Miss., drilled a remote wildcat to Conasauga shale at its #1A Haynes Farms LLC 26-8 in Section 26-9s-2w about 1.5 miles southwest of Fairview. No information has been released on that well yet, but the organization abandoned a previous attempt within a few hundred feet.

3 Golden Petroleum Corp., Traverse City, Mich., permitted #1-21 Neubauer, a 1,630-ft. wildcat about six miles south of Custer in Mason County, Mich. It scheduled the well in Section 21-17n-16w in Eden Township to Devonian Reed City. The site is about two miles northwest of Eden Field. That field, opened in the late 1940s, produced oil from Devonian Traverse, Reed City and Dundee at depths shallower than 2,345 ft. The closest well drilled was a dry hole 0.5 mile south-southwest. That well had oil shows in Dundee from 2,403-50 ft.

4 Charles J. Moskowitz, Mount Pleasant Borough, Mich., plans a 4,000-ft. new-field wildcat to test Dundee lime for oil and gas in Section 5-16n-6w about seven miles northeast of Barrytown in Isabella County, Mich. It will drill #1-5 Paul Thomas about 3.6 miles northeast of South Orient Field, reports IHS Inc.

5 Meridian Production Services Inc., Haslett, Mich., lined up its third horizontal wildcat to evaluate Trenton in Monroe County, Mich. The #2-31 HD Vergote Goetz is in Section 31-7s-6e, Summerfield Township, about 4.5 miles south-southeast of Deerfield. It will drill the well westward to a bottomhole position in the same section. True vertical depth for the well is 2,100 ft in Black River. Summerfield Field lies about two miles north. At that field, #1-19 Sipes et al. in Section 19-7s-6e initially pumped 100 bbl. of oil and 25 bbl. of water a day from Trenton perforations between 2,012 and 18 ft. It recorded the Trenton formation top at 1,919 ft. and the Black River top at 2,212 ft. Meridian drilled two earlier horizontal wells about a mile north, but it hasn’t released any details on #1-31 HD1 White, Goetz & Walter Unit, also in Section 31, or #1-30 HD1 White, Goetz & Walter Unit in Section 30 of the same township.

6 Bi-Petro Inc., Springfield, Ill., will drill #1 Schien to test Silurian to 2,000 ft. for oil about 3.6 miles east of Chatham, Ill., The well, in Section 15-14n-5w in Sangamon County, is less than two miles northwest of Glenarm Field, a Silurian producer.

7 CNX Gas Co. LLC, Pittsburgh, will drill wildcats to two different targets in Section 36-6n-8w in Sullivan County, Ind. Its #07-SL-02 CNX Gas Co. will evaluate Pennsylvanian coal at 1,600 ft. That well is 4.2 miles west of Sandborn and 1.25 miles northeast of Freeland North Field, a New Albany shale pool. The other wildcat, #BT-001 CNX Gas Co., offset to the east, will look at Jefferson City dolomite to 3,500 ft. That well is about the same distance from Freeland North Field but some 4.1 miles west of Sandborn. Both wells are listed with the state as stratigraphic tests.

8 Ohio Valley Energy System Corp., Austintown, Ohio, will drill a new field wildcat in Summit County, Ohio, to test Clinton sand at 4,150 ft. It will drill #1 Pistielli Unit in Tract 1, Akron East Quad, about 3.8 miles southeast of Akron. Nearest production comes from an unnamed field that produces from Clinton about 1.2 miles southeast.

9 Knox Energy Inc., New Albany, Ohio, plans a wildcat to test Clinton sand for oil and gas in Licking County, Ohio. It will drill #1-3288 D. Gorius to 2,750 ft. in First Quarter Township, Utica Quad, about 8.3 miles northwest of Athalia. Ironton Consolidated Field produces from Clinton sand about two miles west.

10 Ansbro Petroleum Co. LLC, Denver, will target Black River lime at #1 T Lansing wildcat in Tompkins County, N.Y. It scheduled the well to 6,300 ft in Section C, Lansing Township, Ludlowville Quad. The test is 9.7 miles north of Lansing and 6.6 miles north of an unnamed field that produces from the Oriskany formation. Ansbro plans to drill directionally, but it did not disclose the direction of the bottom hole from the surface location.

11 Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, staked eight new projects in Susquehanna County in northeastern Pennsylvania in an area in which it drilled two wildcats. So far, the company hasn’t released detailed results of the wildcat wells. The newest planned wells are #1 Brooks, Springfield Township, Susquehanna Quad; #2 Ely and #4 Ely, both in Dimock Township, Susquehanna Quad; #1 Kahle, Dimock Township, Susquehanna Quad; and #2 Hubard, Dimock Township, Susquehanna Quad. It had earlier permitted #3 Teel, Dimock Township, Springville Quad, and #6 Teel and #8 Teel, both in Springville Township, Springville Quad. All of the wells are scheduled to 7,500 ft. The first well, in October 2006, was #1 Teel in Springville Township, Springville Quad, drilled to 7,017 ft. about 26 miles southeast of Stagecoach Field in Tioga County. It produced gas from Oriskany and Helderberg. Cabot drilled #1 Greenwood in Dimock Township, Montrose East Quad, to 7,014 ft. in 2007.

12 Activity continues high in Greene County, Pa., as independent operators find success exploring for gas in Upper Devonian shales, reports IHS Inc. Atlas Resources Inc., Moon Township, Pa., will drill #7 Yost to 6,000 ft. in Section 5, Whiteley Township, Garard’s Fort Quad, about 9.2 miles north of Cassville, W.Va. and 1.1 miles west of Whitely Creek Field, a Big Injun pool. Atlas also will drill #7 Pevarnik in Section 7, Cumberland Township, Car­michaels Quad, about 0.75 mile northwest of Fairdale, Pa., and 1.1 miles northwest of Masontown Field, which produces from Speechley.

Patriot Exploration Corp., Stahlstown, Pa., permitted two 5,000-ft wildcats to Upper Devonian, both in Section 8, Jefferson Township, Mather Quad in Green County. Both #86-1 McMinn and #86-2 McMinn are about 2.1 miles northwest of Jefferson Field, a Speechley producer, but the former well is 1.5 miles south of Jefferson, and the latter is 1.7 miles southwest.

13 Texas Keystone Inc., Pittsburgh, will drill two wildcats in Grant District, Bruceton Mills Quad, in Preston County, W.Va. The #5 Teets Halbritter and #7 Teets Halbritter both will target the Elk formation about 1.2 miles south of Quebec Run Field, a Huntersville pool. The #5 Teets Halbritter is 3.2 miles northwest of Brandonville, while the other is 3.4 miles north of Bruceton Mills.

14 Pine Mountain Oil & Gas Inc., Abingdon, Va., staked two new wildcats, both projected to Big Lime at 2,350 ft. in Henry District, Clay Quad in Clay County, W.Va. The #107 Pine Mountain Oil & Gas is 5.5 miles east of Clay and 1.2 miles southwest of Swandale-Widen Field, a Maxton pool. The #125 Pine Mountain Oil & Gas is 5.2 miles east of Clay and 1.1 miles east of the field.

15 Dart Oil & Gas, Mason, Mich., will drill a 9,000-ft Devonian wildcat 2.2 miles northeast of the nearest production in an unnamed Weir Field. It is in Clear Fork District, Bramwell Quad, Tazewell County, Va. The #040401 James R. Carter Jr. is 1.8 miles south of Pocahontas.

16 Viking Exploration Inc., Mousie, Ky., will drill two wildcats to examine Lower Devonian shale at 3,999 ft. in Section 24-L-80E, Handshoe Quad, in Knott County, eastern Kentucky. The #VE-008 Viking Exploration LLC is 6.1 miles north of Pippa Passes and 1.3 miles northeast of Big Sandy Field, a Big Lime producer. The #VE-009 Steve Hicks Heirs well is 6.3 miles north of the town and 1.1 miles northeast of the field.