1 The neighboring counties of Starr and Jim Hogg in South Texas each has a new discovery completed by Dominion Exploration & Production Inc. producing gas, reports IHS Energy Group. The successful Starr County wildcat-the #1 William R. Buchholz-flowed 2.22 million cu. ft. per day on a 14/64-in. choke. The Houston independent drilled the discovery in Juan Flores Survey, A-77, and tested it through three perforated intervals between 6,714-7,742 ft. In Jim Hogg County, nearly seven miles northeast, Dominion recorded a flow of 1.16 million cu. ft. per day, also on a 14/64-in. choke, through perforations at 8,660-82 ft. at the #1 Tommy R. Funk in W.J. Wheeler #639 Survey, A-343. 2 Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc., Houston, says the #2 Riverdale in its Cabeza Creek Project Area, Goliad County, Texas, tapped Eocene Wilcox for a flow of 7.524 million cu. ft. of gas and 146 bbl. of condensate per day on an 18/64-in. choke. The deeper-pool discovery in Sitton Field encountered 36 net ft. of pay. Located in Maria de Jesus Ybarbo Survey, A-51, it was drilled to a total depth of 11,800 ft. and has pipe set at 11,787ft. Carrizo, the operator of the well and owner of a 68.75% working interest, expects three additional wells will be necessary to fully develop the Riverdale prospect. Other partners in the prospect include Palace Exploration, which owns a 30% working interest. 3 A deep-17,777-ft.-Wilcox discovery near Provident City Field in Lavaca County, Texas, has been finaled by Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas Corp. flowing 6.595 million cu. ft. of gas and 192 bbl. of water per day. The Oklahoma City firm's #A-1 John W. Hancock Sr. yielded the flow on a 12/64-in. choke through perforations at 17,354-56 ft., according to IHS Energy Group. The new producer is in T&NO RR Co. #7 Survey, A-532. 4 Liberty County, Texas, is the site of the #1 Raywood Investments, an Eocene Yegua discovery that was finaled by Ballard Exploration Co. Inc., Houston, flowing 6.475 million cu. ft. of gas, 381 bbl. of condensate and 14 bbl. of water per day on a 12/64-in. choke. Perforations are between 13,786-13,839 ft. at the well, in W.C. Moore #10 Survey, A-609. The drillsite is near the one-well Maxwell Field, a 12,606-ft. Eocene Cook Mountain pool. 5 A flow gauge of 34.668 million cu. ft. of gas, 549 bbl. of condensate and 43 bbl. of water per day has been credited to the #1 (ST1) San Leon Gas Unit, completed by TransTexas Gas Corp., Houston, in Eagle Bay Field, Galveston County, Texas. The company used a 27/64-in. choke to test through six sets of perforations between 14,622-15,210 ft. at the well in Amos Edwards Survey, A-10. IHS Energy Group notes the deepest log top reported is that of Oligocene Vicksburg at 14,010 ft. 6 Beta Oil & Gas Inc., Tulsa, says it has logged its 13th successful well in the Miocene sands Brookshire Dome Project in Waller County, Texas. Since taking over operations last August, Beta has drilled nine wells in the project, of which eight have been completed or are being completed as producing wells. Additionally, one Brookshire Dome well is under way, two more are expected to be started soon and 10 new locations are being permitted. Thirty developmental and exploratory locations have been identified for the Miocene sands in the nearby areas. A 12-square-mile 3-D survey is being completed to define additional locations. A deeper sub-salt test is planned. Current field production is approximately 750 bbl. of oil per day from depths ranging from 1,200 ft. to 3,100 ft. Beta says it anticipates production levels from the field to exceed 1,200 bbl. of oil equivalent per day when recent discoveries have commenced production. Beta's working interest in the wells ranges from 25% to 40%. 7 A new-field opener completed by Houston-based The Meridian Resource Corp. at the #1 Williams Land Co. in Assumption Parish, La., was tested at a rate of 1,534 bbl. of oil and 887,000 cu. ft. of gas per day on a 12/64-in. choke, reports Meridian. It was drilled to a total depth of 18,650 ft. and encountered approximately 55 gross ft. of oil pay (28 net ft.) in a Rob-L sand at about 14,900 ft. The discovery is in Section 78-16s-14e, in the SW Donner Prospect area of North Turtle Bayou/South Ramos Field. Meridian notes it's the operator and owns a 90% working interest in the well. 8 Louisiana's St. Bernard Parish gained a discovery when Manti Operating Co., Corpus Christi, completed the #1 Biloxi Marsh Lands Corp. flowing 19.771 million cu. ft. of gas and 19 bbl. of water per day. Producing from the Cristellaria I at 9,068-9,124 ft., the wildcat was tested on a 31/64-in. choke. It's in Section 2-13s-16e, just east of Lake Borgne, reports IHS Energy Group. Manti has made another Cristellaria discovery in the parish, the #5 State Lease 17073 in Section 9-12s-16e, in Lake Borgne. The initial flow rate was 2.424 million cu. ft. of gas and 19 bbl. of water per day on a 12/64-in. choke through perforations at 8,020-8,113 ft. 9 Amerada Hess Corp.'s work being carried out offshore Plaquemines Parish, La., has resulted in two more exploratory successes. The New York City firm gauged a flow of 4.73 million cu. ft. of gas and 442 bbl. of condensate per day on an 11/64-in. choke from Miocene at the #1 State Lease 16569 on Breton Sound Block 47. The discovery is producing from three intervals between 11,038-11,090 ft. Nearly three miles southeast, on Breton Sound Block 51, the #1 State Lease 16890 gave up a flow of 1.811 million cu. ft. of gas and 494 bbl. of condensate per day on a 9/64-in. choke through three sets of perforations between 11,369-11,412 ft. 10 Pioneer Natural Resources Co., with headquarters in Dallas, and Oklahoma City-based Kerr-McGee Corp. each has announced a discovery in the Garden Banks area of the Gulf of Mexico. Pioneer has a 32% working interest in the #3 OCS-G-20792 in 3,280 ft. of water on Block 515, on the Ozona Prospect. Marathon Oil Co., Houston, is the operator, with the remaining 68% working interest. Pioneer reports the well was drilled to a measured depth of 26,352 ft. and encountered approximately 345 ft. of net oil pay in two primary intervals. Meanwhile, on Block 877, Kerr-McGee says in found more than 135 ft. of gas and gas condensate pay in two zones at its Red Hawk Prospect-the 23,500-ft. #1 OCS-G-21408. The well is in 5,325 ft. of water. An updip appraisal sidetrack encountered about 175 ft. of pay. Kerr-McGee, the operator of Red Hawk with a 50% interest, estimates the reserves to be in the range of 300 billion to 500 billion cu. ft. of gas. Ocean Energy Inc., Lafayette, La., holds the remaining 50% interest. The two companies expect to drill another deepwater test, this one at the South Titan Prospect on Walker Ridge Block 313. 11 Anadarko Petroleum Corp. says it has entered into a joint venture with BP Exploration & Production Inc. to explore 95 deepwater blocks held 100% by BP in the Garden Banks and Keathley Canyon areas. The 95 blocks, which make up an area known as South Auger, are part of a larger 640-block area of mutual interest where the two companies will license and reprocess 3-D seismic data. These blocks are in water depths ranging from 3,000 to 6,000 ft. Most of the targets are deep, subsalt objectives. Both companies are based in Houston. 12 Forest Oil Corp., Denver, and Unocal Corp. have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to jointly explore and exploit certain properties in the central Gulf of Mexico, primarily in the South Marsh Island and Vermilion areas of the shelf. Under the proposed transaction, Unocal would acquire a portion of Forest's proved reserves, estimated at about 4% of Forest's proved reserve base and 5% of Forest's current production. Unocal would acquire 50% of Forest's interest in South Marsh Island and a portion of the Vermilion areas for $120 million in cash. Unocal would operate the jointly owned properties. 13 In Mississippi's Jones County, Miller Exploration Co., Houston, has made a Cretaceous Basal Hosston discovery at the #1 Miller-Price in Section 10-7n-13w. After four intervals were perforated between 15,354-15,466 ft., the new-field opener flowed 500 bbl. of oil, 743,000 cu. ft. of gas and 13 bbl. of water per day on a 14/64-in. choke, reports the Southeastern Oil Review. The new producing area has been named Pine Grove Field. 14 Palmer Petroleum Inc., Shreveport, extended Jurassic Cotton Valley production at Mississippi's Smithtown Field 0.5-mile to the north when it completed the #1 Anderson 31-5 flowing 303 bbl. of oil per day on a 9/64-in. choke. The stepout in Section 36-6n-8w, Wayne County, is producing through perforations at 15,136-50 ft. The Southeastern Oil Review notes the gas-oil ratio was 86-1. 15 Cretaceous Rodessa "F" Sand oil production has been established by PAR Minerals Corp. at a reentry and sidetrack-the #1 Lawco-Anderson Tully 15-5-in the Oak Ridge Field area of Warren County, Miss. The deeper-pool opener, in Section 15-11n-5e, yielded a flow of 378 bbl. of oil and 205,000 cu. ft. of gas on a 12/64-in. choke through perforations at 11,859-80 ft. The Shreveport operator also tested gas at a measured depth of 11,753-92 ft. in Rodessa "E" Sand. PAR has requested 160-acre spacing for the Rodessa "F" Sand and 640-acre spacing for the Rodessa "E" Sand.