1 Vastar Resources Inc., Houston, has made a Hidalgo County, Texas, shallower-pool discovery in the Santa Ana Field area that flowed 2.039 million cu. ft. of gas and six bbl. of condensate per day at completion. IHS Energy Group reports Vastar's new well-the #3 Santa Ana Gas Unit in Juan Jose Trevino Survey, A-22-was tested through perforations at 9,782-84 ft., 9,792-9,814 and 9,818-22 ft. The field opener, the #1 Santa Ana Gas Unit completed by Vastar in 1998, is an Oligocene Vicksburg gas/condensate producer that is perforated between 12,094-12,246 ft. 2 Pipe has been set at a total depth of 14,052 ft. at one horizontal wildcat and location has been staked for another in Live Oak County, Texas. Oklahoma City independent Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas Corp. set pipe at the indicated discovery-the #1 Don Ross that's located in Robert C. Hatton Survey, A-218, about 2.5 miles west-northwest of the closest production in Bobcat Field. The new wildcat location was made by Abaco Operating LLC, San Antonio, at the #1 USA in Luis Ayers #15 Survey, A-2, The venture, on a 2,455-acre lease, is scheduled to be horizontally drilled to a depth of 17,000 ft. 3 A Hardin County, Texas, deep discovery has been completed by Cobra Oil & Gas Corp., Wichita Falls, near the company's one-well Fortenberry North Field. The initial flow gauge at the #2 Quinn 84 was 1.514 million cu. ft. of gas and 14 bbl. of condensate per day on a 12/64-in. choke through perforations between 13,876-14,200 ft. Log tops include Eocene Yegua at 10,616 ft. and Cook Mountain at 10,832 ft. The well is in Robert Miller #139 Survey, A-398. 4 IHS Energy Group reports an ongoing drilling program being carried out by Smith Production Inc. in Texas' Liberty County has yielded a discovery that gave up a flow of 225 bbl. of oil, 179,000 cu. ft. of gas and 50 bbl. of water per day. The Houston firm's new producer is the #3 Henderson, in J.J. Mays Survey, A-319. Tested on a 6/64-in. choke, it's producing through perforations at 10,773-77 ft., 10,800-04 and 10,828-32 ft. 5 Two neighboring Texas counties have each gained a high-volume development gas well-the Camden Resources Inc. #1 Friendship in Jefferson County's Devil Field and the Lake Ronel Oil Co. #4 J.W. Stephenson in Orange County's Mauriceville Southeast Field. Dallas-based Camden's well flowed 7.879 million cu. ft. of gas and 50 bbl. of water per day through perforations at 12,878-12,906 ft. in Discorbis, It's in T&NO RR Co. #176 Survey, A-625. Lake Ronel, of Tyler, tested 7.227 million cu. ft. of gas and 330 bbl. of condensate per day at its well in Richard Balliew Survey, A-2. Perforations are at 9,309-23 ft. and 9,864-80 ft. Top of Hartburg was logged at 9,280 ft. Both wells were tested on a 16/64-in. choke. 6 An East Texas discovery, the #1 F.G Elrod in Anderson County, flowed 328 bbl. of oil, 410,000 cu. ft. of gas and 56 bbl. of water per day at completion by C.W. Resources Inc., Longview. The company used a 48/64-in. choke to test the well through perforations at 11,452-60 ft. in Cretaceous Rodessa. The discovery was drilled in Solomon Bowlin Survey, A-9. 7 Brammer Engineering Inc., Shreveport, is drilling below 6,900 ft. at the #1 Lowery, a proposed 9,200-ft. Jurassic Smackover wildcat in Arkansas. The venture is in Section 19-19s-16w, Union County. It's a little more than a mile northeast of production from Smackover in Stateline Field. 8 The #1 State Lease 14561, an exploratory test located in state waters offshore Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, was recently completed by Century Exploration Co. flowing 5.898 million cu. ft. of gas, 384 bbl. of condensate and 307 bbl. of water per day. Located on Breton Sound Block 35, a little more than half a mile southwest of the one-well Breton Sound Block 35 Field, the new producer was tested by the Merairie, La., operator using a 12/64-in. choke. The production is coming from 11,650-82 ft. in Textularia, according to IHS Energy Group. 9 PanCanadian Energy Corp., Calgary, reports on a discovery made at the Tahiti Prospect on Green Canyon Block 640 in the Gulf of Mexico. Operated by ChevronTexaco with a 58% working interest, the #1 OCS-G-20082 was drilled to a measured depth of 28,411 ft. in approximately 4,000 ft. of water. Results from the wildcat indicate the presence of high-quality reservoir sand with total net pay of more than 400 ft. The test is the second well in PanCanadian's four-well commitment to earn a 25% interest in 71 ChevronTexaco-operated blocks in the Mississippi Fan-Fold Belt Trend in the Gulf. Completion of the four-well program is expected by early 2003. The company notes it has an option to participate in further drilling to earn interests in additional blocks in proximity to the Mississippi Fan-Fold Belt Trend. PanCanadian says it has a total Gulf of Mexico land inventory of 142 blocks (818,000 acres) with options to increase its holdings to up to 269 blocks (1.55 million acres). 10 The Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 182, held by the Minerals Management Service in March, attracted high bids amounting to $363,210,467 for 506 tracts. IHS Energy Group notes 77 companies submitted 697 bids totaling $442,441,036. Nearly 4,500 tracts were offered at the sale. Of the 506 tracts receiving bids, 76 are deepwater tracts in more than 1,600 meters (5,250 ft.) of water and 288 are shelf tracts in less than 200 meters (656 ft.) of water. Phillips Petroleum Co. made the sale's highest bid-$17,466,000 for Green Canyon Block 199, a deepwater tract. The block also accounted for the highest per-acre bid of $3,032.29. Spinnaker Exploration Co. LLC was successful in submission or participation in apparent high bids on a total of 42 blocks, the most at the sale. Of the 42 blocks, 32 are in deep water and 10 are on the shelf. The company's net exposure for the tracts was $28.8 million. In addition to Spinnaker, the top five included Magnum Hunter Production (41 bids totaling $5,691,106), BP Exploration & Production (39 bids, $27,244,990), Dominion Exploration & Production (37 bids, $37,022,600) and Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corp. (36 bids, $15,345,706). 11 Shell Offshore Inc. is drilling the first wildcat on Alaminos Canyon Block 857. The #1 OCS-G-17565 is in the southwestern portion of the block in about 8,000 ft. of water. Shell filed an initial plan of exploration (IPE) last year that indicated it may drill up to four tests in the southwestern area of the block. 12 The drillsite has been selected for a wildcat scheduled by Remington Oil & Gas Corp. in Mississippi's Lamar County, reports the Southeastern Oil Review. The Dallas firm's new venture is to be directionally drilled in Section 11-2n-16w, on the north flank of Tatum Salt Dome and 4.75 miles northeast of Baxterville Field. Plans are for the test to reach a true vertical depth of l7,000 ft. to evaluate Lower Cretaceous Hosston. 13 Cambro-Ordovician Knox is the targeted formation at the #1 Oktibbeha County Board of Education, a 17,000-ft. wildcat staked by Houston-based TotalFinaElf E&P USA Inc. in Oktibbeha County, Miss. The new venture is in Section 16-17n-14e, about 13.5 miles southeast of Maben Field. There has been no deep drilling in the vicinity of the new location. 14 Spooner Petroleum Co., Jackson, and M.B. Exploration, Dallas, have revealed a plan to reenter a previously abandoned remote wildcat in Harrison County, Miss., and test Upper Jurassic Cotton Valley. Located in Section 28-5s-9w, the #1 Lulu Anderson was drilled to a depth of 14,261 ft. in the original hole and 20,290 ft. in sidetrack, and abandoned in November 1990. The Southeastern Oil Review notes the two companies plan to clean out the old hole to 18,000 ft. and run production liner (intermediate pipe is already set at 13,958 ft.). 15 A new wildcat planned for Hancock County, Miss., is to be drilled by El Paso Production Co., Houston, at the #29-2 Cameron in Section 29-6s-14w. It's a Rodessa test that has a projected depth of 15,500 ft. The nearest production, from Smackover found at about 19,800 ft., is 5.25 miles west-southwest in Catahoula Creek Field.