?1 Traverse City-based OIL Niagaran LLC has scheduled a 4,100-ft. wildcat in northeastern Michigan that is projected to tap Devonian Dundee about two miles northeast of the town of Clare, Mich. The #D2-17 Magnus is located in Section 17-17n-3w, Sheridan Township, southeastern Clare County, and the company will evaluate Dundee oil zones in a nonproducing township. The site is about six miles west-southwest of Bard Field and five miles west-northwest of Beaverton West Field, both of which have Dundee oil pools in nearby Gladwin County. Clare City Field, productive from a Michigan stray reservoir above 1,500 ft., is approximately four miles to the southwest. A recent completion in the area by independent Titan Oil & Gas LLC of Holt, Mich., came up dry after drilling to 5,400 ft. Log tops reported at the Titan well were Traverse lime at 3,250 ft.; Bell shale at 3,900 ft.; Dundee at 3,960 ft.; and Detroit River Group at 4,218 ft.

2 An IHS Inc. report from Conecuh County, Ala., states that Dallas-based Midroc Operating Co. is drilling an oil wildcat 10 miles south of the town of Red Level in the eastern part of the county. The well, #1 Hildreth 9 in Section 9-4n-13e, has a proposed total depth of 12,500 ft. and is targeting Smackover. In the same section, Midroc is active at its #9-12 Cedar Creek Land & Timber. Drilled to a total depth of 11,450 ft., it was being production-tested at 11,102-10 ft. at last report. About a mile southeast of #9-12 Cedar Creek Land & Timber is Midroc’s proposed #16-8 Cedar Creek Land & Timber in Section 16. This wildcat is slated to be drilled to an undisclosed depth in Jurassic. Nearby Smackover production is from Little Cedar Creek Field, which has been producing oil from the interval since 1994.

3 In the northern portion of Escambia County,?Ala., Shreveport-based Sklar Explor­ation Co. LLC is drilling a wildcat 15 miles east of the town of Castleberry. The #1 Cedar Creek Land & Timber 7-4 is located in Section 7-3n-13e. Plans call for the well to be drilled to a total depth of 12,600 ft. in Smackover. Comparable production is more than a mile and a half to the northeast, where #1 Logan 5-7 has produced a total of 1,839 bbl. of oil, 128,000 cu. ft. of casinghead gas and 945 bbl. of water.?

4 According to IHS Inc., Denver-based Anschutz Exploration Corp. has staked two horizontal Black River wildcats near Big Flats in western Chemung County, N.Y. The company’s #1 Chemung County is in Section I, Big Flats Quad, Big Flats Township. The well is projected to a measured depth of 13,853 ft. and true vertical depth of 9,676 ft. About a mile to the northwest, #1 Holchuck, also in Section I, Big Flats Quad, is designed to reach a measured depth of 15,200 ft. and true vertical depth of 10,489 ft. The closest producer, on the southeastern flank of Quackenbush Hill Field, is approximately three miles to the northwest. It makes gas from Black River in an unreported interval of a sidetracked wellbore. In August 2008, Anschutz staked a horizontal Black River wildcat within the town limits of Horseheads about five miles to the northeast. No activity has been reported at that venture, the #1 Center of Horseheads, in Quad Section E, Horseheads Quad, Horseheads Township. It’s a proposed 12,963-ft. (true vertical depth: 9,300 ft.) test.

5 A southwestern Pennsylvania vertical well by Atlas Energy Resources Inc. in Marcellus shale produced a record 5 million cu. ft. of gas into a pipeline over a 24-hour period and, after 25 days of production, has produced approximately 81 million cu. ft. Atlas, based in Moon Township, Pa., completed the well using a two-stage frac design that it pioneered in 2008. According to the Unconventional Natural Gas Report, the company has now successfully completed seven two-stage vertical fracs in Marcellus shale and has averaged initial production rates at 2.5 million cu. ft. per day for a 24-hour period. Atlas has more than 100 vertical Marcellus completions and intends to complete all future vertical Marcellus wells with similar multi-stage fracs. Additional details about the well are currently unavailable.

6 Atlas Energy Resources Inc. is near completion on two of its 12 planned wells in its horizontal Marcellus drilling program in Pennsylvania. The first unnamed well was drilled and cased to 2,400 ft. and the second was drilled and cased to 3,800 ft. Of the 12 wells, 10 wells will be drilled in a 50-50 joint venture with an unnamed industry partner in Washington County. Two wells will be drilled in eastern Greene and western Fayette counties. Atlas will be the operator for the Greene and Fayette counties ventures and have 25% working interests. Atlas is the nation’s largest producer of natural gas from the Marcellus shale.

7 In Harrisburg, Pa., the state’s Environmental Quality Board approved a Department of Environmental Protection request to impose new fees for Marcellus shale drilling permits that will replace the flat $100 permit fee with a variable fee structure based on well depth. The new fee structure will help fund program expenses for permit reviews and well-site inspections. The increase will allow the department to hire additional staff in Meadville, Pittsburgh and Williamsport to process permits and monitor drilling activities in the northcentral and northeastern areas of the state. The new fee structure sets a base permit cost of $900 for all Marcellus shale wells up to 1,500 ft. and imposes an additional cost of $100 for every 500 ft. of depth past 1,500 ft.?The increases will take effect this spring. The department issued more than 8,000 drilling permits for Pennsylvania wells during 2008.

8 In Marion County, W.Va., a Trans Energy Inc. well, #101 Blackshere, was fractured and is ready to connect to a gas sales line. The vertical Marcellus shale completion in Marion County is the company’s fourth success in the Marcellus shale play, and a stepout to the east of its three prior Marcellus wells. Additional completion information for this well is not available. Trans Energy is active in acreage holdings in Wetzel County, W.Va., and plans to pursue horizontal development wells in Wetzel, Marion and Dodridge counties. Trans Energy’s headquarters are located in St. Marys, W.Va.

9 South Jersey Industries (SJI) and Potato Creek LLC have entered into a lease agreement to develop deep mineral rights on more than 21,000 acres of property in the Marcellus shale in western Pennsylvania. SJI has a wholly owned subsidiary that is a minority partner in Potato Creek. The latter firm received an up-front lease payment and will also retain royalty and working-interest rights. SJI, located in Folsom, N.J., is an energy services holding company for utility and nonregulated businesses.

10 Epsilon Energy Ltd. has recently completed drilling #1H Poulsen, a 2,700-ft. lateral horizontal well in Section 3, Auburn Center Quad, Auburn Township, Susquehanna County, Pa. To date, Epsilon has drilled seven wells (four horizontal and three vertical), all of which targeted Marcellus shale, on its Highway 706 project. On recent test results, the first completed horizontal well and first completed vertical well produced at sustained rates of more than 3 million and 1 million cu. ft. per day, respectively. Hydraulic stimulation is scheduled on the next horizontal well during the first quarter of 2009. Epsilon Energy Ltd.’s headquarters are in Concord, Ontario.