1. According to IHS Inc., Gray­ville, Ill.-based MAP Oil Co. Inc. has received a permit to drill a directional wildcat that will reach a location beneath Rend Lake in Jefferson County. The #1 Rend Lake is in Section 36-4s-2e and will be drilled southward to 3,999 ft. with a bottomhole location in Section 1-5s-2e, northern Franklin County. Renault is the target formation. The southern Illinois Basin drillsite is about 1 mile northwest of now-abandoned Whittington West Field, discovered on an anticlinal structure in 1943. Total recovery from the field was 1.57 million bbl. of oil. Rend Lake was a joint project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois Department of Conservation and Rend Lake Conservancy District.

2. West Bay Exploration Co. of Traverse City scheduled a 4,800-ft. wildcat targeting Trenton and Black River oil zones in southeastern Michigan. According to IHS Inc., #1-22 West Bay in Section 22-4s-2e, Norvell Township, southeastern Jackson County, will be drilled to Glenwood to evaluate shallower Trenton-Black River zones. Nearby are West Bay’s #1-16 and #2-16 Hilden-Rovsek producers, which were both drilled from a common drillpad in Section 16-4s-2e. The #1-16 Hilden-Rovsek initially produced 200 bbl. of 45.5-gravity oil and 100,000 cu. ft. of gas per day. The #2-16 Hilden-Rovsek initially produced 170 bbl. of oil and 100,000 cu. ft. of gas per day from Trenton.

3. Sklar Exploration Co. is drilling a Paluxy wildcat in Latham Field near the town of Latham in Baldwin County, Ala. The #1 Nelson et al 35 is in irregular Section 35-2n-2e. The wildcat has a projected depth of 9,200 ft. About 1 mile south is Midroc Operating Co.’s #23-6 Cedar Creek Land & Timber. Completed in late 2009, the well gauged an initial daily potential of 468 bbl. of 43-degree oil, 418,000 cu. ft. of gas and 2 bbl. of water through Smackover perforations at 10,242-70 ft. Sklar is based in Shreveport and Midroc is based in Dallas.

4. At Devon Energy Corp.’s Flying Squirrel project, the company has filed a permit to sidetrack a 2009 gas discovery. The #1 (ST) OCS G27973 will be drilled from a surface location in the eastern half of irregular Mobile Block 830. The water depth in the area is 44 ft. The discovery was drilled to 22,550 ft., in the Norphlet. The drilling rights to Mobile Block 830 were acquired by Devon at OCS Sale 198 in March 2006. About 2 miles west of Devon’s venture is the only previous activity on Block 830—the #1 OCS G06845 that yielded 373.54 million cu. ft. of gas through 2005. Devon Energy is headquartered in Oklahoma City.

5. A wildcat Smackover discovery was completed in Escambia County, Ala., by Venture Oil & Gas Co. The #1 Fountain Farm 2-4 is in Section 2-2n-6e and was tested flowing 445 bbl. of 42.3-degree oil and 457,000 cu. ft. of gas per day through perforations at 15,073-89 ft. On a 10/64-in. choke, flowing tubing pressure was 2,498 psi. The well was vertically drilled to 15,526 ft. Venture has permitted the #1 Fountain Farm 3-13 about a mile to the southwest in Section 3-2n-6e and it projects this well to 15,700 ft. Venture is based in Laurel, Miss.

6. Two companies have staked wildcats in Alabama’s Conecuh County near the town of Red Level. In Section 15-5n-13e, Midroc Operating Co. will drill #15-16 Cedar Creek Land & Timber to a total depth of 11,000 ft. Sklar Exploration Co. has a vertical test permitted in Section 27-5n-13e. The #27-6 Craft-Soterra LLC is permitted to 10,850 ft. Midroc has been successful in the area with the #14-14 Cedar Creek Land & Timber and #23-6 Cedar Creek Land & Timber. Their potentials are 482 bbl. of 48-degree crude and 401,000 cu. ft. of casinghead gas, and 468 bbl. of 43-degree oil and 418,000 cu. ft. of gas, respectively.

7. Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. of Houston has spudded a well in southern Hardy County, W.Va. The #1 Mongold is in Lost River District, Bergton Quad, about 16 miles south of the town of Moorefield. The company plans to drill the well to 7,500 ft. in Bergton Field to test the Oriskany sand. South of the Carrizo test, a 1980 offset produced 750,000 cu. ft. daily from Oriskany at 3,179-3,440 ft.

8. Chief Oil & Gas LLC of Dallas is about to drill two Marcellus shale tests in Blair County, Pa. The #1H Ritchey Unit will be drilled to 11,360 ft., 7,500 ft. true vertical. A second Marcellus test is planned about 2 miles northeast. The #1H Hodge is slated to be drilled to a total depth of 10,200 ft., 7,000 ft. true vertical. Nearby production is 3 miles south in two-well Pavia Field, an Oriskany reservoir. Chief plans to drill up to 70 horizontal wells this year in the gas play and has recently permitted three horizontal wells in Cambria County.

9. Houston-based Ultra Petro­leum Corp. signed a purchase and sale agreement for approximately 80,000 net acres in the Pennsylvania Marcellus shale from an undisclosed private company for $400 million. Assets include a 50% nonoperated working interest in 160,000 gross acres (43.75% net revenue interest per Ultra’s interest) in Centre, Clinton and Lycoming counties. Ultra estimates total resource potential of 3.5 trillion cu. ft. equivalent. In the agreement, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. will be the operator. Six horizontal wells to date have been drilled on the acreage, and two are each producing 5 million cu. ft. per day, curtailed by surface constraints.

In 2009, Ultra drilled 30 horizontal wells in the Marcellus and has 13 producers. Including this acquisition, it has added some 192,000 gross acres in 2009 through land acquisitions and swaps, doubling its position in the play.

10. Fort Worth-based Range Resources Corp. announced that its net daily production from the Marcellus shale has reached 100 million cu. ft. of gas equivalent. According to the company, its target exit rate for 2010 is 180- to 200 million net cu. ft. equivalent per day. Range has also extended its forecast to include a 2011 exit rate from the Marcellus shale of 360- to 400 million cu. ft. daily. Range plans to have 11 rigs (horizontal and vertical) operating in 2010 and 24 by year-end 2011.

11. Chesapeake Energy, Energy Corp., Exco Resources Inc., Seneca Resources Corp., Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Penn Virginia Corp. bid almost $130 million for Marcellus drilling rights in six tracts in the Elk, Moshannon, Sproul, Susquehannock and Tioga State forests. According to IHS Inc., Seneca acquired a 10,493-acre parcel in the Tioga State Forest in Tioga County and a 7,441-acre tract in the Susquehannock State Forest in Potter County. Also in Susquehannock State Forest, Penn Virginia received a 3,698-acre tract. Chesapeake bid low and received a 2,952-acre tract in Cameron County’s Elk State Forest. In Clearfield County, Exco won 4,639 acres in Moshannon State Forest. Rounding out the bidders was Anadarko, which acquired a 2,724-acre tract in Clinton County’s Sproul State Forest. The per-acre average bid was about $4,100. The state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in Harrisburg is in the final review process. The state will receive 18% royalties.

12. Two companies, EnCana Oil & Gas Inc. and WhitMar Exploration, have taken out 875 leases on approximately 25,000 acres in Luzerne County, Pa. The tracts are located primarily in Lehman, Lake, Jackson, Ross and Fairmount townships, but some are in Dallas, Hunlock, Huntington, Union and Plymouth townships. Currently, the companies are seeking permits for three wells: one in Fairmount Township, one in Lehman Township, and one in Lake Township. EnCana will be the operator for the planned projects. Drilling is expected to start in May and the first planned activity is in Fairmount Township. From that site, plans call for moving the rig to Lehman Township for the second well. EnCana is based in Calgary and WhitMar is based in Denver.