1 Ronald G. Lockwood of Edinburg, Ill., has staked a pair of wildcats in a nonproducing region of western Illinois just north of the Mississippi River. Located near the town of Brussels, Ill., the southern Calhoun County ventures are the #1-L Pfitzner, in irregular Section 35 in partial township 13s-2w (4th PM), and #2-L Pfitzner, in the same section. Both wells are designed as 1,400-ft. Trenton tests and will be spudded by July 2009. The nearest production is 18 miles to the east and south in St. Louis Field, a Trenton oil accumulation at about 950-1,100 ft. in St. Louis County, Mo.

2 Huntsville, Tenn.-based Miller Petroleum Inc. completed its acquisition of Chattanooga shale properties from Ky-Tenn Oil Inc. of Helenwood, Tenn. The acquisition included approximately 35,325 leased acres within the Chattanooga shale play and 173 currently producing gas and oil wells. Miller operates primarily in the Tennessee portion of the Appalachian Basin, where the company has drilled or serviced more than 5,200 wells since 1967.

3 WellMaster Production Co. LLC of Rothbury, Mich., has staked a 2,700-ft. wildcat targeting the Devonian Traverse formation in western Michigan. Located about eight miles east of the town of Shelby, #11-15 Baron is in Section 15-14n-16w, Oceana County, Ferry Township. IHS Inc. reports that the wildcat will be drilled nearly two miles east-northeast of abandoned Ferry Field, which produced 163,300 bbl. of oil from Traverse above 2,000 ft. between 1960 and 1970. Nearby production includes a Brown Niagaran (Silurian) gas/condensate pool. Two dry holes have also been drilled in the area: a 2,155-ft. well in Section 10-14n-16w, drilled and plugged in 1952, and a 2,703-ft. well in Section 11-14n-16w, drilled and plugged in 1935.

4 In the southern part of Monroe County, Ala., near Frisco City, Pruet Production has spudded a wildcat. The Jackson, Miss.-based company started work on #1 Odom 4-4 which, according to IHS Inc., is expected to reach a total depth of 13,500 ft. in Norphlet. The drillsite is in Section 4-5n-7e, and 95?8-in. casing was set to 2,638 ft. Comparable production is within a mile to the northeast in Section 33-6n-7e. The #1 Ruple 33-9 was completed in 1995 at a total depth of 12,610 ft. The directional well was tested flowing 535 bbl. of 59-degree-gravity oil and 1.36 million cu. ft. of casinghead gas per day through perforations in Norphlet at 12,386-92 ft. During a single month online, it flowed 1,662 bbl. of crude and 4.26 million cu. ft. of gas.

5 Two wildcats have been permitted by Laurel, Miss.-based Venture Oil & Gas Co. in the western portion of Escambia County, Ala. Both wells are within seven miles of the town of Atmore. The #16 Fountain Farm 4 is planned for Section 4-2n-6e and will be drilled to 15,600 ft., while #1 Floyd will be in Section 34-3n-5e and will be drilled to 15,700 ft. Comparable production is three miles north of #16 Fountain Farm 4. In 1994, #1 Snider 21-15 flowed 575 bbl. of 59-degree-gravity crude and 583,000 cu. ft. of casinghead gas per day through perforations in Frisco City at 14,314-96 ft. The 15,505-ft. Huxford West Field well yielded 31,807 bbl. of oil, 44.12 million cu. ft. of gas and 30,593 bbl. of water through 1996.

6 Spooner Petroleum is drilling a shallow-pool test at #1 Chavers 3-14. The test, to be drilled vertically to a total depth of 6,700 ft. in Pilot Sand, is in Section 3-1n-8e in Escambia County, Ala. The operator’s #1 Chavers 3-11 offsets the new test to the north in the same section. In January 2008, the 9,200-ft. well was completed pumping 152 bbl. of 51-degree-gravity crude, 12,000 cu. ft. of gas and four bbl. of water per day through perforations at 7,505-08 ft. in Washita-Fredericksburg. The Flomaton Field well yielded 38,872 bbl. of oil and 6,931 bbl. of water through September of 2008. Spooner Petroleum headquarters are in Jackson, Miss.

7 A U.S. Senate committee approved a provision opening the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, including an area rich with natural gas 10 miles off the Florida Panhandle. A 45-mile no-drilling buffer would be maintained off most of the Florida coast. The provision was tacked onto a broader energy bill by a vote of 13-10 in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The eastern Gulf of Mexico was singled out for protection by Congress in 2006 as part of a deal with Florida lawmakers that made available 8.3 million acres to oil and gas development in the east-central Gulf. The protected region is to remain off limits to energy development until 2022. But the energy panel approved a provision offered by Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota that would end the drilling ban across most of the eastern Gulf waters, including in an area known as the Destin Dome that extends to within 10 miles of Pensacola, Fla., and is believed to have as much as 1 trillion cu. ft. of gas.

8 According to IHS Inc., Warrendale, Pa.-based East Resources Inc. has received an undisclosed “significant” investment from private-equity funds of global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP to, among other things, “support the company’s long-term oil and gas exploration and development activities on the Marcellus shale.” Recently, East Resources has accumulated more than 650,000 net acres in the northwest and southeast regions of the Marcellus, particularly in northeastern Pennsylvania. East Resources currently owns and operates more than 2,400 producing oil and gas wells in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Colorado and Wyoming.

9 In Harrisburg, Pa., House Majority Leader Todd Eachus endorsed a state severance tax on natural gas production. This endorsement, along with a U.S. House of Representatives bill that would repeal the underground injection rules of the 1974 Clean Water Drinking Act, would likely increase the cost of Marcellus drilling in the state. The American Petroleum Institute (API) said that changing the underground injection rule and forcing companies to disclose chemicals used in fracturing would cause a 30% reduction in future drilling and add $150,000 to the current $5 million to $10 million a new well costs to drill. The congressional bill is being supported by Pennsylvania, New York and Colorado lawmakers.

10 Tulsa-based Williams Cos. and Atlas Pipeline Partners LP have closed a joint-venture agreement to form Laurel Mountain Midstream LLC, providing Williams with entry into the Marcellus shale and intending to expand and develop Atlas’ presence in the southwestern Pennsylvania portion of the play. Williams contributed money and a note to Laurel Mountain in exchange for a 51% ownership interest in the joint venture. Williams will also operate the gathering system. Laurel Mountain will own 1,800 miles of intrastate natural-gas gathering lines in the Appalachian Basin servicing 6,900 wells. Atlas Pipeline’s affiliate, Atlas Energy Resources LLC, a leading producer and driller of Marcellus wells, will be the anchor tenant. Atlas Pipeline Partners is active in transmission, gathering and processing.

11 Viking Energy Corp., with headquarters in Sissonville, W.Va., completed a Kanawha County, W.Va., well, #2 Miller E. The well was drilled in Rocky Fork Field, Poca District, Romance Quad, to 4,897 ft. in Marcellus shale. The Viking well was perforated and production tests were performed in Berea at 2,138-54 ft.; Huron, 3,181-4,137 ft.; Rhinestreet, 4,434-4,750 ft.; and Marcellus shale, 4,830-60 ft. The well produced 110,000 cu. ft. of gas from comingled Berea and Marcellus producing intervals at 2,138-4,860 ft.