1 A Johnson City East Field test of Trenton is under way in Williamson County, Ill. Para - gon Oil Co. started drilling #1 Illinois Minerals LLC to a proposed total depth of 6,600 ft. in Section 17-8s-3e. According to IHS Inc., there is no Trenton drilling in this part of Williamson County—the nearest Trenton activity is about 10 miles east. The Paragon Oil venture is surrounded by shallower oil wells in Johnston City East Field, which came online in 1959. Reservoir output comes from several Mississippian pays, from shallower Palestine to deeper McClosky. Wells in the field were drilled to total depths of 2,600-2,700 ft. Paragon Oil is based in Mount Vernon, Ill.

2 A 2,900-ft. wildcat in Macon County, Ill., was staked by Sun-dog Oil LLC in an area surrounded by shallower abandoned tests. The #2 Stocks is planned for Section 10-15n-3e and targets Silurian pay. Nearby recovery comes from 270- to 420-ft. wells drilled in the 1950s. To the southeast in Moultrie County is a Dalton City Field producer, #1-P Smith in Section 28-15n-4e. The 1991 completion was drilled to 2,756 ft. and produced from Hardin (Upper Devonian sandstone), pumping 26 bbl. of crude per day at 2,661-65 ft. Sundog Oil is based in Reinbeck, La.

3 Two deeper-pool wildcats in Illinois’ Inman East Consolidated Field have been staked in Gallatin County by Pioneer Oil Co. of Lawrenceville, Ill. The #5-3 Busiek-Scates and #1-10 Shriners are both scheduled to reach a total depth of 5,400 ft. Each test is targeting deeper pays in Devonian. The #5-3 Busiek-Scates will in Section 3-8s-10e and the #1-10 Shriners is about one mile southwest in Section 10. Pioneer’s tests are surrounded by shallower oil wells in Inman East Consolidated Field. Offsetting the planned #5-3 Busiek-Scates are several Cypress oil wells drilled more than 60 years ago to total depths of around 2,450 ft. Nearby deeper Devonian production is about five miles north-northeast in White County’s New Haven Consolidated Field.

4 Springfield, Ill.-based Bi-Petro Inc. has permitted a 2,000-ft. exploratory test in Vigo County, Ind. The #1 Butts will be drilled in Section 22-12n-8w and targets Silurian pays. Nearby, Glen Ayr Field, which produces from slightly shallower Devonian pays, was opened in 2011 by CountryMark Energy Resources LLC: #1 Hulman Farm in Section 20 was tested over a 21-day period flowing approximately 400 bbl. of oil per day. CountryMark has permitted several other Devonian tests in Section 20. Hux Oil Corp. also has wells planned in Glen Ayr Field in Section 21, including #1 How, #1 SGD and #2 SDG.

5 According to Oil and Gas International, American Energy Development Corp. completed #2-12 Brown on its Dansville Prospect in Ingham County, Mich. The well targeted a Niagaran oil reef structure identified in seismic data. According to American Energy, #2-12 Brown did encounter a 201-ft. reef structure with good porosity and permeability. Based on mud logs and original drilling done in 1972 in the same structure, #2-12 Brown may be capable of producing 250 bbl. of oil per day with estimated ultimate recoverable from the reef structure of up to 650,000 bbl. American Energy, based in Los Angeles, plans to drill two additional wells in the prospect.

6 In Sanilac County, Mich., Sinclair Oil & Gas Co. has started drilling a horizontal exploratory test. The #1-13 HD1 Noll targets Niagaran Brown and is planned to reach 9,204 ft., 4,225 ft. true vertical. The well is in Section 13-9n-15e and will bottom about one mile to the southeast beneath the same section. In Section 24, about one mile south of Sinclair’s surface location, is #1 Kirkpatrick, which was drilled in 1964. Some oil shows were encountered at the 4,345-ft. venture. Also in Section 24 is #1 Bert Allen Unit, a 4,330-ft. test drilled in 1960. Sinclair plans to drill several horizontal Niagaran Brown wells in Michigan’s Livingston County: #1-11 HD1 Sharpe will be in Section 2-3n-5e and is slated to reach a true vertical depth of 4,471 ft. Offsetting #1-11 HD1 will be #1-2H Line, a horizontal well that was tested in July 2009 flowing 2.4 million cu. ft. of gas per day from Niagaran Brown at 5,022-9,075 ft. Sinclair is based in Salt Lake City.

7 Chesapeake Operating Inc. has permitted more Utica shale horizontal drilling in the Ohio portion of the Appalachian Basin. The #5H De-noon 5-10-3 is planned for Jefferson County with a proposed depth of 13,595 ft. in Section 5-10n-3w. Drilling in the county is much shallower, with the deepest well in the area reaching about 1,500 ft. Offsetting the planned #5H Denoon 5-10-3 is a location that was abandoned three years ago by Eric Petroleum Corp., a 4,600-ft. vertical test. Chesapeake’s Utica shale acreage spans eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. The company is currently drilling with five rigs in the play and plans to increase its operated rigs to 10 by year-end 2011, to 20 rigs by year-end 2012 and to 40 rigs by year-end 2014.

8 Houston-based Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. reported three Marcellus completions in Grant Dist., Pine Grove 7.5 Quad, in Wetzel County, W.Va. The #1102 WVDNR 1102 flowed 10 million cu. ft. of gas equivalent per day. It is producing on a capacity-constrained basis due to infrastructure limitations. Drilled to 12,517 ft. with a lateral length of 4,950 ft., the well was fracture-treated and completed in 16 stages. The #1103 WVDNR was drilled to 12,335 ft. with a 4,875-ft. lateral. It was tested flowing 10.5 million cu. ft. of gas equivalent per day after 16-stage completion and is also producing at infrastructure-constrained rates. The #1104 WVDNR flowed 10.4 million cu. ft. of gas equivalent daily. It was drilled to 11,864 ft. with a lateral length of 4,100 ft. and was completed after a 16-stage fracture treatment.

9 Rex Energy Corp. reported results from a Utica shale horizontal venture in Butler County, Pa. The #1H Cheeseman is in Section 6 Portersville 7.5 Quad, Muddy Creek Township, on a 332.85-acre lease in Butler County, Pa. The discovery had a stabilized 24-hour test rate of 9.2 million cu. ft. of dry gas per day. Rex has shut in the well and plans to place output into sales after the gathering line is completed in early 2012. The 12,990-ft. well had a lateral length of 3,551 ft. and was completed with 12 stages of fracture stimulation. The lateral was drilled out of a 5,023-ft. pilot hole. The company currently has 20 gross (12.1 net) wells drilled and awaiting completion. Rex Energy expects to complete its 2011 fracture stimulation program with three wells on the seven-well Grosick pad. On Rex’s Warrior prospect in Carroll County, Ohio, the State College, Pa.-based company closed on 11,000 acres of land acquisition prospective for the liquids portion of the Utica. By year-end 2011, Rex plans to have drilling rights to 15,000 acres in Carroll County.

10 Several Marcellus horizontal tests are planned in Booths Creek Dist. Grafton 7.5 Quad, Taylor County, W.Va., by Triana Energy Inc. The #2H Coulson will be drilled to 11,720 ft., 7,700 ft. true vertical, in an unnamed field. At Triana’s Musgrove lease, the company permitted #1H Musgrove, #3H Musgrove and #5H Musgrove; the three horizontal tests have proposed true vertical depths of 7,560 ft. each. Part of Triana’s Marcellus shale drilling program is conducted in partnership with Marathon Oil Corp. The companies plan to jointly develop 82,000 acres of Marcellus drilling land in several West Virginia counties and in Fayette County, Pa. Future development will involve drilling 132 horizontal wells on 43 pads. Full development of the property could involve up to 350 wells, according to Charleston, W.V.-based Triana.

All data in the Exploration Highlights section is based on sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The prudent investor intending to act upon any particular data is urged to verify it with all other available sources. In no way should the publication of these items be construed as an express or implied endorsement of a company or its activities.

Most land in the U.S. is divided into townships—rectangular tracts six miles square. The township, in turn, is divided into 36 numbered sections, each a one-mile square. The lines running north-south and dividing east from west are called range lines. The lines running east-west and dividing north from south are township lines.

A well in Section 15-Township 4 north-Range 3 east is abbreviated: 15-4n-3e.