1 A 1,500-ft. wildcat has been scheduled by Blue River Inc. in the Ouachita Fold Belt in Ellis County (RRC 5), Texas. The site is in the Alfred Riley Survey, A-922, about one mile west-northwest of Maypearl, Texas. The #1 Eureka will target oil in an undisclosed formation, which has no comparable production in the vicinity. Two shallow tests have recovered hydrocarbons. The #1 I.L. Griffith logged the top of Paluxy in the early 1940s at 937 ft. at a location more than 2.5 miles from the proposed site. The same distance southeast, #1 L.E. Cronwell recovered some oil from a core test at 1,135-52 ft. in the mid-1950s. Newark East Field provides the nearest commercial production about three miles west of new site. Blue River is based in Post, Texas.

2 Dallas-based Rising Star Petroleum LLC has slated the 12,000-ft. #1 Kelly Gas Unit in Smith County (RRC 6), Texas, in the Thomas Quevado Survey, A-18. The #1 Grace H. Patten Estate was abandoned in Paluxy from a similar surface location in 1979. Nearest recovery comes from two-well Girlie Caldwell West Field more than two miles east-southeast.

3 Ten miles northwest of Cuero, Texas, Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Co. LP, a unit of Conoco-Phillips, will drill #1 Hooks in northern DeWitt County (RRC 2), John E. Ross Survey, A-405. Several fields are within three miles of the proposed wildcat, including Mag Field and First Shot Field. The latter has produced 7.04 million bbl. of oil, 4.47 billion cu. ft. of casinghead gas and 28.59 million bbl. of water from the Austin Chalk since 1990.

4 The #C-1 OCS G26469, formerly named #2, was completed as a discovery offshore Texas on Brazos Block A-76 in 165 ft. of water. Houston-based Tarpon Offshore Ventures LP tested the 9,994-ft. well flowing gas from perforations in Miocene at 9,604-48 ft., although no further details were available. Previous production on Block A-76 came from 0.25 mile east. These structures yielded a cumulative 191.16 billion cu. ft. of gas, 357,177 bbl. of condensate and 2.38 million bbl. of water from Miocene. Both platforms were online from 1972 until 1989 and provided the only recovery in Block A-76 Field before they were removed in 1990, according to IHS Inc.

5 ATP Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, has permitted #A-1 OCS G27532 in the northwestern corner of High Island Block A-589. The abandoned #1 (ST) OCS G17204 is the only previous drilling on Block A-589. Nearest producer is 3.5 miles west-northwest. The #D-4 OCS G18959 tested flowing 9.44 million cu. ft. of gas and 1,320 bbl. of condensate a day. As part of High Island Block A-563 Field, the well yielded 7.11 billion cu. ft. of gas, 550,263 bbl. of condensate and 1.49 million bbl. of water through 2005.

6 Tulsa, Okla.-based Samson Offshore Co. is drilling its Dampier prospect offshore Louisiana in the eastern portion of undrilled Ship Shoal Block 104. The #1 OCS G27923 is in 38 ft. of water; depth and objective are being held tight. Nearest recovery to this site is about a mile northeast on Block 105. In 1993, #2 OCS G09614 flowed 1,155 bbl. of 40.7-gravity oil and 9.63 million cu. ft. of gas a day from Miocene. Two-tract Block 105 Field has produced a total of 20.29 billion cu. ft. of gas, 1.48 million bbl. of crude and condensate and 2.47 million bbl. of water from Miocene since 1993.

7 An offshore wildcat has been slated for Ship Shoal Block 235. Houston independent Apache Corp. will drill #A-2 OCS G23908 in 126 ft. of water. Nearest recovery is about 2.5 miles west-southwest in one-well Ship Shoal Block 237 Field. There, #A-1 OCS G03168 recovered 9.54 billion cu. ft. of gas, 243 bbl. of condensate and 821,569 bbl. of water from Montgomery between 1984 and 1989.

8 ExxonMobil and StatoilHydro have made a major Lower Tertiary discovery at their Julia prospect in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. This the first well for the exploratory joint venture, formed in 2005. The #1 OCS G20361 was suspended last year at a total depth of about 31,168 ft. in 7,087 ft. of water on Walker Ridge Block 627. The partners have now scheduled a wildcat on the western half of WR 584, on their Julia-2 prospect. Operator ExxonMobil will use a semisubmersible to drill #1 OCS G20351 in 7,120 ft. of water.

9 The #2 OCS G27173 is scheduled for offshore Louisiana’s Grand Isle Block 54. Walter Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, will drill the well in 115 ft. of water. Grand Isle Block 47 Field is 1.5 miles northwest. Block 47 Field, which comprises 11 tracts, has yielded 144.52 million bbl. of crude and condensate, 524.48 billion cu. ft. of gas and 206.56 million bbl. of water since 1955.

10 Arena Offshore is proceeding nicely with a four-well drilling program from the A platform South Pass Block 83 in the Gulf of Mexico. The Woodlands, Texas-based operator completed a Pliocene discovery on nonproducing Mississippi Canyon Block 191. The #A-9 (ST) OCS G26241 was completed as a gas well through perforations at 14,434-56 ft. The 15,010-ft. discovery (11,087-ft., true vertical depth) was drilled out of #A-9 OCS G05052 on South Pass Block 83. The original wellbore was tested in 1991 flowing 8.08 million cu. ft. of gas and recovered 2.39 billion cu. ft. of gas, 136 bbl. of condensate and 473,009 bbl. of water as part of Block 83 Field through 1993. Also, Arena recently drilled its # A-8 (ST) from the A platform. The sidetrack was drilled out of #A-8 OCS G05052 on Block 83. A second sidetrack, #A-8 (ST2), was permitted by the company. Finally, Arena permitted #A-18 OCS G26241 for MC Block 191. Overall, the company’s A platform recovered 131.4 billion cu. ft. of gas and 178,549 bbl. of condensate from Pleistocene and Pliocene from 1991 to 2005, reports to IHS Inc.

11 A deepwater discovery has been completed on Mississippi Canyon Block 707 in the Gulf of Mexico. LLOG Exploration Offshore Inc., Covington, La., completed #SS1 (ST2) OCS G25103 on its Valley Forge prospect in 1,538 ft. of water. The well was tested through the Williana with few details available. Two-well Rogue Field in MC Block 705 is about 10 miles west-northwest.

12 A central Louisiana wildcat has been slated by Natchez, Miss.-based Allen Operating Co. as part of its Avoyelles Parish drilling program. The #1 Trifolia 9 will reach total depth of 4,990 ft. in Section 9-1s-6e as a southeast offset to the only previous drilling in this section. The #1 Bordelon Unit was drilled and abandoned in 1947 at total depth of 7,515 ft. Nearest production is more than two miles southwest in Lake Roseau Field that was opened in 1963. Bayou Des Lance Field provides shallow production about four miles north of the new site. Since 1990, cumulative recovery totals 964,452 bbl. of crude and 6.93 million bbl. of water from Sparta at 4,900 ft.

13 A Hosston wildcat has been permitted by Roundtree & Associates Inc., Jackson, Miss., in the northwestern portion of Mississippi’s Lamar County less than three miles east of the Marion County line. The #1 Allar EG3 33-15 is projected to reach total depth of 16,000 ft. in Section 33-4n-16w. Nearest Hosston recovery is 4.25 miles east. There, #6 Miller-Allar was tested flowing 3.54 million cu. ft. of gas, 125 bbl. of condensate and five bbl. of water a day as part of Midway Dome Field in 1999. Midway Dome Field has recovered a cumulative 40.7 billion cu. ft. of gas and 856,347 bbl. of condensate from James Lime and Hosston since 1995.