1 A 5,200-ft. Ordovician Trenton deeper-pool wildcat has been staked by Pioneer Oil Co. Inc. near the abandoned Watson Field in Illinois' Effingham County, reports IHS Energy Group. Lawrenceville, Ill.-based Pioneer's new venture is the #1 Irene Wenthe in Section 18-7n-6e. Other exploration in Illinois includes wildcats scheduled by Headington Oil LP , Dallas, and William R. Nuxoll , Teutopolis, Ill. Headington's venture is the #57-14 Brinkman in Section 14-1n-3w, Clinton County. Devonian and Silurian sediments are to be tested to a depth of 2,750 ft. Meanwhile, Nuxoll is set to drill three 2,000-ft. wildcats. Randolph County is the site of the #1 Oray Rieckenberg in Section 3-7s-5w. Four miles southeast, in Section 25-7s-5w, Jackson County, are the #1 Rohlfing Trust and #1 Marilyn Luehr. Nuxoll's three tests are to be drilled to evaluate Mississippian Warsaw. 2 Mason, Mich.-based Dart Oil & Gas Corp. 's remote exploration program in northern Indiana has been expanded with the staking of two new 1,500-ft. wildcats in Cass County. The new tests are the #1-32 Rose in Section 32-27n-1e and the #1 Rogers in Section 9-27n-3e. They're set up as tests of Cambro-Ordovician Knox. 3 Imperial Petroleum Inc., Evansville, says it has acquired an option to develop 42,300 net acres in the Mississippian-Devonian New Albany Shale gas play in southeastern Indiana. The acreage is primarily in Jackson County. Imperial will own 85% of the interest in the acreage, which is contiguous and lies along a major gas pipeline. New Albany Shale is approximately 100 ft. thick in this area and is found at depths of 500 ft. to 1,000 ft. Two tests have been drilled on the acreage and await completion. A five-well drilling program is to begin immediately after the two wells are completed. Imperial expects to develop the acreage on 160-acre spacing, which will allow approximately 250 tests to be drilled. The company believes horizontal drilling techniques will improve overall well performance. 4 Two new-field wildcats are scheduled by Millersburg, Ohio, independent Mason Drilling Inc., in north western Ohio's Wyandot County. IHS Energy Group reports the ventures are the #1 and #2 Franklin Walton Unit, each with a projected depth of 2,100 ft. in Cambrian Trempealeau. The #1 test is in Section 3, Crane Township, Sycamore Quad, while the #2 is in Section 4, Crane Township, McCutchenville Quad. 5 Belden & Blake Corp. , North Canton, Ohio, pumped 100 bbl. of oil per day from Upper Cambrian Rose Run at completion of the #1 Kauffman, a development well in Ohio's Thurston Field. The well also is flaring an estimated 30,000 cu. ft. of gas per day. It's in Section 32, Walnut Township, Baltimore Quad, Fairfield County. Perforations are at 3,886-3,920 ft. 6 New York's Chemung County is to see additional Trenton-Black River exploratory work, to be carried out by Fairman Drilling Co. , DuBois, Pa. Three new locations have been staked-the #1 Hinman, #1 Kienzle and #1 Lant, all in Section H of Montour Falls Quad, Veteran Township. Projected depths range from 9,140 to 9.328 ft. Fairman also plans to drill a similar test at the #1 Learn in Section E, Montour Falls Quad, Montour Township, in neighboring Schuyler County to the north. Target depth is 9,023 ft. 7 Three 21,000-ft. tests to Precambrian are scheduled in the Grantsville-Arnoldsburg Field area of West Virginia's Calhoun County, according to IHS Energy Group. Two of them-the #1 and #2 J. M. Smith-are tests by Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. , Houston, in Center District, Grantsville Quad. The third venture is Glenville, W.Va., independent Trio Petroleum Corp. 's #1461 Ferrell in Sherman District, Grantsville Quad. 8 Whittle Corp./Trans-Capital Investment , Smithville, W.Va., plans to drill three new 18,000-ft.-deep tests in Raven Rock Quad, Pleasants County, W.Va. All part of the Trenton-Black River play in the state, they are the #W-1501 Spindletop Farms and #W-1503 Ann Leonard Estate in McKim District, and the #W1502 Spindletop Farms in Washington District. 9 A new-field wildcat is slated for Putnam County, W.Va. It's the #824052 Denise E. Hart, scheduled to be drilled to 10,300 ft. by Columbia Natural Resources Inc. , Charleston, in Curry District, Hamlin Quad. Trenton-Black River is the objective. 10 Additional Trenton-Black River exploratory work planned by Columbia Natural Resources Inc. in West Virginia includes two 10,500-ft. deeper-pool wildcats in Jackson County. IHS Energy Group reports the two ventures are the #824509 Thompson et al. and #824511 Thomas, both in Grant District, Liverpool Quad. The former is a half-mile northwest of Elk-Poca-Sissonville Field, while the latter lies in Rockport Field. 11 Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based Twin Cedars Exploration Co. has scheduled a second remote wildcat in Franklin County, Tenn. The new venture-the #2 Twin Cedars-is to go to a depth of 2,000 ft. in Ordovician Stones River and offsets the operator's #1 Twin Cedars, staked last summer as a 1,900-ft. Stones River test. Both locations are in Section 1-19s-40e, Estill Quad, approximately 15 miles south-southeast of Winchester Field. 12 Miller Petroleum Inc. , Huntsville, Tenn., in a joint venture with Knoxville-based Tengasco Inc. , reports the completion of their second Trenton oil well in the upper zones of Swan Creek oil and gas field on the Eastern Overthrust Belt in Hancock County, Tenn. The #2 Purkey, in Section 12-1s-74e, Swan Island Quad, was drilled to a total depth of 2,566 ft. in Trenton and tested 100 bbl. of oil per day. 13 Midroc Operating Co. , Dallas, has set pipe for a completion attempt after logging shows in Jurassic Smackover at the #1 Cedar Creek Land & Timber 19-15, a wildcat in Conecuh County, Ala. According to the Southeastern Oil Review, the prospect, which was drilled to a total depth of 12,100 ft., is in Section 19-4n-12e, in the Little Cedar Creek Field area. 14 Fayette Sand, a new, shallower reservoir found in Alabama's County Line Field, yielded 310,000 cu. ft. of gas per day during testing at the S. Levon Evans Jr. Operating Co. Inc. #1 Williamson in Section 1-18s-14w, Pickens County, Ala. The Laurel, Miss., operator perforated at 2,280-92 ft. and tested on an 18/64-in. choke, reports the Southeastern Oil Review. Before this test, the field had gas production only from Paleozoic Carter Sand from about 4,240 ft. and Mississippian Lewis Sand from about 4,528 ft. Elsewhere in Pickens County, Browning & Welch Inc. , Jackson, Miss., has cleaned out to 5,252 ft. and plans to perforate at 5,183-99 ft. in Devonian at a reentry of the lone producer in Board Tree Branch Field. Multiple sands are scheduled for testing at the 5,325-ft. #1 First National Bank of Tuscaloosa 24-2, Section 24-18s-15w. The company has block squeezed the Lewis and Carter sands. 15 Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to evaluate Jurassic Norphlet at the 22,700-ft. #4 State Lease 624, Tract 114, in Mobile Bay offshore Baldwin County, Ala. The drillsite is on the southeast flank of North Central Gulf Field. The Southeastern Oil Review notes the new venture is nearly 0.75-mile east of the company's #2 State Lease 624, Tract 114, that flowed 10.227 million cu. ft. of gas per day from 21,930-22,200 ft. in Norphlet at completion.