?1 Teck Cominco Ltd., Vancouver, will drill its NB-#04A well about 1.5 miles north of its Red Dog zinc and lead mine in northwestern Alaska. The unconventional gas well is in Section 17-31n-18w. The venture is intended as an integral part of a multi-well program, which will test the capabilities of an unconventional shale reservoir near the site. If shale gas is encountered, the company will use it to fuel its operations at Red Dog mine. According to the company, this will be a cost savings from diesel fuel that it now uses.

2 Houston-based Renaissance Alaska LLC shot an 85-sq.-mile 3-D seismic survey this winter season in Umiat Field, in the foothills of the Brooks Range, south of Alaska’s North Slope. The survey will further define Umiat Field and deeper features on the company’s acreage. Umiat was discovered and appraised by the U.S. Navy in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The original phase of activity included some 11 shallow wells, in Upper and Lower Grandstand formations. A deeper well, #1 Seabee, was drilled in 1979 to target deeper oil horizons but found gas. The shallow (200- to 1,500-ft.-deep), low-pressure accumulation contains more than 1 billion bbl. of high-gravity in-place oil. Umiat’s remoteness from any infrastructure has prevented its development until this time. Ultimately, the cost of a 100-mile pipeline to move oil to TAPS pipeline has been the hurdle. Going forward, the company plans to drill a few vertical wells to validate the volume of oil in place in the Grandstand reservoirs, and horizontal wells to evaluate well productivity. The 3-D survey will also allow deeper oil targets to be fully assessed. Renaissance Alaska owns 85% of the project and Arctic Falcon Exploration owns 15%. Renaissance has retained Harrison Lovegrove, the corporate advisory unit of Standard Chartered Bank, to identify industry partners for both Umiat and Renaissance’s exploration positions in Cook Inlet.

3 Vernal, Utah-based KBE Energy will drill a remote northwestern Nevada wildcat about 16 miles northwest of Battle Mountain. The #1 Well is in Section 10-34n-43e, southeastern Humboldt County. The 5,500-ft. wildcat is 65 miles northwest of the nearest production in Pine Valley’s Blackburn Field in eastern Eureka County. In 1984, two dry holes were drilled in the area. This has been the only other activity, according to IHS Inc.

4 The #1 Noah was plugged and abandoned after Midland, Texas-based Fasken Oil & Ranch LP discovered no oil or gas shows in its initial log analysis. The well is some 50 miles south of Elko, Nev., in Section 31-26n-55e, White Pine County. It was drilled to a depth of 7,080 ft. The wildcat encountered its target formation—subthrust Devonian Simonson dolomite—at a depth of 5,058 ft., but a lack of oil and gas shows did not warrant further testing. The well is approximately 20 miles southeast of Blackburn Field.

5 Denver-based North American Exploration LLC will drill its #16-14-2218 CRU (Cactus Rose Unit) in a nonproducing township in the Paradox Basin about six miles southeast of Green River in western Grand County, Utah.?The 4,100-ft. wildcat will target Triassic Chinle in Section 16-22s-18e. The proposed well is about six miles east-northeast of #28-11 Samson-Federal, a discovery that sustained a rate of 1.2 million cu. ft. of gas and 160 bbl. of oil and condensate per day during tests of the “O” zone and Cane Creek. As of December, the discovery flowed 4.32 million cu. ft. of gas and 794 bbl. of 60-gravity condensate per day on initial tests of the “O” zone. The new venture is approximately eight miles northeast of Salt Wash Field, a Mississippian oil pool.

6 Two wildcats have been slated for an area in northeastern Montana about 10 to 13 miles north of Wolf Point on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Enid, Okla.-based Continental Re­sour­­ces Inc. will drill its #1-28 Mercier in Section 28-29n-47e and #7-1 Roaring JT in Section 7-29n-47e, approximately three miles northwest. The 7,600-ft. ventures are both in western Roosevelt County. The #1-28 Mercier is about two miles south-southwest of the discovery for West Fork Field, which was completed in 1981. South Tule Creek Field is the only previous production in the township. It is five to six miles northeast of the current ventures and has produced from Devonian Nisku.

7 Houston-based Murex Petroleum has completed a horizontal Bakken producer about 14 miles south of Stanley, N.D., in central Mountrail County. The #25-36H Jacob Daniel is in Section 36-154n-91w. It flowed 864 bbl. of 33-gravity oil and 430,000 cu. ft. of gas per day, with no water. Flowing tubing pressure was gauged at 625 psi on 20/64-in. choke. The company has received a permit for a horizontal Bakken delineation test two miles north-northeast. The #25-36H James Chandler is in Section 25-154n-91w. Bakken production nearest to the current discovery is approximately four miles southwest. The #11-22H Locken was completed last year flowing 1,323 bbl. of oil and 1.97 million cu. ft. of gas per day, and was incorporated into Sanish Field.

8 A horizontal Bakken producer was completed by Dallas-based Headington Oil Co. LP in St. Demetrius Field about 14 miles north of Belfield, N.D. The #44X-27 Basaraba is in Section 27-142n-99w, Billings County. It initially flowed 485 bbl. of oil and 401,000 cu. ft. of gas per day, with no water, from three unstimulated horizontal laterals in the Middle Bakken porosity zone. Flowing tubing pressure was gauged at 800 psi on a 16/64-in. choke. The company’s #41X-35, another tri-lateral Bakken producer, is about a mile east. St. Demetrius Field has produced 511,984 bbl. of oil, 512.5 million cu. ft. of gas and 298,610 bbl. of water from Bakken between its discovery in October 2004 and February 2008, according to IHS Inc.

9 Kimball, Neb.-based Antelope Energy Co. LLC plans to offset its Leo (Minnelusa) oil discovery in eastern Wyoming. The #34-9 Aquarius is in Section 9-35n-60w, eastern Niobrara County, about 18 miles southwest of Edgemont, S.D., within 1.5 miles west of the border. The 4,100-ft. venture is an eastern offset to the company’s #14-9 Aquarius, which pumped 181.5 bbl. of oil with 54,000 cu. ft. of gas per day. The discovery was drilled approximately 2.5 miles northwest of Sheep Draw East Field.

10 Denver-based Advantage Resources Inc. is working at its second of two wildcats targeting Permian and Pennsylvanian zones in the Nebraska Panhandle, eight to nine miles south of the town of Kimball. The #7-11 Heidemann Farms is in Section 11-13n-56w. The proposed 8,400-ft. project is approximately 1.5 miles northwest of a discovery completed by the company last year in the Wykert sand member of Wolfcamp. The #1-13 Heidemann Farms Inc. initially pumped 50 bbl. of oil per day, with no water.

11 Cabot Oil & Gas, Houston, has plans for two Gothic shale tests in San Miguel County, Colorado. The program is scheduled in a nonproducing area of the Paradox Basin about 20 miles southwest of Naturita in the southwestern part of the state. The #34-16B and #34-16C Abbey will be drilled from the same pad in Section 16-45n-19w and are both scheduled to be in the 10,000-ft. range. Lisbon Southeast Field is about 3.5 miles southwest. Andys Mesa Field produces from Cutler, Hermosa, Honaker Trail and Ismay about 14.5 miles southeast.

12 The #32-23 Slanovich will be drilled on the western flank of the Canon City Embayment about 3.5 miles southeast of Canon City in south-central Colorado. Victoria Petroleum USA Inc., Perth, Australia, received its permit for the well to a projected depth of 5,000 ft. in Upper Cretaceous shale in Section 23-19s-70w, southeastern Fremont County. The site is two to three miles south of the oldest producing area in the Rockies—Florence-Canon City Field.