?1 A Kern County discovery has been announced in the San Joaquin Basin near Bakersfield, Calif. According to IHS Inc., Daybreak Oil & Gas Inc. reported that its East Slopes prospect, #1 Sunday, encountered about 24 ft. of oil pay in the Vedder formation at 2,000 ft. The well was drilled to a total depth of 3,065 ft. in Section 19-26s-28e within a mile of Vedder oil production in Mount Poso Field. The company also said logs indicated a highly porous and permeable sandstone reservoir that is expected to contain 15- to 25-degree crude. Recovered oil will be sold to Chevron USA Inc. at competitive posted prices. Daybreak’s corporate offices are in Spokane, Wash.

2 Approximately 24 miles southeast of Spring Creek in Elko County, Charter Oak Production of Oklahoma City is drilling a 5,500-ft. remote wildcat in the Ruby Valley of northeastern Nevada. The objectives of #1-11 Ruby Valley in Section 11-30n-60e were not disclosed. The drilling contractor has another rig about 54 miles east-northeast of Pine Valley’s Blackburn Field in Eureka County, which has produced oil from Indian Well, Chainman, and Nevada. The Charter Oak venture is northwest of a 9,000-ft. dry hole drilled in the 1980s. Three miles west, #1 Franklin-USA also came up dry in the early 1970s.

3 A Red River wildcat discovery by independent Shakespeare Oil Co. Inc. initially pumped 104 bbl. of oil and seven bbl. of water per day. The Salem, Ill.-based company’s #1-14 Collins is located north of Plentywood, Mont., in Section 14-36n-54e, north-central Sheridan County. The well is producing from a treated Red River C interval at 10,157-60 ft. and 10,163-74 ft. The 10,360-ft. well was cased to 10,357 ft. after a drillstem test of Red River C at 10,145-85 ft. recovered 1,305 ft. of very highly gas- and mud-cut oil. Reported log tops include Red River at 10,018 ft.; Red River B at 10,104 ft.; Red River C, 10,148 ft.; and Red River C burrowed at 10,176 ft. Shakespeare has plans to drill a second wildcat at the site but a drilling permit has not yet been issued.

4 Samson Resources Co. of Tulsa has completed an exploratory test on the southeastern flank of the Washakie Basin about 31 miles from Wamsutter, Wyo. The #42-10 Endurance Unit I in Section 10-14n-95w, southeastern Sweetwater County, initially flowed 1.25 million cu. ft. of gas, 42 bbl. of condensate and 156 bbl. of water per day from a fractured Fort Union interval at 8,916-9,401 ft. Using a 48/64-in. choke, the recorded tubing pressure was 470 psi. The well was drilled to a total depth of 10,100 ft., cased to 10,081 ft., and plugged back to 9,415 ft. after tests of two deeper Fort Union intervals proved unsuccessful.

5 Drilling in the Utah Hingeline’s Covenant Field, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Wolverine Gas & Oil Co. completed a 13,776-ft. well near Sigurd, Utah, as an oil discovery in Jurassic Twin Creek. The #17-8 Wolverine-Federal in Section 17-23s-1w, western Sevier County, produced 20,008 bbl. of oil and 52,300 bbl. of water from an undisclosed Twin Creek interval between February and June 2008. The new-pay discovery was set up as a 14,500-ft. deeper-pool test of Permian Kaibab. Wolverine has not disclosed completion details.

6 According to IHS Inc., North Dakota’s Sanish Field has two more high-volume Bakken horizontal producers. Eleven miles northeast of New Town, N.D., Denver independent Whiting Oil & Gas Corp.’s #11-34H Behr in Section 34-154n-91w, southern Mountrail County, initially flowed 3,027 bbl. of oil and 1.3 million cu. ft. of gas daily from a fractured horizontal lateral in Middle Bakken extending from 10,308 ft. east-southeastward to a measured total depth of 19,845 ft. at a bottom-hole location in Section 35-154n-91w. True vertical total depth is 9,878 ft. Flow was gauged through a 26/64-in. choke with a casing pressure of 1,580 psi. This well is about two miles from Whiting’s #11-9H Richardson-Federal that was recently completed flowing 4,570 bbl. of oil equivalent per day. Seven miles south, Whiting just completed one of the southeastern-most producers in Sanish Field initially flowing 2,846 bbl. of oil and 1.2 million cu. ft. of gas daily. The #11-5H Stenseth, in Section 5-152n-91w, was tested through a 26/64-in. choke in a fractured horizontal Middle Bakken interval at 10,370-19,568 ft., measured total depth, and 9,753 ft., true total depth.

7 Peak North Dakota LLC of Durango, Colo., has completed an offset to the company’s Middle Bakken discovery on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation south of Mandaree, N.D. The offset initially flowed 870 bbl. of 37-gravity oil per day. Located in northern Dunn County, #24-11H Voigt was drilled in Section 24-148n-94w and produces from a fractured horizontal Middle Bakken lateral extending from 10,097 ft. south-southeastward to a measured total depth of 15,220 ft. at a bottom-hole location in the same section. Flow was measured through a 21/64-in. choke with a tubing pressure of 1,050 psi. A production liner with nine swell packers and 10 frac sleeves was set in the lateral between 9,775 ft. and 14,960 ft. Reported formation tops include Upper Bakken at 10,780 ft. (10,608 ft. true vertical depth) and Middle Bakken at 10,838 ft. (10,672 ft. true vertical depth).?The #24-11H Voigt is a west offset to Peak’s #24-21H Voigt 2008 discovery in the same section that flowed 1,128 bbl. of oil and almost 1.3 million cu. ft. of gas per day. About two miles west, Peak is currently running production pipe in the lateral at its #16-44H Burr.

8 O’Brien Energy Resources Corp. of Portsmouth, N.H., has completed the third producer in its Kosch Field. The new producer is about 16 miles northwest of Kimball, Neb., and initially pumped 50 bbl. of oil and 5 bbl. of water per day. An IHS Inc. report indicates that #2 Bull Canyon in Section 18-17n-56w, southern Banner County, was tested in J sand at 6,760-74 ft. following stimulation. Log tops include D sand, at 6,626 ft.; J1 sand, 6,753 ft.; J2 sand, 6,785 ft.; J3 sand, 6,836 ft., and Skull Creek at 6,883 ft. The #2 Bull Canyon is a west offset to the Kosch Field confirmation well, O’Brien’s #1 Bull Canyon, which was completed in 2007 and pumped 30 bbl. of oil and 5 bbl. of water per day.

9 At a recent Colorado Board of Land Commissioners oil and gas lease sale in Denver, 135 tracts encompassing 64,000 acres in 13 counties were sold. Approximately half the sale’s total bonus came from 28 Jackson County tracts, which brought in high bids totaling $1,407,431 for 7,886.02 acres. Northglenn, Colo.-based Wellstar Corp. acquired 18 Jackson County parcels comprising 4,736 acres for high bids totaling $882,441.80. About two miles north of the Wellstar leases, Bakersfield, Calif.-based Bonanza Creek Energy Operating Co. LLC plans to drill several wildcats targeting Niobrara, Codell and sands in the Dakota group on its Culver leases in sections 11-13 of Township 8n-79w. Noble Energy Inc.’s regional office in Denver acquired 17 tracts in Weld County, including 80 acres in Tract 112 for which it paid $430 an acre.

10 In eastern Colorado, two new wildcats have been permitted in the Las Animas Arch region. Michiwest Energy Inc. of Mount Pleasant, Mich., will drill a 5,500-ft. wildcat about 14 miles southeast of Stratton at #1 Weingardt in Section 28-10s-45w, southeastern Kit Carson County. Company plans call for evaluation of Morrow and Warsaw pays. The site is about two miles south-southeast of Beaver Field. In nearby Holly, Denver independent Halcyon Exploration Co. has scheduled a 5,200-ft. Morrow wildcat at #1 Neugebauer in Section 20-20s-42w.