A couple of notable events have enlivened the Michigan oil and gas industry during the past year. A major acquisition has reshaped the producing community, and the revival of an old play in neighboring Ontario is sparking fresh interest on this side of the border. This past March, Fort Worth-based Quicksilver Resources Inc. purchased the upstream assets of CMS Oil & Gas Co., a subsidiary of Dearborn, Michigan-based CMS Energy Corp., and a long-time force in the Michigan Basin. In the $163-million buy, Quicksilver acquired properties in Michigan, including the stock of Terra Energy Ltd., along with smaller interests in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Quicksilver added leases totaling 180,000 net acres and net production of 49 million cubic feet of gas per day, nearly doubling its size. Now the independent produces more than 110 million cubic feet equivalent per day and owns reserves totaling 610 billion cubic feet. "Our capital budget should increase from $13 million last year to around $30 million this year," says Bill Lamkin, chief financial officer. "At least 85% of that money will be spent in Michigan." Quicksilver will focus mainly on the Antrim Shale, he says, the reservoir that contains the vast majority of the new reserves. Quicksilver's original properties were skewed to the west side of the Antrim fairway, while the CMS assets lay more toward the east side. In the play's center, both companies' leases were intermingled, he says. "We now have complete coverage over the entire Antrim play, and we expect to enjoy some real economies of scale." Michigan has proven to be an excellent core area for his company, notes Lamkin. "We hope to continue to acquire properties as other opportunities for further consolidation come about. For the foreseeable future, Michigan is our dominant area and we'll spend the lion's share of our capital budget there." A revitalized Silurian play that's captivating Ontario also bodes well for future Michigan activity. The shallow pinnacle reefs occur in a swath running through southwestern Ontario and eastern Michigan, in the area just north of Detroit. Corpus Christi-based Manti Resources Inc. and its partner, Union Gas Ltd., a Canadian natural gas utility, gave the play a huge jolt when they drilled the first major Silurian reef discovery in the last decade in Sombra Township, Lambton County. Manti is very active in Ontario, and has formed a number of ventures there in addition to its deal with Union Gas. The independent has amassed a considerable acreage position and plans more drilling and 10 additional 3-D seismic surveys there this year. For the past two years, Calgary-based Range Petroleum Corp. has also been working the reef trend. The firm is using both 2-D and 3-D seismic to explore for the prolific reefs, which are found at depths around 2,000 feet and typically contain about 2 billion cubic feet of gas. "Our plans this year are to complete 12 to 15 wells and shoot 21 3-D seismic surveys," says Bruce Nurse, corporate communications. "We've entered into four joint ventures with three separate companies that will devote a total of C$12 million to seismic and drilling." Range's partners are Manti, Direct Energy Marketing and Portrush Petroleum Corp. The latter two firms are based in Calgary. Range has acquired 137,000 acres of leasehold in Ontario, including 58,000 acres on the Walpole Island First Nation territorial lands, on the Ontario/Michigan border. Already, the company has met with success on each of its first three tests, all drilled in Lambton County. Range's first well was the #5 Enniskillen 8-27-XI. The horizontal reentry encountered 551 feet of reef pay, and currently produces 50 barrels of oil per day. The Canadian junior has also set production casing on its Range Manti #4 Moore 7-10-VII, a 2,461-foot new-pool Silurian discovery that encountered 40 feet of potential pay. "We're looking at drilling a horizontal leg on this well to expand the pay section," he says. Range is production testing its third well, the Range et al Sombra #2 8-27-XII, a 2,175-foot new-pool discovery. The well recovered gas and oil on a drillstem test of the reef interval. "We should have that well completed in the next few months," says Nurse. To date, efforts have focused on Ontario, although the trend continues directly into Michigan. "Our position in Michigan is quite small at the moment," he says. "We have identified a new fairway of prospects in Michigan, and we are leasing now. We definitely plan to drill there, but it won't be for another year or so."