1 Coastal Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, is set to drill to a projected depth of 19,400 ft. at the #1 Houts, an Oligocene wildcat in Hidalgo County, Texas. IHS Energy Group says the drill site is in Santa Anita Survey, A-63. A depth of 19,400 ft. would make the #1 Houts the deepest test in the county. 2 An Eocene Wilcox development well, completed by Oklahoma City-based Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas Corp. in Texas' Esperanza Field, yielded a flow 10.276 million cu. ft. of gas per day. A 20/64-in. choke was used to test through perforations at 11,282-95 ft. at the #8 Sibley Estate, which also produced four bbl. of condensate and 22 bbl. of water per day. The well is in William Blundell Survey, A-557, Lavaca County. 3 Vintage Petroleum Inc., Tulsa, gauged a flow of 16.224 million cu. ft. of gas and 127 bbl. of condensate per day at the #2 State Tract 65 in Chambers County, Texas. The well is about 0.75-mile southeast of the White Heron North Field opener. The new completion was tested on an adjustable choke through perforations between 11,135-11,265 ft. in Oligocene Frio. 4 Operators were successful at two confirmation attempts in the upper Texas coast area, reports IHS Energy Group. In Jefferson County, LGDC Corp., Shreveport, recorded a flow of 5.018 million cu. ft. of gas and 73 bbl. of condensate per day on a 15/64-in. choke from Oligocene Hackberry at the #3 Thomas Weed. The well, in T&NORR Survey, A-261, is producing through perforations at 8,124-32 ft. It's a north offset to LGDC's discovery the #1 Thomas Weed. The second well, this one completed by Sanchez Oil & Gas Corp. at the #1 Highlander Gas Unit 2, confirmed its De Zavala Field opener in Harris County. The test flowed 4.587 million cu. ft. of gas and 60 bbl. of condensate per day from Eocene Yegua. It's in Nathaniel Lynch Survey, A-44, and offsets to the northwest the company's discovery the #1 Highland Unit. Houston-based Sanchez perforated at 11,619-32 ft. and tested on a 9/64-in. choke at the new well. 5 Midland-based Clayton Williams Energy Inc. says its #2 J.C. Fazzino Unit, a 16,520-ft. Jurassic Cotton Valley pinnacle reef discovery in Robertson County, Texas, was completed flowing to current plant capacity of 15.7 million cu. ft. of gas per day on a 16/64-in. choke. The company says it tested three intervals of the reef, which has 596 ft. of net pay. The well is in George Antonio Nixon Survey, A-31. A $3-million plant with capacity of 70 million cu. ft. per day has been ordered and should be operational by April 1. With the addition of this new plant the company will be able to treat up to 85 million cu. ft. per day. 6 A Miocene discovery completed by Louisiana Land & Exploration Co., New Orleans, in Jefferson Parish, La., flowed 12.973 million cu. ft. of gas, 50 bbl. of condensate and 144 bbl. of water per day. The Southeastern Oil Review reports the #1 LL&E Fee, Section 2-18s-23e, flowed on a 27/64-in. choke through perforations at 12,423-90 ft. and 12,520-41 ft. in TP-1 Sand. 7 Union Pacific Resources Co., Fort Worth, encountered more than 260 ft. of gross pay starting at 18,500 ft. at its wildcat the #1 CL&F in Section 7-18s-14e, Terrebonne Parish, La. The discovery, on UPR's Etoufee Prospect, was drilled to a total depth of 19,270 ft., says IHS Energy Group. It has more than 100 ft. of net pay sand, considered to be of excellent quality, with up to 30% porosity. UPR expects production to begin soon at a rate of 25- to 30 million cu. ft. of gas per day. Total reserves for the well could be more than 50 billion cu. ft., according to the company. UPR has a 66.7% working interest and partner Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, owns the remaining 33.3% working interest. Elsewhere in Terrebonne Parish, a deep Miocene discovery made by Meridian Resources & Exploration Corp., Houston, has been confirmed by the company at an Operculinoide "B" Sand producer, the #3 C.M. Thibodaux. The confirmation, in irregular Section 37-16s-14e, flowed 14.3 million cu. ft. of gas and 298 bbl. of condensate on a 17/64-in. choke through perforations between 17,685-17,814 ft. It offsets to the east Meridian's discovery the #1 C.M. Thibodaux, in Assumption Parish. Meridian has a 71% working interest in the confirmation well. Additional interests are held by Burlington Resources Inc., Houston, and private investors. 8 A gas discovery and confirmation well in the Gulf of Mexico's Garden Banks area have been reported by Kerr-McGee Corp., Oklahoma City. The company estimates reserves at approximately 40 billion cu. ft. at the discovery, the 14,625-ft. #1 OCS-G-14942 on Block 184 in 692 ft. of water. Kerr-McGee, the operator, and Agip Petroleum Exploration Co. Inc., Houston, are equal partners in the block. A successful appraisal of the Northeastern Prospect on Garden Bands Block 200, in 1,750 ft of water, was announced by New York City-based Amerada Hess Corp., the operator with 50% interest, and partners Kerr-McGee and Petrobras America Inc., Houston, each with a 25% interest. The confirmation well, the #3 OCS-G-15852, bottomed at 14,560 ft. Located about 1,700 ft. from Amerada Hess' #1 discovery well drilled in 1998, the confirmation well encountered more than 120 ft. of net gas pay. Reserves are estimated to be about 125 billion cu. ft. 9 Other activity by Kerr-McGee Corp. in the Gulf of Mexico includes the drilling of its fourth discovery in the East Breaks area. The West Boomvang Prospect-the #1 OCS-G-9183-encountered about 66 ft. of pay. The well, on Block 642, lies in 3,650 ft. of water. Partners are Kerr-McGee, the operator with 30%; Reading & Bates Development, with 50%; and Ocean Energy Inc., with 20%. 10 Phillips Petroleum Co. has outlined a nine-well drilling program for four blocks in the Garden Banks area known as its Calypso Prospect, according to IHS Energy Group. The initial plan of exploration calls for a single test to be drilled in 3,675 ft. of water on Block 799, followed by three tests each on blocks 843, 842 and 798. The publication says all four blocks are undrilled. 11 Chevron USA completed the #C-20 OCS-G-0983, a Eugene Island Block 238 Field well, flowing 4,409 bbl. of oil and 2.938 million cu. ft. of gas per day. The well, on Eugene Island Block 252, is producing through perforations at 8,580-8,630 ft. in Pliocene D-2 Sand. Block 238 Field, which came on line in 1964, is made up of a dozen Eugene Island blocks. 12 Remote wildcats scheduled to be drilled in the Mississippi Canyon area include ones by Mariner Energy Inc., Houston, on Block 773 and Amerada Hess Corp. on Block 553, reports IHS Energy Group. The Mariner #1 OCS-G-19996 is in 5,600 ft. of water. Block 773 was purchased by equal partners Mariner and Sonat Exploration Co., Houston, for $24.55 million at OCS Sale 169 in March 1998. The Amerada Hess venture, the #1 OCS-G-21175, is in 4,525 ft. of water. Burlington Resources Inc. is a 50%-working-interest partner in the prospect, which is known as Danube (Cherokee). The partners leased Block 553 for about $2.3 million and Block 597 for $437,760 at OCS Sale 172 last year. 13 Roundtree & Associates Inc., Jackson, is testing Cotton Valley at an indicated discovery, the #1 Robertson 21-9 in Section 21-8n-14w, Covington County, Miss. Remington Oil and Gas, owner of a 40% working interest in the wildcat, says the well encountered 70 ft. of net oil and gas pay below 18,000 ft. Pipe is set at 18,725 ft., total depth, at the prospect about three miles northeast of Cotton Valley production in Collins Field. 14 Also in Covington County, at a site 2.5 miles west of Collins Field, Michigan independent Miller Exploration Co. is drilling below 6,800 ft. at the #1 Miller-Langston, a wildcat at the Kola Salt Dome. The Southeastern Oil Review reports the venture, in Section 28-8n-15w, has a target depth of 18,500 ft. in Cotton Valley.