1 Mestena Inc. , Corpus Christi, tested 2.02 million cu. ft. of gas and 110 bbl. of condensate per day at its discovery, the #2 Cepres located in Francisco Montalvo Survey, Jim Hogg County, Texas. IHS Energy Group says the well was tested on a 16/64-in. choke through perforations at 6,646-62 ft., apparently in Eocene Yegua. Mestena has requested the discovery be named El Dragon Field. 2 An Oligocene Frio discovery recently completed by Esenjay Exploration Inc. in Texas' Matagorda County had an initial gauge of 22.015 million cu. ft. of gas and 514 bbl. of condensate per day on a 21/64-in. choke. The Corpus Christi independent's #3 Runnels Gas Unit is in Nicholas Clopper Survey, A-16. It's producing through perforations between 14,081-14,371 ft. in Lower Claughton, which is the deepest of four pays penetrated. Grand Slam Field is the name proposed for the discovery. The well was drilled to test deep, geopressured Frio sands, but encountered higher than anticipated reservoir pressures. Drilling had to be stopped at 14,505 ft., short of the projected depth of 15,000 ft., leaving prospective deeper pay still untested. Because of this, Esenjay plans to drill two 17,000-ft. tests in the area-the #4 and #5 Runnells Gas Unit 1. 3 Texas' Fort Bend County is the location of a discovery finaled by Wichita Falls-based Cobra Oil & Gas Corp. flowing 2.32 million cu. ft. of gas and 229 bbl. of condensate per day. Cobra used a 9/64-in. choke to test through perforations at 9,302-12 ft. in Oligocene Vicksburg at the #1 Cosmonaut in William Hall Survey, A-31. 4 Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp. says one of the most actively drilled areas in North America is about to get a lot busier. Of course, Anadarko is referring to the East Texas gas play known as the Bossier, where the company plans to spend $535 million in 2001 to expand its operations. This year's spending on the Jurassic Bossier represents a 32% increase over last year's. Anadarko plans to increase its Bossier exploratory program by roughly 70% in 2001. Approximately $420 million will go towards drilling and completing 36 new exploratory and 186 development tests, while $100 million is earmarked for lease acquisition, expansion and upgrades of gathering lines and treating facilities. Last year, Anadarko drilled seven wildcats in East Texas, encountering commercial amounts of gas in the Bossier. It also drilled 142 Bossier development wells and increased its lease holdings in the play by 150%, to 250,000 acres, in East Texas and parts of north Louisiana. The company produced 60 billion cu. ft. (Bcf) of gas (net) from both areas of Bossier development last year-up from 22 Bcf in 1999-and expects to increase Bossier production to 90 Bcf (net) for 2001. Two standout wells completed, both extensions of Dew Field in Texas' Freestone County, are the #A-3 Blair and #A-1 Thigpen, that flowed 50 million and 15.7 million cu. ft. of gas per day, respectively. Anadarko currently has 27 rigs drilling the Bossier sands in East Texas and six drilling a similar play in Jackson Parish, La. (See our cover story in the December 2000 Oil and Gas Investor.) 5 In Arkansas' Union County, Saye Oil Co. is testing Jurassic Smackover at the #1 Natural Resources, an indicated discovery in Section 28-19s-17w. Saye, of Shreveport, set pipe on bottom at 8,935 ft. at the wildcat and perforated at 8,830-35 ft. according to IHS Energy Group. 6 Southwestern Energy Co. , Fayetteville, Ark., reports it penetrated approximately 260 ft. of gas pay while drilling its Malone prospect in Assumption Parish, La. The #1 SL 16626, Section 3-13s-13e, went to total depth of 15,798 ft. and encountered five separate, productive Miocene sands. Southwestern is the operator of the well and holds a 33.3% working interest. Century Royalty LLC holds a 16.67% working interest and Petro-Hunt LLC owns the remaining 50%. The partners plan to immediately begin testing the apparent discovery and spud a development well nearby. Also in Assumption Parish, in Section 25-16s-13e, The Meridian Resource Corp. , Houston, is drilling below 16,135 ft. toward a target depth of 20,500 ft. at the #2 Avoca 47. The venture is adjacent to the #1 Avoca 47, which Meridian says is located in a newly discovered fault block adjacent to the company's existing Thibodaux wells at its North Turtle Bayou/South Ramos Field. The #1 well tested at gross daily flow rates up to 15.5 million cu. ft. of gas and 187 bbl. of oil per day on a 17/64-in. choke, through perforations at 19,444-64 ft. in Operc. 3 sands. Meridian holds approximately 91% working interest in the well and is the operator. 7 Riceville Field in Vernon Parish, La., which produces from Frio, is the site of the Murphy Exploration & Production Co. #1 Zaunbrecher 36. It flowed 20.46 million cu. ft. of gas and 912 bbl. of condensate per day. IHS Energy Group says Murphy, of New Orleans, perforated at 17,795-17,880 ft. and tested on a 19/64-in. choke at the well in Section 36-11s-2w. 8 Murphy Oil Corp. , El Dorado, Ark., has announced that an exploratory well testing its deepwater "Front Runner" prospect, which lies in water depth of approximately 3,500 ft. on Green Canyon Block 338, encountered several pay sands throughout a 1,500-ft. gross interval. Once evaluation of this interval is completed, the #1 OCS-G-21790 will be deepened to a total measured depth of 22,100 ft. Delineation drilling will commence shortly thereafter. Murphy, as operator, owns a 37.5% working interest in the prospect. Partners are Dominion Exploration & Production Inc. , 37.5%, and Spinnaker Exploration Co. , 25%. 9 Anadarko Petroleum Corp. reports production recently began from Tanzanite and Hickory fields, two subsalt discoveries made in 1998 off the coast of Louisiana. The Tanzanite Field well, the #A-1 OCS-G-14482 located on Eugene Island Block 346 in 314 ft. of water, is producing more than 10,000 bbl. of oil and 23 million cu. ft. of gas per day. Anadarko owns a 100% working interest in this field. Meanwhile, the #A-1 OCS-G-13,944, the Hickory Field producer on Grand Isle Block 116, is yielding 62 million cu. ft. of gas and 4,100 bbl. of condensate per day. Hickory is located in 320 ft. of water on Grand Isle blocks 110, 111 and 116. Anadarko operates the field and owns a 50% working interest in partnership with Shell Exploration & Production Co. , which holds a 37.5% working interest, and Ocean Energy Inc. , owner of a 12.5% working interest. 10 Activity has begun at two Gulf of Mexico wildcats located in water depths exceeding 6,600 ft., according to IHS Energy Group. BP Exploration & Oil Inc. , Houston, is moving in a semisubmersible to drill to a measured depth of 26,000 ft. at the #1 OCS-G-16641 in 6,937 ft. of water on Mississippi Canyon Block 696. On Atwater Valley Block 426, located in 6,643 ft. of water, BHP Petroleum (GOM) Inc. , Houston, has temporarily stopped drilling at 12,442 ft. to run a string of casing at the #1 OCS-G-18603. The remote wildcat's target depth is not reported. 11 Ocean Energy Inc. , Houston, is preparing to test the #1 State Lease 16033, a wildcat that reached a total depth of 18,800 ft. in the Louisiana state waters portion of the West Delta area. According to interest-holder McMoRan Exploration Co. , New Orleans, additional sands that have resistivity were logged between 17,700-18,550 ft. at the indicated discovery on Block 12. Several months ago, McMoRan revealed similar sands had been identified between 16,000-17,400 ft. Interest owners include Ocean Energy with 25%, McMoRan with 47.5%, Samedan Oil Corp. , Houston, with 25% and an individual investor with 2.5%. 12 In Mississippi's Hinds County, Roundtree & Associates Inc. , Jackson, plans to reenter an abandoned 18,000-ft. wildcat and set pipe to test shows found in Jurassic Cotton Valley. The Southeastern Oil Review says a mud log show was reported at 15,930-50 ft., with oil reported in sidewall analysis, and a show of gas recorded at 16,674-16,700 ft., at the #1 Parker 30-11 in Section 30-6n-4w. 13 Southeastern Mississippi is scheduled to get two wildcats, a 17,500-ft. test in Jones County and, several miles to the south, a 14,700-ft. venture in Harrison County. IHS Energy Group reports the project in Jones County is the Tellus Operating Group LLC #1 Moselle Dome located on the Moselle Salt Dome in Section 6-6n-13w. Tellus, based in Jackson, plans to test Cotton Valley. In Harrison County, Land & Natural Resources Development Inc., Northport, Ala., is set to drill the #1 Jane Byrne 501 Trust 27-7 to evaluate Cretaceous James Lime. According to the Southeastern Oil Review, the new project is in Section 27-7s-13w.