1 CVL Resources and Curlew Lake Resources Inc., both of Vancouver and both part of the Ekho Consortium that drilled the #1 Ekho in partnership with the operator, Tri-Valley Oil & Gas Co. of Bakersfield, in California's Kern County, report that the partners plan to proceed with production testing at the 19,085-ft. exploratory venture. The decision to begin completion work was based on the analysis of all core and log data. The indicated discovery is the initial test of Project Ekho. Located in Section 3-27s-22e MD, it intercepted more than 2,500 ft. of sands. The primary target, Vedder Sand, has a gross sand thickness of 440 ft. Phacoides, a secondary target, has a gross sand thickness of 160 ft. over two intervals. Other horizons that have indications of hydrocarbons include Olcese, with a gross sand thickness of 965 ft., and Antelope/MacDonald, with a thickness of 975 ft. The latter formation is a producing horizon on the Lost Hills structure. Casing is to be run into the top of Vedder Sands and the Vedder and Phacoides section will then be openhole production tested from the top of Vedder to total depth. 2 The re-entry by Choctaw II Oil & Gas Ltd. of an Ordovician Red River producer in Montana's Sioux Pass Field has resulted in a flow of 220 bbl. of oil, approximately 160,000 cu. ft. of gas and 3 bbl. of water per day from a shallower Ordovician zone, Stonewall at 12,350-58 ft. IHS Energy Group says the Houston-based company used an 18/64-in. choke to test the discovery, the #19-23 Tveit in Section 19-25n-58e, Richland County. The shallower-pool opener originally was completed three years ago producing oil and gas from Red River at 12,722-28 ft. 3 New exploration in Montana includes two tests being drilled in Roosevelt County. One of the ventures is the #2-11 Picard in Section 11-29n-58e, a deeper-pool project in Target Field where Shamong, N.J., independent Furst Engineering Inc. is drilling below 10,572 ft. toward a target depth of 13,100 ft. in Red River. In Section 32-27n-58e, Nance Petroleum Corp., Billings, is drilling a remote 12,700-ft. wildcat at the #8-32 Harmon. Nance plans to evaluate Mississippian Ratcliffe (Madison), Devonian Nisku and Red River. 4 A Red River producer completed in North Dakota's MonDak Field, the Nance Petroleum Corp. #1-33 Federal, flowed 486 bbl. of oil, 442,000 cu. ft. of gas and 27 bbl. of water per day, reports IHS Energy Group. The McKenzie County well, in Section 33-148n-104w in an area of shallower Madison production in the field, is producing from five intervals in Red River "C" laminated and burrowed zones between 12,780-12,834 ft. Elsewhere in McKenzie County, Devon Energy Production Co. LP, Oklahoma City, gauged a flow of 337 bbl. of oil, 281,000 cu. ft. of gas and 3 bbl. of water per day from Birdbear (Nisku) at the #6-16 ND-State to establish a new pay in North Dakota's Boxcar Butte Field. The discovery, in Section 16-148n-102w, flowed on a 35/64-in. choke from 11,114-21 ft. 5 Armstrong Operating Inc., Dickinson, N.D., recorded an initial flow rate of 344 bbl. of oil, 128,000 cu. ft. of gas and 16 bbl. of water per day on completion of the #14-1 Schilke in Section 14-160n-98w, Divide County, N.D. According to exhibits submitted by Armstrong at a recent hearing held by the North Dakota Industrial Commission, the new-field opener is producing through perforations at 7,810-16 ft. in Ratcliffe. It's 2 miles northwest of a discovery completed by Armstrong earlier this year producing oil from the Davidson member of Devonian Souris River at 10,354-68 ft. 6 New wells in Wyoming's Jonah Field area include an extension completed by Amoco Production Co. and a development producer finaled by Casper independent McMurry Oil Co., says IHS Energy Group. The successful stepout, about 0.75-mile northeast of the nearest producer on the east side of the field in Sublette County, is Amoco's #5-29 Cabrito in Section 29-29n-107w. Initial gas flow rate was 3.5 million cu. ft. per day from six intervals in Upper Cretaceous Lance between 10,997-12,263 ft. Meanwhile, on the southern flank of the field, McMurry gauged a flow of a little more than 10 million cu. ft. of gas, 186 bbl. of condensate and 15 bbl. of water per day at the #1-4X Jonah-Federal in Section 4-28n-108w. The company tested on a 22/64-in. choke through five perforated Lance intervals between 8,892-10,834 ft. 7 Another Lance producer has been completed in Sublette County, this one the 13,453-ft. Wexpro Co. #6 Mesa Unit that flowed 11.1 million cu. ft. of gas and 89 bbl. of condensate per day. According to Wexpro's parent company, Questar Corp. of Salt Lake City, the well is producing from several fracture-stimulated Lance intervals. The #6 Mesa Unit is in Section 16-32n-109w. 8 Denver-based Barrett Resources Corp.'s #5-12 Bullfrog, on the Waltman Deep structure south of the company's Cave Gulch Field in Natrona County, Wyo., has been placed on production at a rate of 6.8 million cu. ft. of gas per day. The Rocky Mountain Oil Journal reports the well, in Section 12-36n-87w, was gauged on a 23/64-in. choke from Cretaceous First Frontier at 17,821-50 ft. Barrett is the operator and owns an 82% working interest in the well. About a mile southwest of the new producer, Barrett has staked an outpost at the #9-13 Bullfrog Unit in Section 13-36n-87w. Frontier is to be tested to a depth of 18,254 ft. 9 Vastar Resources Inc., Houston, has completed its second deep Lower Cretaceous Muddy test in Converse County, Wyo., producing 579 bbl. of oil, 3.532 million cu. ft. of gas and 117 bbl. of water per day. Vastar's well, the #1-35 European Swallow in Section 35-39n-75w, is producing from 14,167-77 ft. The Rocky Mountain Oil Journal notes the production is coming from a sidetrack hole Vastar drilled when the original well bore indicated a poor reservoir in Muddy. The new well is about a mile and a half southeast of the company's discovery that touched off this play-the #1-22 African Swallow in Section 22-39n-75w. 10 A workover completed by Evertson Operating Co. at the #1R Ross has opened a new field in Morrill County, Neb., reports IHS Energy Group. The Kimball, Neb., operator initially pumped 32 bbl. of oil and 8 bbl. of water per day from 5,210-18 ft. in J-2 Sand. The well in Section 17-17n-51w originally was completed as a dry hole in 1962. 11 New wildcats to be drilled to basement rock have been staked by Northern Lights LC, Andover, Kan., in neighboring counties in Nebraska. In Lincoln County, the company has assigned a projected depth of 4,800 ft. to its #1 Suttlers Canyon, Section 20-9n-33w. To the south in Hayes County, Northern Lights plans to take the #1 Government Canyon, Section 25-6n-33w, to a depth of 4,600 ft. 12 Plainview Oil & Gas Inc. is set to drill a remote 11,000-ft. Permian Lyons test at the #1 State 16-4 in Section 16-2s-70w, Jefferson County, Colo. The new venture is 5 to 6 miles west and northwest of the Denver suburbs of Westminster and Arvada. Leyden gas storage field is about a mile to the southeast. 13 Englewood, Colo.-based Energy Alliance Co. Inc. plans to reenter and deepen the 1,949-ft. #1-1 Oxbow, a remote wildcat in Baca County, Colo., to 5,400 ft. for tests of Pennsylvanian Keyes. According to IHS Energy Group, the project in Section 1-34s-45w originally was drilled by the company a little more than a year ago for tests of Permian Red Cave and temporarily abandoned. 14 Production casing has been set by Western Operating Co., Denver, for a completion attempt in Pennsylvanian Morrow at the #1 Crockett in Kiowa County, Colo. Morrow was the objective of the prospect in Section 26-17s-42w that had a projected depth of 5,300 ft.