1 PYR Energy Corp., Denver, has updated drilling activity pertaining to two wildcats being drilled by Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in Kern County, Calif. PYR notes it owns a 12.12% working interest in each of the two-the #4 East Lost Hills and #9 East Lost Hills. The #4, in Section 27-26s-21e MD, is drilling at approximately 19,050 ft. in a sidetrack hole that's to go to 20,500 ft. to test Miocene Lower Temblor. The vertical hole bottomed at 20,800 ft. Meanwhile, the #9 was sidetracked last fall due to mechanical difficulties. The sidetrack leg, called the #9-2, is drilling at about 17,300 ft., with a projected depth of 21,000 ft. in Lower Temblor. PYR also notes it's participating in a third wildcat being drilled at East Lost Hills. It has a 4.04% working interest through a pooling arrangement in the #1-22 NWLH, located in Section 22-25s-20e MD and operated by Aera Energy LLC, Bakersfield. Target depth is 20,500 ft. in Temblor. 2 Denver independent Gasco Energy Inc., as an interest-owner, reports Phillips Petroleum Co. recovered 1.32 million cu. ft. of gas and 251 bbl. of water on a 24-hr. test of Cretaceous Mesaverde between 10,014-12,060 ft. at the #31-29 Federal in Uintah County, Utah. The test was taken on a 50/64-in. choke. The discovery is in Section 29-9s-19e on Gasco's River Bend prospect. About 0.75-mile south, in Section 29-9s-19e, the #34-29 Federal confirmation well produced 648,000 cu. ft. of gas, 10 bbl. of condensate and eight bbl. of water through a 16/64-in choke on a 6-hr. flow test of Mesaverde between 8,936-11,624 ft. Both wells have Tertiary Wasatch gas potential behind pipe. Gasco owns a 15% working interest in the Mesaverde and 75% of the Wasatch pay at both wells. A third well, the #24-7 Federal, Section 7-10s-18e, has been completed and is waiting on pipeline hook-up. 3 Elsewhere in Utah's Uintah County, El Paso Production Oil & Gas Co. extended Horseshoe Bend Field northwest when it completed the #3-18 Gose-Federal pumping 174 bbl. of oil and 34 bbl. of water per day. IHS Energy Group notes the stepout, in Section 18-6s-21e, is producing from Tertiary Douglas Creek (Green River) between 7,019-7,206 ft. and Wasatch at 7,520-7,602 ft. 4 An Alabama firm, Tuscaloosa-based Highline Exploration Inc., is set to drill six wells in an exploration program in Montana's Garfield County. The following sections are scheduled to get one wildcat each: Sections 17, 22 and 35-15n-31e; 32 and 35-15n-32e; and, 31-15n-33e. Projected depths range from 2,000 to 2,300 ft. 5 Shell Western E&P Inc. and Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Wolverine Oil & Gas Corp. are each active at a Mesaverde wildcat in their area of mutual interest in Sublette County, Wyo. IHS Energy Group reports Shell has set pipe at 13,032 ft., nine ft. off bottom, at the #B3-33 Pacific Creek in Section 33-27n-103w. About 12 miles northwest, Wolverine is logging after reportedly drilling to a total depth of 14,200 ft. in sidetrack hole #1. According to the Rocky Mountain Oil Journal, the #1-28 South Pass-Federal, in Section 28-28n-105w, was scheduled to 14,000 ft. 6 A Pinedale Anticline well drilled by Houston-based Ultra Resources Inc. has flowed gas at the rate of 12.5 million cu. ft. per day from Upper Cretaceous Lance, reports IHS Energy Group. The #5-19 Pinedale, Section 19-30n-108w, Sublette County, Wyo., was drilled to a total depth of 12,500 ft. and perforated and fractured in 17 stages between 8,265-12,345 ft. Ultra has staked a north offset to the well at the #4-19 Boulder, in Section 19-30n-108w. 7 A Wind River Basin well has been completed by Marathon Oil Co. pumping 567 bbl. of oil and 2,921 bbl. of water per day. The #45 Tribal "C," Section 29-4n-1w, Fremont County, Wyo., was drilled to a total depth of 7,150 ft. and perforated and stimulated in Pennsylvanian Tensleep between 6,875-6,935 ft. The well is part of the company's infill drilling program in Steamboat Butte Field. 8 BP is setting production casing at a remote Green River Basin wildcat in northwestern Sweetwater County, Wyo. The #13-16 Whale, Section 16-25n-106w, was drilled to 12,200 ft. Objectives are Cretaceous Lance and Mesaverde sediments. The wildcat is six miles southeast of a 1998 discovery that flowed 575,000 cu. ft. of gas, 16 bbl. of condensate and 19 bbl. of water from Almond (Mesaverde). The area is also 12 miles northeast of Almond production in Stagecoach Draw Field. Also in Wyoming, BP has completed a directional redrill in the Whitney Canyon/Carter Creek area of the Overthrust belt. The #2AH Champln-457-D, surface location Section 13-18n-120w, Uinta County, is producing from a stimulated interval in Mississippian Madison between 13,914-16,920 ft. The well flowed 33 million cu. ft. of gas and 336 bbl. of water per day. Bottomhole location is in Section 19-18n-119w. 9 Fort Worth firm Burnett Oil Co. has spudded a 12,100-ft. Pennsylvanian Minnelusa wildcat in south-central Campbell County, Wyo. The #33-17 Polaris-Fee, Section 17-45n-72w, is three miles northwest of Minnelusa production at North Star Field, which was discovered in 1986. Another Powder River Basin venture targeting Minnelusa is the #14-36 Triple W-State, in Section 36-49n-70w, Campbell Co. That test is operated by Evertson Operating Co., Kimball, Neb. The well is between Minnelusa production at Chalk Hills and Fourche fields. Dry holes separate the Evertson test from both producing fields. A deep test is also under way on the west side of the basin. Calgary-based Paramount Resources U.S. Inc. is drilling the #1-3 Pine Ridge Federal in Section 3-44n-81w, Johnson County. The well is projected to 16,000 ft. to test Pennsylvanian and possibly subthrust Cretaceous plays, notes IHS Energy. Nearest production to this wildcat is 12 miles southeast in Sussex West Field, where oil is produced from Cretaceous Shannon and Lakota. 10 Private Oil Industries Inc., Aurora, Colo., is flowing 400 bbl. of oil and 200,000 cu. ft. of gas per day from a Cretaceous J Sand producer in Colorado's DJ Basin. The #1 Ranch, Section 2-9n-54w, Logan County, is producing from perforations at 5,162-66 ft. The well is 0.5-mile northwest of Cedar Creek North Field. 11 A new player in San Juan County, N.M., has staked a Pennsylvanian test projected to 13,000 ft. Huntington Energy LLC, Oklahoma City, plans to drill the #1 Pretty Lady in Section 34-30n-11w. The location is in an area of shallower Cretaceous production, between the towns of Aztec and Bloomfield. Four other deep tests have been drilled in the county since 1997, and each has been plugged or temporarily abandoned. Conoco drilled the #1 Arch Rock in Section 23-31n-11w to 13,400 ft. and the #1 Stove Canyon, Section 1-27n-8w, to 13,962 ft. Burlington Resources has drilled the #2 Marcotte in Section 8-31n-10w to 14,032 ft. and the #2 Vasaly Com, Section 22-30n-11w, to 13,275 ft. 12 Copper Eagle Gas Storage LLC, Phoenix, will drill a 7,500-ft. stratigraphic test on the western outskirts of Phoenix. The #1-24 SunCor Development Co.-Fee is in Section 24-2n-2w, Maricopa County. Previous drilling in the area has targeted a Miocene Luke salt deposit. 13 Marathon Oil Co. has begun producing gas from Wolf Lake Field, in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, about 12 miles northeast of Soldotna, Alaska. The field, which is producing 3 million cu. ft. of gas per day, is the first gas discovery to be brought onstream in the Cook Inlet area since 1979. Wolf Lake was discovered in 1998, and is owned 100% by Marathon. The company notes that ultimate development of the field may require up to six gas wells at three locations. 14 BP Alaska's Northstar Field has begun producing 3,000 bbl. of oil per day from a single well, the first development in federal waters offshore Alaska's North Slope. Currently, two producing wells, one injection well and one disposal well have been completed at Northstar. Northstar's reserves are 175 million bbl. of oil; the peak production rate of 65,000 bbl. of oil per day will be reached early this year. BP holds a 98% interest in the field and Murphy Oil Corp. holds the remaining 2%.