1 Venoco Inc., Carpinteria, Calif., in a program with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy, used new seismic analysis tools, modern logging and reservoir modeling to increase production from five wells by an average 600 bbl. each in South Ellwood Field, two miles offshore Santa Barbara. The field, accessed from the Holly platform, has produced only 49 million bbl., or 5%, of the estimated 1 billion bbl. of oil in place. Venoco also is considering installation of a third 350-ton, 50-ft.-high seep tent on the ocean floor to capture oil and gas from seeps, according to the DOE. 2 Hamar Associates LLC, Ojai, Calif., has staked a new-field wildcat in Section 1-28s-21e in Kern County, Calif. The company's #1-1 Jack Hamar is scheduled to drill to an unrevealed depth about 4.5 miles northeast of South Belridge Field and 14.5 miles north of the town of McKittrick. 3 Clayton Williams Energy Inc., Midland, Texas, plugged and abandoned its #1 Babbitt wildcat about six miles south of the town of Cameron in Coconino County, Ariz. The well, in Section 15-27n-9e, produced water in production tests of Cambrian Tapeats from perforations between 3,179 and 3,480 ft. and from 3,524-34 ft. The company drilled the well to 4,350 ft. and plugged back to 3,775 ft. The nearest production is in the Four Corners area about 130 miles northeast, said IHS Energy. 4 Intrepid Oil & Gas LLC, Denver, is rigging up to drill the #2-1 Cane Creek Unit, a horizontal wildcat on the northern flank of the Paradox Basin. The well is in Section 2-26s-19e, about 12 miles west of Moab in Grand County, Utah. The well plan calls for a 9,782-ft. measured depth with a 7,261-ft. true vertical depth with a bottomhole location northwest in the same section. The well is about 1.25 miles north-northeast of the #11-1 Cane Creek discovery drilled in 2002 and a mile east of another proposed wildcat. 5 A long-reach test has been started at the Headington Oil LP #24X-7 BR horizontal wildcat drilled to the Red River "B" dolomite in Dawson County, Mont. The well, in Section 6-14n-58e, about 10 miles west of Wibaux, was drilled to a measured depth of 18,533 ft. to a bottomhole location in Section 7. True vertical depth is an estimated 10,160 ft. The nearest current production is in Pine Field about 14 miles southwest, but the nearest production came from the inactive Krug Creek Field in which a Red River well drilled in 1980 produced 14,400 bbl. of oil and 59,500 bbl. of water before it was shut in, IHS Energy said. Headington is based in Dallas. 6 Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, found 150 ft. of potential pay through the Lance, Lewis, Almond and Ericson zones at its #32-14 Osborne Spring Unit in the eastern Great Divide Basin, about 41 miles northwest of Wamsutter, Wyo. The discovery is in Section 32-26n-97w in northeastern Sweetwater County. Cabot is a 50% partner with Davis Petroleum Corp. in the 13,760-ft. test on Cabot's Cyclone Rim prospect. The nearest production is a 1978 Davis well, the #1 Picket Lake Unit in Section 24-26n-97w. 7 Stone Energy Corp., Lafayette, La., found 3.8 million cu. ft. of gas, 70 bbl. of condensate and 132 bbl. of water a day at its #1-18 Owl Creek-Federal wildcat, drilled about eight miles north-northeast of Shoshoni in Fremont County, Wyo. The well, in Section 18-39n-93w, flowed from a single fractured Lower Fort Union section from 6,840-64 ft. and from five fractured Lance intervals between 10,572 and 12,074 ft. A deeper fractured Lance zone between 12,605-15 ft. was shut off behind a bridge plug. The wildcat was an obligation well for the 3,649.48-acre Owl Creek Exploratory Unit in the same township. The company plans two offsets to its discovery. 8 Additionally, at a nearby discovery, Stone Energy tested 4.5 million cu. ft. of gas, 48 bbl. of condensate and 85 bbl. of water a day from its #5-20 Tough Creek-Federal discovery in Wyoming's Wind River Basin. Stone drilled the wildcat to 12,160 ft. in Section 20-39n-92w in northeastern Fremont County. It ran tests through five fractured Lance intervals between 8,924 and 10,376 ft., but a bridge plug at 10,500 ft. isolated two deeper fractured Lance intervals to 12,073 ft. The nearest production was in the abandoned Steffen Hill Field, about 2.5 miles northwest. The well flowed 700,000 cu. ft. of gas and 600 bbl. of water a day and was never put on production. 9 BP America Production Co., Houston, has staked a wildcat in a nonproducing township in the Great Divide Basin, about 16 miles northeast of Wamsutter, Wyo. The #35-1 Ruby Knolls is in Section 35-22n-92w in Sweetwater County. The nearest discovery is a 1979 Mesaverde gas discovery two miles northeast that never went into production and a well two miles southeast that flowed 536,000 cu. ft. of gas a day, said IHS Energy. 10 Artesia, N.M.-based Yates Petroleum Corp. plans a wildcat in the eastern Sand Wash Basin in northeastern Moffat County, Colo., about 10 miles southeast of Baggs, Wyo. The #2 Bakers Peak Unit is in Section 12-11n-92w and is scheduled to the Ericson member of the Mesaverde at 6,935 ft. A Lewis gas field is about 2.5 miles west-northwest. Yates also has scheduled a 2,300-ft. Fort Union coalbed-methane test 1.5 miles west in the same township. 11 Kerr-McGee Corp., Oklahoma City, has permitted two wildcats in the eastern Denver-Julesburg Basin looking for Niobrara gas between eight and 11 miles north of Wray, Colo., in Yuma County. The company's #11-6 Bledsoe is in Section 6-3n-43w, scheduled to 2,950 ft., while the #13-17 Bledsoe is about 2.5 miles south-southeast in Section 17 of the same township. The township has no current production and the nearest gas comes from Niobrara at Eckley Field some 10 miles west. That field has produced 45 billion cu. ft. of gas and 946,000 bbl. of water since 1979. 12 Colorado's Las Animas Arch will see action as Murfin Drilling Co., Wichita, Kan., has staked two Morrow formation wildcats about five miles from the town of Wiley in Bent County. The #1-9 Abigail is a 4,900-ft. well in Section 9-22s-48w west of Wiley, while the #1-34 Santa Fe Trail, southwest of Wiley, is projected to 4,800 ft. in Section 34-22s-48w. Harness Field is approximately 3.5 miles southwest of the Abigail well. That field has produced some 1.5 billion cu. ft. of gas since 1974. 13 Gruy Petroleum Management Co., a subsidiary of Magnum Hunter Resources Inc., Irving, Texas, has permitted a 3,000-ft. wildcat to the Crevasse Canyon member of the Mesaverde 14 miles east-northeast of Crownpoint, N.M., in the southern San Juan Basin. The #1 Seven Lakes 21-Fee is in Section 21-18n-10w in McKinley County, about 1.5 miles southeast of Seven Lakes Field, which produces oil from Menefee above 500 ft. Gruy permitted two more 3,000-ft. wildcats to the same formation at the #1 NW Hospah 29-Fee and the #1 NW Hospah 31-Fee, about five miles east-southeast. 14 Kerr-McGee Corp., Oklahoma City, has moved in a rig and is drilling a wildcat offshore Alaska's North Slope. The #1 Nikaitchuq is on Spy Island, about four miles north of Oliktok Point at a surface location in Section 16-14n-9e, Umiat Meridian. The bottomhole location is proposed a mile north-northeast in Section 9 of the same township. The wildcat is on the Northwest Milne Point prospect, 70% owned by Kerr-McGee and 30% by Armstrong Alaska Inc. 15 Marathon Oil Co., Houston, has a permit to drill its #1 Paxton wildcat in Section 13-1s-14w, Seward Meridian, north of Ninilchik on the south-central Kenai Peninsula of Alaska. It will drill the directional well to a bottomhole location in Section 12. The wildcat is approximately seven miles southwest of Marathon's #1 Gassim Oskolkoff discovery in Section 23-1n-13w, Seward Meridian, in the Ninilchick Unit. That 2000 well flowed 11.2 million cu. ft. of gas a day from 39 ft. of Miocene at 9,822 ft. Unocal Corp.'s Happy Valley discovery is about eight miles south-southeast. 16 The Alaska state Division of Oil & Gas approved an exploratory unit on the southern Kenai Peninsula near Nikolaevsk, according to IHS Energy. Unocal Corp. is the operator of the Nikolaevsk Unit, which includes nine leases on 16,588.63 acres in sections 17 through 20 and 29 through 32 of Township 3s-12w; sections 13, 23 through 27 and 33 through 36 of Township 3s-13 w; and sections 4 through 9 and 16 through 18 of Township 4s-13w. The property is approximately five miles south-southeast of Unocal's #1 Happy Valley discovery, a Tyonek gas pool in Section 22-2s-13w, Seward Meridian. Unocal has identified three prospective hydrocarbon areas in the Mikolaevsk Unit, all with potential production from the Tyonek sand.