The directors and management of Strata-X Energy Ltd. (Toronto Venture: SXE) have announced that the company has started operations on the Burkett #5-34HOR horizontal well on its Vail Oil Project. The Burkett 5-34HOR horizontal well is the first appraisal well in the Vail Oil Project. The company owns a 100% working interest in the well and 48,000 net acres in the project overall.

The Burkett 5-34HOR well is to be drilled in Clay County, Ill., west of the town of Xenia, Ill.. The company executed a drilling contract with Les Wilson Inc. for the Burkett 5-34HOR well which is expected to test the Devonian Lingle formation, a dolomitic reservoir which lies directly below the hydrocarbon rich New Albany shale.

The permit issued by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) for the drilling of the well authorizes the following (approximate) drilling parameters: a true vertical depth of 4,500ft, a true measured depth of 9,300ft and a horizontal leg length of 4,300ft. Strata-X anticipates drilling the Burkett 5-34HOR well in two stages. First, the company plans to drill a vertical hole to the top of the target formation and then core approximately 60 feet of the formation. Once this first stage has been completed, the company intends to plug back the vertical section of the well and drill the horizontal leg. The information gained from the analysis of the core and well logging is expected to assist the company in designing the most efficient completion method for the well. The company anticipates drilling operations to take approximately 40 days.

Strata-X is a Denver-based company and is engaged in the business of oil and gas exploration and development with a variety of exploration opportunities in North Dakota, California, Colorado, Texas, Illinois and Western Australia and production and development opportunities in California. Strata-X has 123,752,453 common shares outstanding.