Area Drilling

April 12, 2004
The government awarded a permit in the Westland basin on the northwestern South Island. PEP 38521, covering 186 sq km south of Greymouth, is issued to a group that includes McKenzie Petroleum Ltd., E.F. Durkee & Associates Inc., Gallagher Research & Development Corp., and Pacrim Energy Ltd.

New Zealand

The government awarded a permit in the Westland basin on the northwestern South Island.

PEP 38521, covering 186 sq km south of Greymouth, is issued to a group that includes McKenzie Petroleum Ltd., E.F. Durkee & Associates Inc., Gallagher Research & Development Corp., and Pacrim Energy Ltd.

The group plans surface geochemical surveys along the Brunner anticline trend. Superior Oil Co. drilled the SFL-1 well in 1943 that initially flowed nearly 6 MMcfd. Sustained production might support small gas-to-electricity projects.

Turkey

Avenue Energy Inc., Encino, Calif., said it elected to proceed with new applications for three exploration licenses in Petroleum District XVI, Antalya, Turkey.

Avenue will acquire up to a 50% participating interest with operator Aladdin Middle East Ltd., Ankara, subject to a 7.5% overriding royalty interest in favor of Ersan Petrol Sanayii AS, an affiliate of the Sayer Group.

The licenses are in addition to the 24 leases Avenue announced Feb. 2, 2004, for drilling and production at the Karakilise license and other licenses and leases in Turkey.

The latest three licenses are in the Antalya basin. Nearest production is at Bulgurdag oil field in the adjacent Adana basin.

Avenue, which holds one of the largest nongovernment exploration spreads in Turkey, has a 50% participation interest in the Karakilise-1 well, in the Diyarbakir Petroleum District of Southeast Turkey, which has been producing light crude oil since September 2003.

New Brunswick

Contact Exploration Inc., Calgary, plans to drill three prospects on 28,000 acres it won in 4 blocks at the Feb. 10, 2004, provincial land sale.

Contact holds a total of 50,000 acres in this area of the Moncton subbasin.

One prospect is the 1,750-acre Gautreau play 2 km southeast of abandoned Stoney Creek oil and gas field. Well depth will be a maximum 1,500 m.

Several wells flowed liquid-rich gas to surface in the 1920s from the Albert formation of the Devonian-Carboniferous Horton Group. The same formation produces in McCully field.

The Downey/Bull Creek prospect is 4 km south of Stoney Creek field.

A third prospect at Albert Mines, 8 km south of Stoney Creek, targets oil at 800-1,500 m. The prospect had 2 producing oil wells on it as recently as 2 years ago.

The general area is 20 km south of Moncton, NB, and 25 km southwest of the Maritimes & Northeast gas pipeline.

Texas North

Infinity Inc., Denver, plans to acquire 25,000 gross acres in the Fort Worth basin on which the company plans to exploit gas in the Mississippian Barnett shale.

Seller, financial terms, and precise location are not disclosed. Infinity plans to operate the acreage with an initial 90% working interest.

Infinity said the letter of intent contemplates the initial drilling of four horizontal wells, including three to the Barnett shale.

The company said it hopes to improve on typical horizontal drilling costs of $800,000/well due to shallower drilling depths.