Petroleo Brasileiro SA has discovered a deepwater postsalt oil reservoir in Marlim Sul field in the Campos basin offshore Brazil.

Harvest Natural Resources Inc. will appraise a two-zone oil discovery in presalt formations at the Dussafu Tortue Marin-1 exploratory well on the Dussafu Marin PSC offshore Gabon.

The US Geological Survey has let a contract to Bell Geospace to assist in a comprehensive, high-resolution airborne survey to assess minerals and water potential in northeastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA has submitted commerciality declarations to Brazil’s ANP for the 100% owned Aruana and Oliva postsalt oil and gas accumulations on Block C-M-401 of the BM-C-36 concession in the Campos basin offshore Brazil.

Petroamerica Oil Corp., Calgary, said its No. 6 well in Las Maracas field in the Llanos basin of Colombia has tested 29° gravity oil at 600 b/d from the Une Formation, the field’s third pay zone after the Mirador and Gacheta formations.

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp., Houston, said its Triad Hunter LLC subsidiary formed a joint venture with Eclipse Resources I LP, private State College, Pa., operator, to drill 12 Marcellus shale and 12 Utica shale horizontal wells in 3 years in Monroe County, Ohio.

InterOil Corp., Houston, said its Antelope-3 well reached total depth on Dec. 25, 2012, and that the wireline logging program is in progress.

Petromanas Energy Inc., Calgary, will plug its Juban-1 wildcat in northern Albania at a total depth of 1,716 m after a logging program indicated negligible hydrocarbons.

Sinopec Exploration Southern Co. said it signed an agreement with ConocoPhillips for joint research regarding shale gas exploration, development, and production in Qijiang, Sichuan basin.

Chevron Australia has made two more significant gas discoveries offshore Western Australia.

McMoRan Exploration Co., New Orleans, will reperforate its Davy Jones-1 well on the Gulf of Mexico shelf offshore Louisiana with electric wireline through-tubing guns after having limited success in unblocking the original perforations using a propellant stimulation gun.