Toreador resources Corp. (TRGL)

[Picassa]

In May, 2010, Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) signed an agreement with Toreador (Nasdaq:TRGL) regarding properties in the Paris Basin in France. Hess Corporation can earn a 50% interest in one million prospective acres by fulfilling certain drilling commitments and payments in a two phase exploration program.

Hess Corporation compares the shale oil potential of the Paris Basin to the Bakken formation in North Dakota and Montana.

The exploration phase will consist of six wells with the first planned for the first quarter of 2011. Leni Gas & Oil is exploring the unconventional shale has potential of its properties in Spain. The company is looking at Lower Jurassic formations in the Basque-Cantabrian basin in the Northern Spain.