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geotmp

05/21/07 4:42 PM

#18558 RE: msgbrdinfo #18556

We are in the early stages of this reef research program, so it is not possible to provide meaningful well statistics from our drilling efforts. We have also learned within the last year, after a few near misses, that it is not easy to drill to these small reef features using conventional drilling methods, and have just recently opted to use horizontal steering methods to drill to precise pinpointed reef target centers. Our current drilling goal now is to horizontally hit within 50 feet of all reef top centers as delineated by PIP. The PIP geophysical measurements provide the precise center of the hydrocarbon mass located in the reef top, our intended drilling bullseye. Recent research has indicated that missing a reef top by more than 100 feet can mean the difference between making a barn burner and not making much oil. This basically is like threading a needle with a drill bit. In my initial reef drilling efforts, it was not clear to me how hard this was to do. I now have a much clearer understanding of this drilling difficulty, and have corrected the problem using precise steering tools and MWD. We just recently set pipe on our first Waulsortian Mississippian Lodgepole pinnacle reef well drilled in this manner in North Dakota. Completion is pending.