The Utah Geological Survey (UGS), with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is offering operators of fields that produce from the Ismay and Desert Creek zones of the Pennsylvanian Paradox Formation in the Blanding sub-basin, Paradox Basin, Utah and Colorado, the opportunity to receive 35 percent, up to a maximum of $200,000, of the costs to drill a horizontal lateral(s) from an existing vertical development well(s) or a new horizontal development well(s).

All results from this government-funded horizontal well, including production tests, drilling and completion reports, daily production, geophysical well and mud logs, core and cuttings, etc., will be in the public domain. The general public, as well as UGS and DOE officials, will be permitted to visit the well site during drilling, testing, and production phases of operation.

Interested parties are invited to submit proposals to the UGS by December 31, 2005, that include the following information:

1. a geologic overview of the field,
2. targeted zone(s),
3. depth, length, and direction(s) of proposed horizontal wellbore(s),
4. drilling rationale,
5. drilling cost summary (AFE), and
6. drilling timetable.

For further information concerning horizontal drilling proposals, please contact Roger Bon (Ph.: 801/537-3363; email: rogerbon@utah.gov) or Tom Chidsey (Ph.: 801/537-3364; email: tomchidsey@utah.gov).

The drilling of a horizontal well is part of a UGS/DOE-funded project titled Heterogeneous Shallow-Shelf Carbonate Buildups in the Blanding Sub-Basin of the Paradox Basin, Utah and Colorado: Targets for Increased Oil Production and Reserves Using Horizontal Drilling Techniques.

The UGS' Energy Resources web page describes the UGS/DOE cooperative studies past and present. Each UGS/DOE cooperative study also has its own separate page on the UGS Web site.

The Paradox Basin project page contains (1) a project location map, (2) a description of the project, (3) semi-annual technical progress reports, and (4) project technical poster displays.