Corporate Overview Exploration Plan Properties Montana Oil Boom Horizontal Drilling Terms & Abbreviations Management / Directors Corporate Info       HOME   Montana Oil Boom Wildcat Producer Sparks Oil Boom On Montana Plains  By John J. Fialka Published April 3, 2006 in the Wall Street Journal SIDNEY, Montana – In the mid-1990s, major oil-exploration companies like Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Gulf Oil Co. and Texaco Co. were shutting down operations here on the remote high plains, abandoning hundreds of non-producing wells and letting their leases to mineral rights lapse. Federal and state agencies tracking exploration also considered the region a bust. "I thought my job was going to be turning out the lights," says Jim Halvorson, geologist for Montana's Board of Oil and Gas Conservation. In 2000, his office predicted oil production would rapidly decline toward zero. But Richard L. Findley, a graying geologist and "wildcat" producer, thought they were all wrong. He bought up leases on the cheap and helped spark a surprising boom in one of the most heavily explored oil regions in the country. [PDF File - 236KB] MORE     Oil Rush Begins – Dead Oil Wells Come to Life in Montana By Dr. Joe Duarte Published April 6, 2006 on Rigzone.com Oil wells in Montana, long abandoned and thought to be dry, have been resurrected, even as new oil fields are being developed. This new oil rush is a clear sign that supply concerns and sustained high prices have spurred a new wave of exploration and risk taking. Halliburton and Marathon Oil have joined smaller "wildcatter" firms in this high risk, but increasingly profitable venture, while the majors are still lagging behind. [PDF File - 156KB] MORE         About Us   |   World Oil   |   Investors   |   News   |   Contact