Salt Lake City-based Questar Corp. reports its Rocky Mountain exploration/production has stepped up substantially, compared with a year earlier, in the Pinedale (WY) Anticline, and it reaffirmed its guidance for E&P operations this year at 112-114 Bcfe. Questar made the announcement as part of an investor tour Tuesday of its Pinedale operations.

The company said its Questar Market Resources unit currently has 11 rigs active in Pinedale, four less than this time last year, and it expects to complete 35 wells, compared with 28 completions last year.

Market Resources has 122 wells at Pinedale, producing about 230 MMcfe/d, compared with 80 wells producing 145 MMcfe/d in 2004. The company said it “currently completing two additional wells, and its E&P net production from Pinedale (excluding on affiliate, Wexpro) is about 97 MMcfe/d, an increase of 80% from 54 MMcfe/d at this time last year.”

Also as part of its report on Pinedale, Market Resources said it was on track to complete a $35 million condensate and produced-water gathering /transportation system before mid-November, and in drilling at the northern end of Pinedale, the company reached a depth of 19,520 feet with indications of natural gas in the Rock Springs and Hilliard formations that show similarities to gas finds encountered in the 1970 El Paso Wagon Wheel # 1 well drilled about 15 miles to the south, the company said.

In the Vermillion Basin along the Wyoming-Colorado border, Questar E&P said it plans to drill a fourth new well, the Canyon Creek #47, before the end of this year. Completion of a third well, Canyon Creek #41, is expected soon. An initial well at Vermillion, Alkali Gulch, Unit #1, ultimately is expected to produce 4-5 Bcfe.

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