• Focus on Core Provinces and Trends
• Internally Generate Inventory of High Quality Exploratory Prospects
• Leverage our Operational Expertise
• Evaluate and Selectively Pursue New Potential Play
• Capitalize on Exploration Successes Through Development of Field Discoveries
• Continue to Actively Drill Our Multi-Year Prospect Inventory
• Enhance Returns Through Operational Control

 

Our People

Our experienced exploration staff includes 11 geologists, seven geophysicists, two computer applications specialists andfive geological technicians. Our geologists and geophysicists have varied, but complementary backgrounds. Their diversity of experience in a wide-range of geological and geophysical settings, combined with various technical specializations (from hardware and systems to software and seismic data processing), provides us with valuable technical, intellectual resources. Our geologists and geophysicists have an average of more than 19 years of experience in the industry. We have assembled our team of geologists and geophysicists with backgrounds that complement the areas where we focus our exploration and development activities. By integrating both geologic and geophysical expertise within our project teams, we believe we possess a competitive advantage in our exploration approach.

Our land department staff includes fourlandmen with an average of more than 21 years of experience, primarily within our core provinces, and four lease and division order analysts. Our land department contributed to pioneering many of the innovations that have facilitated exploration using large 3-D seismic projects.

 Our operations staff includes seven engineers who have an average of over 14 years of experience in drilling, reservoir, environmental or operations engineering primarily within our four core operating provinces. These engineers work closely with our geologists and geophysicists and are integrally involved in all phases of the exploration and development process, including preparation of pre- and post-drill reserve estimates, well design, production management and analysis of full cycle risked drilling economics. We conduct field operations for our operated oil and natural gas properties through our field production superintendent and third party contract personnel.

 

Our Operations

Historically, our exploration and development activities have been focused in the Onshore Gulf Coast, the Anadarko Basin and West Texas. Beginning in Late 2005, we began to acquire acreage within the Willison Basin in North Dakota and Montana, and have since then have invested a total of $169 million in drilling, and seismic in this region. In late 2007, the majority of our drilling capital expenditures shifted from our historically active areas in the Onshore Gulf Coast, the Anadarko Basin and West Texas to the Williston Basin. We are currently targeting the Bakken, Three Forks and Red River objectives. At present, we have approximately 483,506 gross and 307,474 net leasehold acres in the Williston basin and have identified over 800 horizontal drilling locations on our acreage.

In 2008, we participated in the drilling of 56 gross (10.9 net) wells in the Williston Basin, of course we operated 11 wells (7.5 net) wells, investing total exploration and development expeditures, including land and seismic expenditures, of $117 million. After reducing our operated drilling and completion activities at the beginning of 2009 in response to rapidly declining commodity prices, high service costs and elevated oil differentials in the Williston Basin, we belierve that the recent improvement in oil prices, reductions in servies costs and lower differential provides us with a favorable operating enviroment to resume our activites in the region. Subject to the completion of this offering, in the second half of 2009, we anticipate driling and/or completing five operated horizontal wells in the Williston Basin and participating in a number of non-operated wells in the Williston Basin. Subject to the completion of this offereing, we estimate spending $57.2 million on drilling in 2009.