Gastem Inc., Montreal, took a farmout from Utica Energy LLC, private New York operator, to drill one horizontal and five vertical wells in New York state by Jan. 16, 2009.
Gastem will earn a 65% working interest in all 29,000 acres of leases held by Utica Energy and in other leases that may be obtained during the year.
Drilling is to start in the second quarter subject to permitting and other approvals. The companies declined to identify the location more precisely.
Gastem’s program will target gas in the Upper Ordovician Utica shale formation, already the object of exploration on Gastem’s Yamaska property west of Drummondville, Que., in the St. Lawrence lowlands.
Utica Energy drilled, completed, and ran frac jobs on two test wells on its acreage in mid-2007. Other intervals identified during logging, notably the Devonian Marcellus shale, will also be tested for gas potential. The acreage is near gas pipelines.
Gastem named Orville Cole president and chief executive officer of Gastem USA, a wholly owned subsidiary, which will administer the company’s operations in the US.