Gulfport Energy Corporation announced today that the crude oil and natural gas pipeline infrastructure at the company's Hackberry field is operational.

The company is currently initiating production from five wells drilled earlier this year as part of the Hackberry exploration assessment program. Production details from the Hackberry field will be disclosed once the wells have produced sustainable volumes for an acceptable period of time.

Since the last Hackberry drilling update, the company reached total objective depth on two additional wells and two other wells are currently drilling. The 2007 No. 5 well, which was drilled in Calcasieu Lake, reached a total objective depth of approximately 13,000 feet and encountered 19 feet of apparent net pay.

The 2007 No. 6 well, which was drilled from a land location, reached an objective depth of 7,800 feet and logged 63 feet of apparent net pay. The 2007 No. 7 well, also a land location, is currently setting intermediate casing at 7,700 feet before drilling to the deeper Camerina formation.

An intermediate electric log indicated 123 feet of apparent net pay in the shallow section of the No. 7 well. The 2007 No. 8, which is drilling in Calcasieu Lake, is currently at 11,500 feet and drilling towards an objective depth of 13,000.