JayHawk has acquired leases in the Bakken and Three Forks unconventional oil play in Divide County, North Dakota. President Marshall Diamond-Goldberg stated, "JayHawk's intention has always been to eventually become involved in the Bakken due to its proximity to the Company's production presence in the state of North Dakota. In order to proceed with the Company's recent drilling at Crosby, a quarter section of land was acquired with Bakken rights, which allowed JayHawk a small entry into the play. With this acquisition, the Company decided to begin the search for additional Bakken rights. This recent acquisition is the first of what the Company hopes to be multiple additions to its holdings in the Crosby-Bakken lands."

The Bakken and Three Forks rights acquired include 1,066.5 gross acres and 135.056 net acres in Divide County approximately 20 miles from the Crosby pool. Mr. Diamond-Goldberg said, "This purchase is a good start for us and we intend to build upon the acquisition to position JayHawk for future drilling in both the Bakken Formation, as well as the separate underlying Three Forks shale. These zones are currently being thought of as separate reservoirs based upon the independent production being taken from the Bakken and Three Forks in wells on the same drilling spacing unit (DSU). Hess, Continental and Whiting have all drilled wells tapping the Three Forks and Bakken separately on single DSU's and have produced oil in quantities consistent with reservoir separation. Based upon corporate assessments by EOG, Whiting, Oasis and others, recoverable reserves are expected to be between 300 and 800 thousand barrels of light sweet crude separately in the Bakken and Three Forks, making both targets economically attractive despite high drilling and completion costs. In Divide County, the drilling depths to the target are some 3,000 feet shallower than in areas to the south, thus drilling costs are somewhat reduced from the average of $5-$7 million as reported by EOG, Brigham and Whiting in their presentation materials."

JayHawk will initially focus its efforts on acquisition of additional mineral land in the Bakken/Three Forks with an eye toward possible drilling in the fourth quarter this year. Additional funding will be required in order to carry out this portion of the Company's business plan. "We are at the early stages of our activity in this play; however, coming to the game later than others has actually helped JayHawk. The Company will benefit from improved drilling and completion technologies and JayHawk can utilize these newer proficient techniques," stated Mr. Diamond-Goldberg. "Implementing this portion of our business philosophy will allow the Company to grow in a new direction with a focus on oil yielding strong economic returns."

Tags: Jayhawk Energy