LITTLE ROCK — Arkanova tests for oil in Fayetteville Shale
Houston-based Arkanova Development LLC is drilling an 8,000-foot test well in Phillips County to determine if there's natural gas and oil in the area.
The drillers will take core samples from the Fayetteville Shale formation, which lies about 6,000 feet below the surface in that area, as well as from other deeper formations.
The company has leased more than 40,000 acres in the area. Pierre Mulacek, chief executive officer of parent company Arkanova Energy Corp., said that people looked for shallow oil in the 1940s, but the company will dig much deeper.
The well should be finished by Nov. 10, and evaluations of the well should be released by the end of January, he added.
A study last year by the University of Arkansas projected gas extraction in the Fayetteville Shale to have a $5.5 billion effect on economic activity in Arkansas between 2005 and 2008.
12 Quality Awards
presented at gala
The Governor's Quality Award Program recognized 11 organizations and one individual during the 13th annual awards celebration Monday at the Statehouse Convention Center. More than 250 business and civic leaders attended the celebration.
The four award levels, in descending order of qualifications, are the Governor's Quality Award, the Achievement Award, the Commitment Award and the Challenge Award.
Barbara Harvel, former executive director of the program, received the Governor's Quality Award for Leadership.
White River Medical Center of Batesville received the Achievement Award, and Ash Flat Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center received the Commitment Award.
Organizations receiving the Challenge Award were: Arbor Oaks Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, Ashland Inc., Conway Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, First National Banking Co., Newport Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, Saline Memorial Hospital, Sheridan Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, The Pines Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and Walnut Ridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Information about participating in the competition is available by calling (501)373-1300 or online at www.arkansas-quality.org.
Arkansas 20 up 2.99, buoyed by 15 stocks
The Arkansas 20, a priceweighted index that tracks public companies based in the state, rose 2.99 to 213.25 Monday.
Fifteen of the 20 stocks gained ground.
Simmons First rose 4.9 percent in average trading.
Deltic Timber jumped 4.7 percent, and Arkansas Best climbed 4.4 percent.
Tyson Foods fell 2.2 percent in heavy trading.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 23 on 10/23/2007