70% working interest

A buyout in 2006 from Robert Bayless LLC, an industry competitor, has positioned Marion for exploration and development, north of the Helper project, in the Roan Cliffs and Emma Park-Whitmore Park Valley. The Roan Cliffs acreage, totaling 19,718 acres, is positioned in-trend to the West Tavaputs Plateau development drilling program currently underway by the Bill Barrett Corporation (BBC).

Wells have been successfully completed by BBC on the plateau in the Navajo, Entrada, Dakota, Mancos Shale, Price River, North Horn and Wasatch formations. The Navajo, Entrada and Dakota formations are structurally controlled plays that are enhanced with the interpretation of seismic imaging. Conversely, the Mancos Shale, Price River, North Horn and Wasatch formations are more akin to resource type plays with gas saturated rock spanning thousands of feet vertically. The physical nature of this rock sequence compares well to the prolific Mesaverde Group located in the Piceance Basin to the east. In both cases the rock is well suited to the application of modern multi-stage fracture completions techniques.

With a thick gas saturated interval and the likelihood of needing high density well spacing the Roan Cliffs and Emma Park-Whitmore Park Valley position brings many future opportunities for Marion to exploit.