Good Friday

 In observance of Good Friday, the Railroad Commission offices will be closed Friday, March 29, 2024. Staff will be on hand to respond to emergencies. Call toll-free at 844-773-0305.

 

Texas Drilling Permits and Completions Statistics for October 2020

November 10, 2020

AUSTIN –– The Railroad Commission of Texas issued a total of 395 original drilling permits in October 2020 compared to 971 in October 2019. The October 2020 total includes 329 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, three to re-enter plugged well bores, and 41 for re-completions of existing well bores.

The breakdown of well types for original drilling permits in October 2020 is 82 oil, 38 gas, 253 oil or gas, 6 injection, and 16 other permits.

In October 2020, Commission staff processed 777 oil, 196 gas and 119 injection completions for new drills, re-entries and re-completions, compared to 537 oil, 117 gas, and 35 injection completions in October 2019.

Total well completions processed for 2020 year to date for new drills, re-entries and re-completions are 12,901 compared to 7,763 recorded during the same period in 2019.

Recent Information Technology changes are allowing the Commission to report more detailed data on drilling permits and well completions each month. The information in prior year reports may not correlate exactly to the same results on the new report. These technological improvements provide more statistics and transparency, and the new report is available on the Commission’s monthly drilling completion summaries web page

 

TABLE 1 – OCTOBER 2020 TEXAS OIL AND GAS New DRILLING PERMITS AND COMPLETIONS BY RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS DISTRICT*

DISTRICT

PERMITS TO DRILL NEW OIL/GAS HOLES

NEW OIL COMPLETIONS

NEW GAS COMPLETIONS

(1) SAN ANTONIO AREA

15

79

15

(2) REFUGIO AREA

46

65

19

(3) SOUTHEAST TEXAS

9

23

8

(4) DEEP SOUTH TEXAS

8

3

2

(5) EAST CENTRAL TX

8

5

1

(6) EAST TEXAS

21

5

12

(7B) WEST CENTRAL TX

8

3

2

(7C) SAN ANGELO AREA

21

79

1

(8) MIDLAND

175

465

90

(8A) LUBBOCK AREA

4

7

4

(9) NORTH TEXAS

12

7

0

(10) PANHANDLE

2

0

2

TOTAL

329

741

154

* A district map is available on the Railroad Commission of Texas here.


About the Railroad Commission:
Our mission is to serve Texas by our stewardship of natural resources and the environment, our concern for personal and community safety, and our support of enhanced development and economic vitality for the benefit of Texans. The Commission has a long and proud history of service to both Texas and to the nation, including almost 100 years regulating the oil and gas industry. The Commission also has jurisdiction over alternative fuels safety, natural gas utilities, surface mining and intrastate pipelines. Established in 1891, the Railroad Commission of Texas is the oldest regulatory agency in the state. To learn more, please visit https://www.rrc.texas.gov/about-us/.