119 wells across 40 active operators, with 0 drilling permits filed in the last 24 months.
Refreshed monthly from NMOCD well-header records. Data current as of 2026-08-24.
Quick answer: The Palo Duro Basin formation in New Mexico has 119 wells on record across 40 active operators, with 0 drilling permits filed in the last 24 months (as of 2026-08-24). Its most active operators by well count are Enercap, Public Lands Exploration, Ckg Energy, Transpecos Resources and Shell Oil Company. Compiled from New Mexico Oil Conservation Division (NMOCD) well-header records, refreshed monthly.
The operators with the most well counts targeting the Palo Duro Basin formation in New Mexico:
| # | Operator | Wells in Palo Duro Basin |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Enercap | 18 |
| 2 | Public Lands Exploration | 15 |
| 3 | Ckg Energy | 9 |
| 4 | Transpecos Resources | 7 |
| 5 | Shell Oil Company | 6 |
| 6 | Eog Resources | 6 |
| 7 | Sonoma Energy | 4 |
| 8 | Moranlavaca LLC | 4 |
| 9 | Mcclellan Oil | 4 |
| 10 | Alta Mesa Services | 3 |
The New Mexico counties with the most Palo Duro Basin activity:
Guadalupe, De Baca, Quay, Curry, San Miguel
The Palo Duro Basin is one of New Mexico's active oil and gas plays, with 119 wells on file across 40 distinct operators of record. Operators have filed 0 drilling permits targeting the Palo Duro Basin in the last 24 months — a measure of how active the play is right now versus its historical baseline.
For mineral owners with interests in Guadalupe, De Baca, Quay, Curry, San Miguel, knowing whether your tract sits within an active Palo Duro Basin footprint is a foundational valuation question. Active formations with consistent permit flow command premium pricing; legacy formations with steady but declining production are valued differently.
See all New Mexico oil & gas formations & plays · Download the New Mexico formations dataset (CSV)
119 wells target the Palo Duro Basin in New Mexico, worked by 40 active operators, per NMOCD well-header records (as of 2026-08-24).
By well count, the most active Palo Duro Basin operators in New Mexico are Enercap, Public Lands Exploration, Ckg Energy, Transpecos Resources and Shell Oil Company. The full ranking is in the table on this page.
Operators filed 0 drilling permits targeting the Palo Duro Basin in the last 24 months — a live measure of current activity, per NMOCD records.
Operators filed 0 new drilling permits targeting the Palo Duro Basin in New Mexico over the last 24 months. New permits and spuds are the clearest signal of active Palo Duro Basin drilling, per NMOCD records (as of 2026-08-24).
Palo Duro Basin activity in New Mexico currently spans 119 wells on record and 40 active operators, led by Enercap, Public Lands Exploration, Ckg Energy, Transpecos Resources and Shell Oil Company, with 0 drilling permits filed in the last 24 months — refreshed monthly from New Mexico Oil Conservation Division (NMOCD) well-header records (as of 2026-08-24).
The most active Palo Duro Basin counties in New Mexico are Guadalupe, De Baca, Quay, Curry, San Miguel.
Value depends on your net mineral acres or royalty decimal, the operator, the remaining drilling locations, and current oil and gas prices. Buckhead Energy checks your tract against current Palo Duro Basin well and permit data and puts a free, no-obligation written offer in writing — this page is informational only, not a valuation.
Cite this dataset
Permanently archived and citable via a DOI on Zenodo (CERN), under a CC BY 4.0 license. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21442884 · View on Zenodo
License & attribution: This data is licensed CC BY 4.0. You are free to share and adapt it, including commercially, provided you credit “Buckhead Energy” and link back to this page or the DOI above.
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Sell Your New Mexico Mineral Rights
Formation: Palo Duro Basin
State: New Mexico
Total wells: 119
Active operators: 40
Permits 24mo: 0
Last refresh: 2026-08-24
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