Thirty-one Carbonate-Chert Formation in Texas: Operators, Permits & Activity 2026

Name: Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert Formation – Texas Oil & Gas Activity
Creator: Buckhead Energy
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Total Wells

76,706

Active Operators

2,140

Total Lateral

12,331 miles

Permits (24mo)

290

Top Operators in the Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert (Texas)

The operators with the most well counts targeting the Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert formation in Texas:

#	Operator	Wells in Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert
1	Pioneer Natural Resources	8,700
2	Two P Partners LLC	3,869
3	Formentera Operations LLC	3,477
4	Scout Energy Management	3,277
5	Blackbeard Operating	3,179
6	Kinder Morgan Production	2,735
7	Diamondback Energy	2,574
8	Hilcorp Energy Company	2,174
9	Cog Operating	1,850
10	Apache	1,820

Primary Texas Counties for the Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert

The Texas counties with the most Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert activity:

Upton, Crane, Ector, Pecos, Midland

Recent Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert Drilling Permits in Texas

The most recent 4 drilling permits filed for Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert wells in Texas:

Permit Date	Well	API	County	Operator	Lateral (ft)
2025-07-15	Jacobs Livestock 3498s	`4246103452`	Upton	Txp Incorporated	140
2025-02-10	Lynx Swd 1	`4246141625`	Upton	Bobcat Midstream LLC	140
2025-02-10	Bobcat Swd 1	`4246141624`	Upton	Bobcat Midstream LLC	140
2025-02-10	Ursus Swd 1	`4246141550`	Upton	Bobcat Midstream LLC	138

About the Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert Formation in Texas

The Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert is one of Texas's active oil and gas plays, with 76,706 wells on file across 2,140 distinct operators of record. Operators have filed 290 drilling permits targeting the Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert 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 Upton, Crane, Ector, Pecos, Midland, knowing whether your tract sits within an active Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert 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 Texas oil & gas formations & plays · Download the Texas formations dataset (CSV)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many wells target the Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert formation in Texas?

76,706 wells target the Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert in Texas, worked by 2,140 active operators, per TX RRC well-header records (as of 2026-08-02).

Who are the top operators in the Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert in Texas?

By well count, the most active Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert operators in Texas are Pioneer Natural Resources, Two P Partners LLC, Formentera Operations LLC, Scout Energy Management and Blackbeard Operating. The full ranking is in the table on this page.

How active is the Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert formation right now?

Operators filed 290 drilling permits targeting the Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert in the last 24 months — a live measure of current activity, per TX RRC records.

Is there active drilling in the Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert in Texas?

Operators filed 290 new drilling permits targeting the Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert in Texas over the last 24 months. New permits and spuds are the clearest signal of active Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert drilling, per TX RRC records (as of 2026-08-02).

What is the current Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert activity in Texas?

Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert activity in Texas currently spans 76,706 wells on record and 2,140 active operators, led by Pioneer Natural Resources, Two P Partners LLC, Formentera Operations LLC, Scout Energy Management and Blackbeard Operating, with 290 drilling permits filed in the last 24 months — refreshed monthly from Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) well-header records (as of 2026-08-02).

Which Texas counties have the most Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert activity?

The most active Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert counties in Texas are Upton, Crane, Ector, Pecos, Midland.

How do I find out what my Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert mineral rights are worth?

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 Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert 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

Citation (plain text)

Buckhead Energy (2026). U.S. Oil & Gas Reference & Drilling-Activity Data: Helium by Field, State Severance Tax & Deduction Rules, and Operator/County Activity (Version 2.0.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21442884

BibTeX (machine-readable)

@dataset{buckheadEnergy2026_10528121442884,
  author    = {{Buckhead Energy}},
  title     = {{U.S. Oil & Gas Reference & Drilling-Activity Data: Helium by Field, State Severance Tax & Deduction Rules, and Operator/County Activity}},
  year      = {2026},
  version   = {2.0.0},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  doi       = {10.5281/zenodo.21442884},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21442884}
}

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.