Twelve-month drilling permits, spuds and first production, the DUC-proxy backlog, permit-to-spud cycle times and Illinois counties ranked by activity momentum. Each figure is a count, percentile or index Buckhead Energy computes from grouped records; no individual well is listed.
Last computed: 2026-11-01
Quick answer: Over the last 12 months Illinois recorded at least 131 drilling permits, 0 spuds and 0 wells reaching first production, by Buckhead Energy’s count. Monthly counts under 3 are withheld, so totals are floors.
In the last 12 complete months: at least 131 drilling permits, 0 spuds and 0 wells reaching first production. Each total adds published monthly counts, so it is a floor.
Ranked by momentum score: the change in drilling permits times the change in county oil and gas production, last 12 months against the 12 before. 100 means both held level. Counties without enough published data in both windows are not scored.
No county had enough published data in both windows to score.
Permit to spud uses permits 6–36 months old; spud to first production uses spuds 12–36 months old. Percentiles resting on fewer than 5 wells show n<5.
| Stage | Wells | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Permit to spud | <3 | n<5 | n<5 | n<5 |
| Spud to first production | <3 | n<5 | n<5 | n<5 |
Ranked by wells operated on record, not production or value. See the full leaderboard.
| Operator | Wells operated | Top formation |
|---|---|---|
| The Ohio Oil | 10,782 | Illinois Basin |
| Marathon Oil Company | 4,529 | Illinois Basin |
| The Texas Company | 4,094 | Illinois Basin |
| Pure Oil Company | 3,231 | Illinois Basin |
| Texaco | 2,427 | Illinois Basin |
| Ohio Oil Company | 2,181 | Illinois Basin |
| The Pure Oil Company | 1,935 | Illinois Basin |
| The Carter Oil | 1,812 | Illinois Basin |
| Forest Oil | 1,678 | Illinois Basin |
| Magnolia Petroleum Company | 1,605 | Illinois Basin |
Ranked by total wells on record in the county summary.
| County | Wells on record |
|---|---|
| Lake | 31,424 |
| Crawford | 28,731 |
| Will | 25,446 |
| Mc Henry | 24,295 |
| White | 18,592 |
| Lawrence | 18,009 |
| Cook | 17,440 |
| Wayne | 15,418 |
| Peoria | 14,725 |
| Kane | 13,722 |
| Formation or play | Wells on record | Operators |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois Basin | 199,361 | 13,021 |
| Wisconsin Arch | 3,692 | 336 |
| Michigan Basin | 621 | 98 |
| New Albany | 477 | 264 |
| Lake Michigan | 61 | 5 |
Buckhead Energy computes every figure on this page from grouped records in public oil and gas data. The page shows counts, sums, percentiles and indexes only; it does not list individual wells, leases or permits.
Counts under 3 wells and percentiles under 5 wells are withheld; totals are floors.
12-month totals add only the monthly figures that were published, so they are floors, not exact counts.
DUC here is a proxy: a well spudded in the last three years with no first production reported yet. It includes dry holes, injection wells and reporting lag, and does not establish completion status.
Cycle-time cohorts: permit-to-spud uses permits 6–36 months old; spud-to-first-production uses spuds 12–36 months old.
Momentum = 100 × (permits, last 12 months ÷ prior 12 months) × (county oil-and-gas production, last 12 months ÷ prior 12 months). 100 means both held level.
Last computed: 2026-11-01. These figures are informational only and are not a valuation of any mineral or royalty interest.
Statewide activity does not establish anything about a specific tract. Compare these figures with your own lease and statements when considering your mineral rights.
Get Your Free Written OfferResearching an operator or well activity is one part of understanding a mineral or royalty interest.
