# Texas Oil & Gas Drilling Permits (Last 24 Months)

**TL;DR:** This directory tracks the 1,000 most recent oil and gas drilling permits filed with the Texas Railroad Commission over the past 24 months. Updated monthly, it shows permit-by-permit data including operator, county, formation, lateral length, and API number. As of June 2025, Midland County led in recent permit activity, with 81 active operators drilling across 78 Texas counties at an average lateral length of 8,273 feet.

## Key Takeaways

- The Texas Railroad Commission drilling permit database is refreshed monthly, with data current as of June 1, 2026
- Midland County accounts for the highest concentration of recent drilling permits among the 1,000 most recent filings
- 81 distinct operators have filed permits across 78 Texas counties in the tracked 24-month period
- Average horizontal lateral length across recent permits is 8,273 feet, reflecting modern extended-reach drilling practices
- Major operators filing recent permits include Diamondback, EOG, Devon, Continental Resources, Chevron, and SM Energy
- The Permian Basin dominates recent drilling activity, with substantial permit volume also in the Eagle Ford (Webb, De Witt counties) and East Texas Basin
- Permits include wells in various stages: some are permitted but not yet drilled, while others may already be producing
- Each permit entry includes the well API number (unique state identifier), operator name, county, target formation, and measured lateral length

## Page Highlights

**Summary Statistics (As of June 1, 2026):** The dataset displays 1,000 recent permits filed by 81 active operators across 78 counties. The most recent permit date on file is May 27, 2026. Average lateral length is 8,273 feet, though many entries show missing lateral data.

**Sortable Permit Directory:** The directory lists each permit with date, well name, API number, operator, county, formation, and lateral footage. Recent permits show heavy activity from Diamondback (Rio Trinity, Marion West, Wth series), Devon (creek units in De Witt County), EOG (Hachar and Sand units), and Continental Resources (Scharbauer, Whittenburg units).

**Geographic Distribution:** Midland County leads in permit count among the displayed records, followed by substantial activity in Reagan, Webb, Reeves, Loving, Culberson, Martin, and De Witt counties. The Permian Basin dominates, with secondary activity in the Eagle Ford Shale (South Texas) and East Texas Basin.

**Operator Activity:** The most frequently appearing operators in the recent permits include Diamondback Energy, EOG Resources, Devon Energy, Continental Resources, SM Energy, Mewbourne Oil Company, Coterra Energy, Chevron, and BPX Operating Company (BP's U.S. onshore arm).

**Formation Targets:** Where specified, the Permian Basin is the dominant target formation, followed by Gulf Coast Basin (La-TX) for Eagle Ford wells and East Texas Basin for East Texas plays. Many permits list formation as blank, likely pending final completion design.

**Data Refresh Methodology:** The page explicitly states permits are sourced directly from Texas Railroad Commission filings, sorted by permit date (most recent first), and refreshed monthly. The methodology section notes the most-permitted county is computed across the listed permits.

## Related Topics

- [Texas Mineral Rights](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/texas-mineral-rights)
- [How to Sell Mineral Rights](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/sell)
- [Texas Railroad Commission](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/texas-railroad-commission)
- [Permian Basin Overview](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/permian-basin)
- [Eagle Ford Shale](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/eagle-ford-shale)
- [Mineral Rights Valuation](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/mineral-rights-valuation)
- [Texas Counties With Oil and Gas Production](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/texas-counties)

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