The state of US oil & gas drilling right now — permits, DUC inventory, recent spuds and new producers, counted by state, across the 11 top mineral states, from Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data, refreshed daily.
Data as ofAs of November 1, 2026, the 10 of 11 top US mineral states tracked here with published drilling figures (Oklahoma permit, spud and first-production counts are under review and left out) show 19,878 drilling permits filed over the last 12 months, 7,825 wells spudded in the last 12 months, and 7,134 wells brought onto first production in the last 12 months, while all 11 states hold 13,341 drilled-but-uncompleted (DUC) wells in inventory across 819 producing counties — per Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data.
Oklahoma drilling counts are being reconciled with state records and will return here once verified. For current filings, use the Oklahoma Corporation Commission well data finder.
National totals add only the states with a published figure; a state whose figure is withheld (fewer than 3 wells) or unavailable is left out, so these totals are floors.
| State | Permits (12 mo) | DUCs | Spuds (12 mo) | First production (12 mo) | Counties | Top Operator by Wells |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 8,330 | 5,065 | 3,606 | 3,963 | 247 | Hilcorp Energy Company |
| California | 3,902 | 161 | 39 | 116 | 45 | Chevron |
| New Mexico | 3,538 | 2,061 | 1,918 | 1,719 | 30 | Hilcorp Energy Company |
| North Dakota | 986 | 857 | 674 | 420 | 42 | Continental Resources |
| Utah | 845 | 486 | 323 | 176 | 27 | Koda Gnb, LLC |
| Colorado | 722 | 745 | 668 | 523 | 51 | Noble Energy |
| Wyoming | 673 | 569 | 322 | 204 | 23 | Eog Resources |
| Kansas | 552 | 2,518 | 275 | 13 | 105 | Eiger Operating Company, LLC |
| Mississippi | 199 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 70 | Denbury Onshore |
| Illinois | 131 | — | 0 | 0 | 102 | The Ohio Oil |
| Oklahoma (under review, unranked) | — | 856 | — | — | 77 | Citation Oil & Gas |
Ranked by 12-month permits; states without a published permit total or whose counts are under review are listed last, unranked. Each state links to its full monthly drilling activity report.
The operators with the widest US county footprint — a county counts where the operator ranks among the top 8 by wells on record. Wells operated only; drilling activity is not attributed to operators. Aggregated from 1,089+ operator-county pairs across the tracked states, as of 2026-10-04.
| # | Operator | Counties | States | Wells | Producing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diversified Production LLC | 101 | AL, LA, OH, OK, PA, TN, TX, VA, WV | 55,212 | 54,081 |
| 2 | Shell Oil Company | 74 | AL, CA, CO, IL, KY, LA, MI, MS, MT, ND, NE, NY, OK, PA, SD, TX, WY | 6,999 | 980 |
| 3 | Chesapeake Energy | 68 | AR, KS, KY, LA, ND, NY, OH, OK, PA, TN, TX, WV, WY | 12,524 | 2,857 |
| 4 | Chevron | 63 | AL, CA, CO, KS, LA, MS, MT, NM, OH, OK, TX, WY | 67,389 | 41,282 |
| 5 | Exxon Mobil | 62 | AL, CA, IL, KS, LA, MI, MS, MT, OK, TX, UT | 13,157 | 3,388 |
| 6 | Hilcorp Energy Company | 58 | AL, CO, LA, MS, NM, OH, PA, TX, WY | 46,300 | 43,657 |
| 7 | Xto Energy | 55 | AR, CO, LA, ND, NM, OK, PA, TX, UT, WV | 13,615 | 8,515 |
| 8 | Eog Resources | 54 | CO, MS, ND, NM, OK, PA, TX, UT, WY | 35,435 | 15,857 |
| 9 | Oxy | 44 | CA, CO, KS, MI, NM, OK, TX, VA, WV | 29,831 | 24,090 |
| 10 | Bpx Operating Company | 44 | CO, KS, LA, MI, NM, OK, PA, TX, WY | 7,322 | 3,993 |
| 11 | Merit Energy Company | 38 | AR, KS, MI, OK, TX, WY | 8,540 | 7,607 |
| 12 | Eqt Production Company | 37 | KY, PA, VA, WV | 8,223 | 4,756 |
| 13 | Texaco | 35 | IL, KY, LA, MS, TX, UT | 8,715 | 989 |
| 14 | Conocophillips Company | 35 | CO, LA, MI, MT, ND, NM, OK, TX, UT, WY | 4,764 | 1,462 |
| 15 | Anadarko Petroleum | 34 | CO, KS, OK, PA, TX, UT, WY | 12,163 | 3,210 |
| 16 | Amoco Production Company | 32 | AL, CO, LA, MS, ND, NE, TX, UT, WY | 2,445 | 795 |
| 17 | Marathon Oil Company | 31 | AR, IL, KS, LA, MI, MS, ND, NE, OK, TX, WY | 11,901 | 4,910 |
| 18 | Continental Oil Company | 30 | AR, CO, IL, MS, MT, ND, OK, SD, TX, WY | 7,698 | 5,082 |
| 19 | Phillips Petroleum Company | 30 | AR, CA, CO, IL, KS, LA, MI, MT, PA, TX | 2,658 | 450 |
| 20 | Devon Energy Production Company | 28 | MT, NM, OK, TX, WV, WY | 15,065 | 7,675 |
| 21 | Humble Oil And Refining Company | 28 | AR, FL, LA, MS, TX, UT | 1,662 | 88 |
| 22 | Scout Energy Management | 27 | CO, KS, ND, OK, TX, UT | 17,700 | 16,076 |
| 23 | Citation Oil & Gas | 27 | CO, IL, MT, OK, SD, TX, UT, WY | 13,002 | 6,589 |
| 24 | Atlas Operating | 27 | PA, TX | 3,344 | 1,756 |
| 25 | Sun Explorationproduction Company | 27 | LA, MT, TX | 2,040 | 130 |
By state: TX 493 operators across 210 counties · KS 355 operators across 95 counties · OK 327 operators across 71 counties · OH 214 operators across 58 counties · IL 201 operators across 54 counties · WV 119 operators across 44 counties · MI 69 operators across 51 counties · MS 110 operators across 38 counties · CO 118 operators across 35 counties · PA 69 operators across 32 counties · CA 88 operators across 32 counties · LA 74 operators across 23 counties · WY 85 operators across 22 counties · MT 78 operators across 20 counties · ND 62 operators across 20 counties · AR 50 operators across 17 counties · KY 53 operators across 15 counties · AL 58 operators across 14 counties · NM 45 operators across 11 counties · UT 48 operators across 10 counties · NE 36 operators across 8 counties · TN 28 operators across 7 counties · VA 12 operators across 5 counties · NY 13 operators across 4 counties · SD 10 operators across 2 counties · FL 4 operators across 4 counties
Each operator links to its profile — wells operated and the counties where it operates wells.
Every state in the index has a full monthly report, a live snapshot dashboard, and an operator leaderboard:
US Mineral Market Activity Index — all 11 states ranked 0–100 → · All datasets & live prices →
A dated, first-party national rollup of oil and gas drilling activity across the 11 top US mineral states — Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, North Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, and Kansas. It aggregates permits, drilled-but-uncompleted (DUC) inventory, recent spuds, and newly producing wells, counted by state and county — Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data, refreshed daily. Drilling activity is never attributed to individual operators. Oklahoma permit, spud and first-production counts are under review while they are reconciled with state records and are left out of these totals.
As of November 1, 2026, the tracked states show 19,878 drilling permits over the last 12 months, 13,341 DUC wells in inventory, and 7,134 wells brought onto first production in the last 12 months. Oklahoma permit, spud and first-production counts are under review while they are reconciled with state records and are left out of these totals.
The figures are Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data (well headers and permits), aggregated per state and refreshed daily.
No. The figures are Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data. They are reference data, not a valuation, appraisal or investment advice.
By 12-month permits, Texas leads the tracked states with 8,330 permits, followed by California. See the table for the full ranking, each linking to that state's monthly report.
By county footprint (counties where the operator ranks among the top 8 by wells on record), Diversified Production LLC currently leads with 101 counties, followed by Shell Oil Company (74) and Chesapeake Energy (68).
Source: Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data. Data as of .
Machine-readable JSON (same numbers, never drift): /api/v1/us-drilling-activity-index
Journalists and researchers: questions about national and per-state figures are welcome — [email protected].
Buckhead Energy buys mineral and royalty interests across all 50 states and has completed acquisitions in 33 states. Buckhead Energy is a direct buyer, not a broker — we purchase mineral and royalty interests with our own capital. Buckhead Energy has been buying mineral and royalty interests since 2006. Buckhead Energy holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
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