Holiday Office Closure

In observance of the Christmas holidays, Railroad Commission of Texas offices will be closed December 23-27. The offices will re-open at 8 a.m. on Monday, December 30 for regular business. Expedited Drilling Permits will be processed within standard processing times. If assistance is needed, please email Drillingpermits-info@rrc.texas.gov.
RRC maintains a 24-hour emergency phone line to report any leaks or spills. That number is 844-773-0305

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Texas Drilling Permit and Completion Statistics for December 2022

January 05, 2023

AUSTIN – The Railroad Commission of Texas issued a total of 869 original drilling permits in December 2022 compared to 842 in December 2021. The December 2022 total includes 797 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, four to re-enter plugged wellbores and 45 for re-completions of existing wellbores.

The breakdown of well types for original drilling permits in December 2022 is 161 oil, 71 gas, 598 oil or gas, 27 injection and 12 other permits.

In December 2022, Commission staff processed 815 oil, 167 gas and 231 injection completions for new drills, re-entries and re-completions, compared to 605 oil, 99 gas and 211 injection completions in December 2021.

Total well completions processed for 2022 for new drills, re-entries and re-completions are 13,415 compared to 9,269 recorded in 2021.

Detailed data on drilling permits and well completions for the month can be found at this link:

https://www.rrc.texas.gov/oil-and-gas/research-and-statistics/drilling-information/monthly-drilling-completion-and-plugging-summaries/

TABLE 1 – DECEMBER 2022 TEXAS OIL AND GAS NEW DRILLING PERMITS AND COMPLETIONS BY RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS DISTRICT*

DISTRICT

PERMITS TO DRILL
NEW OIL/GAS HOLES 

NEW OIL
COMPLETIONS  

NEW GAS
COMPLETIONS   

(1) SAN ANTONIO AREA

143

55

16

(2) REFUGIO AREA

47

40

7

(3) SOUTHEAST TEXAS

19

19

4

(4) DEEP SOUTH TEXAS

8

4

9

(5) EAST CENTRAL TX

3

3

0

(6) EAST TEXAS  

40

4

35

(7B) WEST CENTRAL TX

15

13

0

(7C) SAN ANGELO AREA

87

109

0

(8) MIDLAND

362

425

60

(8A) LUBBOCK AREA

17

4

0

(9) NORTH TEXAS

43

31

7

(10) PANHANDLE

13

0

5

TOTAL

797

707

143

*A district map is available on the Railroad Commission of Texas website at https://rrc.texas.gov/media/3bkhbut0/districts_color_8x11.pdf.

About the Railroad Commission:
Our mission is to serve Texas by our stewardship of natural resources and the environment, our concern for personal and community safety, and our support of enhanced development and economic vitality for the benefit of Texans. The Commission has a long and proud history of service to both Texas and to the nation, including more than 100 years regulating the oil and gas industry. The Commission also has jurisdiction over alternative fuels safety, natural gas utilities, surface mining and intrastate pipelines. Established in 1891, the Railroad Commission of Texas is the oldest regulatory agency in the state. To learn more, please visit https://www.rrc.texas.gov/about-us/.