The Railroad Commission of Texas issued a total of 732 original drilling permits in April 2021 compared to 456 in April 2020. The April 2021 total includes 629 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, five to re-enter plugged wellbores, and 94 for re-completions of existing wellbores.
The breakdown of well types for original drilling permits in April 2021 in 205 oil, 63 gas, 434 oil or gas, 22 injections, and eight other permits.
In April 2021, Commission staff processed 449 oil, 106 gas, and 98 injection completions for new drills, re-entries, and re-completions, compared to 981 oil, 246 gas, and 249 injection completions in April 2020.
Total well completions processed for 2021 year-to-date for new drills, re-entries, and re-completions are 2,924 compared to 5,285 recorded during the same period in 2020.
Detailed data on drilling permits and well completions for the month can be found at this link:
TABLE 1 – APRIL 2021 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 | 52 | 33 | 6 |
| (2) REFUGIO AREA | 57 | 23 | 7 |
| (3) SOUTHEAST TEXAS | 14 | 8 | 1 |
| (4) DEEP SOUTH TEXAS | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| (5) EAST CENTRAL TX | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| (6) EAST TEXAS | 32 | 2 | 33 |
| (7B) WEST CENTRAL TX | 22 | 12 | 3 |
| (7C) SAN ANGELO AREA | 51 | 36 | 0 |
| (8) MIDLAND | 357 | 254 | 31 |
| (8A) LUBBOCK AREA | 9 | 15 | 0 |
| (9) NORTH TEXAS | 21 | 18 | 2 |
| (10) PANHANDLE | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 629 | 403 | 85 |
Source: www.rrc.state.tx.us
