Skip to content
Royalty Clerk

Railroad Commission of Texas · Districts 1 to 6 · 27 counties

Eagle Ford Shale

  • 1,565drilling permits in 12 months
  • 19%of the state's permits
  • 59,620wells on the map
  • 109operators filing

Where it is drilled

The Eagle Ford Shale's wells and new permits

Night map of the 27 counties of the Eagle Ford Shale, with the density of their 59,620 wells in amber squares and the drilling permits of the last 12 months as red dots.
Wells on the state's map, few to many per 2.5-mile squareA drilling permit of the last 12 monthsA county the Commission lists for the play
Counties: the Railroad Commission's Eagle Ford Shale page, read November 14, 2026. Wells and permits: the Commission's well layer and permit files. County lines: US Census Bureau. Towns: GeoNames. Map: Royalty Clerk.
The Railroad Commission of Texas lists 27 counties for the Eagle Ford. In the last 12 months it issued 1,565 drilling permits there, 19% of the state's, 1,444 of them for horizontal wells; the most in Webb County (273), De Witt County (174), Karnes County (153). 59,620 wells in these counties are on the state's map.

A shale that runs from the Mexican border into East Texas, about 50 miles wide and 400 miles long and some 250 feet thick. It gives gas, and more oil than most shale plays.

The countiesTexas well map

Counties

The 27 counties, by permits

Drilling permits of the last 12 months in each county, and the wells on the state's map there. Each county's live map shows every well and permit where the state puts it.

  1. 1Webb County2738,339 wells on the mapLive map
  2. 2De Witt County1743,123 wells on the mapLive map
  3. 3Karnes County1536,140 wells on the mapLive map
  4. 4Dimmit County1535,752 wells on the mapLive map
  5. 5La Salle County1215,246 wells on the mapLive map
  6. 6McMullen County964,079 wells on the mapLive map
  7. 7Live Oak County821,845 wells on the mapLive map
  8. 8Gonzales County732,481 wells on the mapLive map
  1. 9Frio County731,768 wells on the mapLive map
  2. 10Atascosa County583,129 wells on the mapLive map
  3. 11Washington County47588 wells on the mapLive map
  4. 12Lavaca County461,048 wells on the mapLive map
  5. 13Fayette County381,051 wells on the mapLive map
  6. 14Leon County301,165 wells on the mapLive map
  7. 15Robertson County221,305 wells on the mapLive map
  8. 16Zavala County22939 wells on the mapLive map
The other 11 counties, A to Z

Operators

Who files the permits

The companies with the most drilling permits in the play's counties in the last 12 months, as the state names them.

  1. 1EOG Resources, Inc.169
  2. 2Burlington Resources O & G Co LP162
  3. 3Magnolia Oil & Gas Operating LLC84
  4. 4Rosewood Resources, Inc.57
  5. 5Devon Energy Production Co, L.P.56
  6. 6Marathon Oil Ef LLC55
  7. 7Javelin Energy Partners Mgmt LLC54
  8. 8Lewis Petro Properties, Inc.54
  9. 9BPX Operating Company53
  10. 10Caturus Energy, LLC53
  11. 11Verdun Oil & Gas LLC45
  12. 12Silver Hill Energy Operating LLC43

Wells completed each year

Most in 2014: 4,923. 2025: 1,248. 2026 so far, lighter.

Towns with the most permits nearby

Drilling permits of the last 12 months within 10 miles of the town.

Elsewhere in Texas

The other plays

This week's drilling permits, statewide · Every well in Texas on one live map

FAQ

Questions people ask

Is my land in the Eagle Ford?

This page counts every well and permit in the 27 counties the Railroad Commission lists for the Eagle Ford Shale. A county on the list does not mean the formation lies under every tract in it, or that a well will be drilled on yours. Your county's live map shows the wells and permits around your land, and the operator's division order says which well pays you.

Find your county's live map

What does the heat on the map show?

Every well on the state's map, counted in squares about two and a half miles wide: the brighter the square, the more wells in it. It shows where drilling has been, old wells included. The red dots are the drilling permits of the last twelve months that have a location on file: where drilling is going now.

Why are some years so different?

Drilling follows prices and the industry's spending. The bars count wells by the completion date the state has on file; the newest months fill in as operators file their completion reports, so the current year is drawn lighter.

Does a permit mean royalties?

No. A permit is permission to drill, not a well, and many are drilled months later or never. Royalties start after a well is completed, produces and the operator sets up its division order. If you own minerals in one of these counties, the first check is usually due about four months after first sales.

Texas division orders

Sources