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Royalty Clerk

Railroad Commission of Texas · Districts 7C, 08 and 8A · 61 counties

Permian Basin

  • 5,205drilling permits in 12 months
  • 64%of the state's permits
  • 245,967wells on the map
  • 243operators filing

Where it is drilled

The Permian Basin's wells and new permits

Night map of the 61 counties of the Permian Basin, with the density of their 245,967 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 Permian Basin 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 61 counties for the Permian Basin. In the last 12 months it issued 5,205 drilling permits there, 64% of the state's, 4,341 of them for horizontal wells; the most in Midland County (672), Martin County (551), Upton County (480). 245,967 wells in these counties are on the state's map.

An oil and gas region of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, about 250 miles wide and 300 miles long, with more than 7,000 fields. The Spraberry, Wolfcamp, Bone Spring, San Andres and Clear Fork are among the formations that produce there; the Delaware and Midland basins are parts of it.

The countiesTexas well map

Counties

The 61 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. 1Midland County67215,018 wells on the mapLive map
  2. 2Martin County55112,647 wells on the mapLive map
  3. 3Upton County48012,439 wells on the mapLive map
  4. 4Reeves County4717,884 wells on the mapLive map
  5. 5Loving County4155,496 wells on the mapLive map
  6. 6Reagan County3149,986 wells on the mapLive map
  7. 7Glasscock County2786,936 wells on the mapLive map
  8. 8Andrews County21719,604 wells on the mapLive map
  1. 9Gaines County1828,589 wells on the mapLive map
  2. 10Howard County16311,199 wells on the mapLive map
  3. 11Crane County16310,511 wells on the mapLive map
  4. 12Ector County15517,600 wells on the mapLive map
  5. 13Yoakum County1548,388 wells on the mapLive map
  6. 14Winkler County1405,832 wells on the mapLive map
  7. 15Ward County1238,607 wells on the mapLive map
  8. 16Culberson County1161,797 wells on the mapLive map
The other 45 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. 1Pioneer Natural Res. USA, Inc.667
  2. 2Diamondback E&P LLC552
  3. 3De Central Operating, LLC194
  4. 4Ovintiv USA Inc.171
  5. 5Apache Corporation162
  6. 6Anadarko E&P Onshore LLC150
  7. 7OXY USA Inc.141
  8. 8Blackbeard Operating, LLC122
  9. 9Continental Resources, Inc.122
  10. 10Cog Operating LLC120
  11. 11Oxyrock Operating, LLC114
  12. 12Occidental Permian Ltd.105

Wells completed each year

Most in 2012: 8,407. 2025: 4,037. 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 Permian Basin?

This page counts every well and permit in the 61 counties the Railroad Commission lists for the Permian Basin. 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