Texas drilling permits, completions statistics for December 2018
AUSTIN –– The Railroad Commission of Texas (Commission) issued a total of 811 original drilling permits in December 2018 compared to 885 in December 2017. The December 2018 total included 750 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, 10 to re-enter plugged well bores and 51 for re-completions of existing well bores. The breakdown of well types for those permits is 180 oil, 43 gas, 537 oil or gas, 46 injection, one service and four other permits.
In December 2018, Commission staff processed 564 oil, 156 gas, 27 injection and three other completions compared to 514 oil, 80 gas, 26 injection and three other completions in December 2017. Total well completions processed for 2018 are 10,986; up from 6,914 recorded in 2017.
According to Baker Hughes Inc., the Texas rig count as of January 4 was 534, representing about 50% of all active rigs in the United States.
