Well Permits

Real-time well permit data from state regulatory agencies. Track new drilling permits as they're filed across 26 US oil and gas producing states.

Sources: 26 state regulatory agencies including Texas RRC, Oklahoma OCC, New Mexico OCD, NDIC, CalGEM, PA DEP, and more Frequency: Daily for high-volume states, weekly for others (within 24-48 hours of state publication) Tier Required: Well Permits Add-on or Enterprise Total Coverage: 26 states representing 99%+ of US onshore drilling activity

For free public data and pSEO endpoints, see Drilling Intelligence (Public).

Pricing Tiers

Tier	Coverage	Monthly
Starter	1 state	$49
Regional	TX, OK, NM (3 states)	$99
US Complete	All 26 states	$349

State	Code	UTC	Eastern	Central
Kansas	KS	6:00 AM	1:00 AM	12:00 AM
Tennessee	TN	7:00 AM	2:00 AM	1:00 AM
Nebraska	NE	8:00 AM	3:00 AM	2:00 AM
New York	NY	8:00 AM	3:00 AM	2:00 AM
Alaska	AK	10:00 AM	5:00 AM	4:00 AM
Mississippi	MS	1:00 PM	8:00 AM	7:00 AM
Alabama	AL	2:00 PM	9:00 AM	8:00 AM
Texas	TX	8:00 PM	3:00 PM	2:00 PM
Oklahoma	OK	9:00 PM	4:00 PM	3:00 PM
New Mexico	NM	10:00 PM	5:00 PM	4:00 PM
California	CA	11:00 PM	6:00 PM	5:00 PM
North Dakota	ND	12:00 AM	7:00 PM	6:00 PM
Colorado	CO	1:00 AM	8:00 PM	7:00 PM
Louisiana	LA	2:00 AM	9:00 PM	8:00 PM

Weekly Updates

State	Code	Day	UTC	Eastern	Central
Pennsylvania	PA	Sun	4:00 AM	11:00 PM Sat	10:00 PM Sat
West Virginia	WV	Mon	7:00 AM	2:00 AM	1:00 AM
Arkansas	AR	Mon	9:00 AM	4:00 AM	3:00 AM
Kentucky	KY	Mon	10:00 AM	5:00 AM	4:00 AM
Illinois	IL	Mon	3:00 PM	10:00 AM	9:00 AM
Virginia	VA	Mon	4:00 PM	11:00 AM	10:00 AM
Florida	FL	Tue	8:00 AM	3:00 AM	2:00 AM
Utah	UT	Tue	11:00 AM	6:00 AM	5:00 AM
Wyoming	WY	Wed	6:00 AM	1:00 AM	12:00 AM
Michigan	MI	Wed	9:00 AM	4:00 AM	3:00 AM
Montana	MT	Wed	12:00 PM	7:00 AM	6:00 AM
Indiana	IN	Thu	10:00 AM	5:00 AM	4:00 AM
Ohio	OH	Sat	5:00 AM	12:00 AM	11:00 PM Fri

Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	`/v1/ei/well-permits`	List paginated permits
GET	`/v1/ei/well-permits/latest`	Recent permits (default: 7 days)
GET	`/v1/ei/well-permits/by-state`	Filter by state
GET	`/v1/ei/well-permits/by-operator`	Filter by operator name
GET	`/v1/ei/well-permits/by-formation`	Filter by target formation
GET	`/v1/ei/well-permits/search`	Geographic/text search
GET	`/v1/ei/well-permits/summary`	Activity summary stats
GET	`/v1/ei/well-permits/:api_number`	Single permit by API number

List Permits

GET /v1/ei/well-permits

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`page`	integer	1	Page number
`per_page`	integer	25	Results per page (max 100)
`states`	string	all	Comma-separated: `TX,OK,NM`
`start_date`	date	none	Filter from date
`end_date`	date	none	Filter to date

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "well_permits": [
    {
      "api_number": "42-003-12345-00-00",
      "state_code": "TX",
      "county": "Midland",
      "permit_number": "849367",
      "permit_type": "new_drill",
      "permit_status": "approved",
      "permit_date": "2025-12-30",
      "operator": {
        "name": "ConocoPhillips Company",
        "name_normalized": "conocophillips",
        "number": "123456"
      },
      "well": {
        "name": "UNIVERSITY 42-3 #1H",
        "number": "1H",
        "type": "oil"
      },
      "location": {
        "latitude": 31.9686,
        "longitude": -102.0779
      },
      "target": {
        "formation": "Wolfcamp",
        "formation_normalized": "WOLFCAMP",
        "total_depth_proposed": 12500
      },
      "provenance": {
        "source": "texas_rrc",
        "fetched_at": "2025-12-30T14:25:00Z"
      }
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "total_count": 1250,
    "page": 1,
    "per_page": 25,
    "total_pages": 50
  }
}

Latest Permits

Get the most recent permits across states.

GET /v1/ei/well-permits/latest

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`days`	integer	7	Lookback period (1-90)
`states`	string	all	Comma-separated: `TX,OK,NM`
`per_page`	integer	25	Max results (1-100)

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "well_permits": [...],
  "meta": {
    "days": 7,
    "states": ["TX", "OK", "NM"],
    "count": 25,
    "as_of": "2025-12-31T12:00:00Z",
    "data_quality": {
      "TX": {
        "date_coverage": "full",
        "source": "Texas Railroad Commission"
      },
      "OK": {
        "date_coverage": "full",
        "source": "Oklahoma Corporation Commission"
      },
      "NM": {
        "date_coverage": "partial",
        "source": "New Mexico Oil Conservation Division",
        "note": "Historical data before 2020 may have gaps"
      }
    }
  }
}

Data Quality Tiers

The data_quality field provides transparency about data completeness per state:

Coverage	Description
`full`	100% of permits have dates, high confidence
`partial`	50-99% date coverage, some gaps in historical data
`limited`	<50% date coverage, source limitations

By State

Filter permits by a specific state.

GET /v1/ei/well-permits/by-state

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`state`	string	Yes	State code: `TX`, `OK`, or `NM`
`start_date`	date	No	Filter from date
`end_date`	date	No	Filter to date
`page`	integer	No	Page number
`per_page`	integer	No	Results per page (max 100)

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "well_permits": [...],
  "state": "TX",
  "meta": {
    "total_count": 850,
    "page": 1,
    "per_page": 25,
    "total_pages": 34
  }
}

By Operator

Search permits by operator name (fuzzy matching).

GET /v1/ei/well-permits/by-operator

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`operator`	string	Yes	Operator name (partial match)
`states`	string	No	Filter by states
`start_date`	date	No	Filter from date
`end_date`	date	No	Filter to date

Example

GET /v1/ei/well-permits/by-operator?operator=ConocoPhillips

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "well_permits": [...],
  "operator_query": "ConocoPhillips",
  "meta": {
    "total_count": 47,
    "page": 1,
    "per_page": 25,
    "total_pages": 2
  }
}

By Formation

Search permits by target formation.

GET /v1/ei/well-permits/by-formation

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`formation`	string	Yes	Formation name (partial match)
`states`	string	No	Filter by states
`start_date`	date	No	Filter from date
`end_date`	date	No	Filter to date

Common Formations

Basin	Formations
Permian	Wolfcamp, Bone Spring, Spraberry, Delaware
Anadarko	Woodford, Springer, Meramec, SCOOP, STACK
Eagle Ford	Eagle Ford, Austin Chalk
Bakken	Bakken, Three Forks

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "well_permits": [...],
  "formation_query": "Wolfcamp",
  "meta": {
    "total_count": 312,
    "page": 1,
    "per_page": 25,
    "total_pages": 13
  }
}

Geographic Search

Search permits by location and other criteria.

GET /v1/ei/well-permits/search

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`latitude`	float	No	Center latitude
`longitude`	float	No	Center longitude
`radius_miles`	float	No	Search radius (1-100, default: 10)
`county`	string	No	County name (partial match)
`well_name`	string	No	Well name (partial match)
`permit_type`	string	No	Type: `new_drill`, `recomplete`, `reenter`
`well_type`	string	No	Type: `oil`, `gas`, `injection`
`states`	string	No	Filter by states

Example: Permian Basin Search

GET /v1/ei/well-permits/search?latitude=31.97&longitude=-102.08&radius_miles=25

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "well_permits": [...],
  "meta": {
    "total_count": 89,
    "page": 1,
    "per_page": 25,
    "total_pages": 4
  }
}

Summary Statistics

Get aggregate permit activity stats.

GET /v1/ei/well-permits/summary

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`days`	integer	30	Analysis period (1-365)

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "period_days": 30,
  "total_permits": 1847,
  "by_state": {
    "TX": 1102,
    "OK": 423,
    "NM": 322
  },
  "top_operators": [
    { "name": "conocophillips", "count": 89 },
    { "name": "eog resources", "count": 76 },
    { "name": "pioneer natural", "count": 68 }
  ],
  "top_formations": [
    { "name": "WOLFCAMP", "count": 412 },
    { "name": "BONE_SPRING", "count": 287 },
    { "name": "SPRABERRY", "count": 198 }
  ],
  "by_permit_type": {
    "new_drill": 1623,
    "recomplete": 156,
    "reenter": 68
  },
  "weekly_trend": [
    { "week": "2025-12-02", "count": 387 },
    { "week": "2025-12-09", "count": 412 },
    { "week": "2025-12-16", "count": 398 },
    { "week": "2025-12-23", "count": 340 },
    { "week": "2025-12-30", "count": 310 }
  ],
  "last_updated": "2025-12-31T06:00:00Z"
}

Single Permit

Get detailed information for a specific permit by API number.

GET /v1/ei/well-permits/:api_number

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "well_permit": {
    "api_number": "42-003-12345-00-00",
    "api_number_raw": "42003123450000",
    "state_code": "TX",
    "county": "Midland",
    "permit_number": "849367",
    "permit_type": "new_drill",
    "permit_status": "approved",
    "permit_date": "2025-12-30",
    "approval_date": "2025-12-30",
    "spud_date": null,
    "operator": {
      "name": "ConocoPhillips Company",
      "name_normalized": "conocophillips",
      "number": "123456"
    },
    "well": {
      "name": "UNIVERSITY 42-3 #1H",
      "number": "1H",
      "type": "oil"
    },
    "location": {
      "latitude": 31.9686,
      "longitude": -102.0779
    },
    "legal_description": {
      "section": "42",
      "township": "3S",
      "range": "37E",
      "abstract": "A-1234",
      "survey": "University Lands",
      "block": "42"
    },
    "target": {
      "formation": "Wolfcamp",
      "formation_normalized": "WOLFCAMP",
      "total_depth_proposed": 12500
    },
    "lease_name": "UNIVERSITY 42-3",
    "uwi": null,
    "validation": {
      "status": "validated",
      "errors": {}
    },
    "provenance": {
      "source": "texas_rrc",
      "source_url": "https://www.rrc.texas.gov/...",
      "fetched_at": "2025-12-30T14:25:00Z",
      "data_as_of": "2025-12-30"
    },
    "metadata": {},
    "created_at": "2025-12-30T14:30:00Z",
    "updated_at": "2025-12-30T14:30:00Z"
  }
}

API Number Format

Well permits use standardized 14-digit API numbers:

SS-CCC-WWWWW-SS-EE

Component	Description	Example
SS	FIPS state code	42 (Texas)
CCC	FIPS county code	003 (Andrews)
WWWWW	Well number	12345
SS	Sidetrack code	00
EE	Event sequence	00

State Codes (FIPS):

State	Code	State	Code
Texas	42	Pennsylvania	42
Oklahoma	35	Ohio	39
New Mexico	30	Wyoming	56
California	06	West Virginia	54
North Dakota	38	Montana	30
Colorado	08	Utah	49
Louisiana	22	Arkansas	05
Alaska	02	Kansas	20
Florida	12	Mississippi	28
Indiana	18	Nebraska	31
Kentucky	21	New York	36
Tennessee	47	Michigan	26
Virginia	51	Illinois	17
Alabama	01

Webhooks

Subscribe to real-time permit notifications via webhooks.

Events

Event	Description
`drilling.well_permit.new`	New permit filed
`drilling.well_permits.batch`	Batch of permits (daily)

Webhook Payload

{
  "id": "evt_abc123",
  "event": "drilling.well_permit.new",
  "created_at": "2025-12-31T14:30:00Z",
  "data": {
    "api_number": "42-003-12345-00-00",
    "state_code": "TX",
    "county": "Midland",
    "permit_type": "new_drill",
    "permit_status": "approved",
    "permit_date": "2025-12-31",
    "operator": {
      "name": "ConocoPhillips Company",
      "name_raw": "CONOCOPHILLIPS CO"
    },
    "well": {
      "name": "UNIVERSITY 42-3 #1H",
      "type": "oil"
    },
    "location": {
      "latitude": 31.9686,
      "longitude": -102.0779
    },
    "target": {
      "formation": "Wolfcamp",
      "total_depth_proposed": 12500
    },
    "provenance": {
      "source": "texas_rrc",
      "fetched_at": "2025-12-31T14:25:00Z"
    }
  }
}

See Webhooks for setup and signature verification.

Code Examples

Python

import requests

api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"
headers = {"Authorization": f"Token {api_key}"}
base_url = "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/ei"

# Get latest Texas permits
response = requests.get(
    f"{base_url}/well-permits/latest",
    headers=headers,
    params={"states": "TX", "days": 7}
)
data = response.json()

for permit in data["well_permits"]:
    print(f"{permit['api_number']}: {permit['operator']['name']} - {permit['well']['name']}")

JavaScript

const API_KEY = 'YOUR_API_KEY';
const BASE_URL = 'https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/ei';

// Get Wolfcamp permits in the Permian
const response = await fetch(
  `${BASE_URL}/well-permits/by-formation?formation=Wolfcamp&states=TX,NM`,
  { headers: { 'Authorization': `Token ${API_KEY}` } }
);
const data = await response.json();

console.log(`Found ${data.meta.total_count} Wolfcamp permits`);
data.well_permits.forEach(permit => {
  console.log(`${permit.operator.name}: ${permit.well.name}`);
});

cURL

# Get summary statistics for past 30 days
curl -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/ei/well-permits/summary?days=30"

Data Quality

Normalization

API Numbers: Standardized to 14-digit format
Operator Names: Fuzzy-matched to parent companies
Formations: Mapped to standard codes (e.g., "WOLF CAMP A" -> "WOLFCAMP")

Provenance

Every record includes:

source: State agency (texas_rrc, oklahoma_occ, new_mexico_ocd)
source_url: Direct link to source document
fetched_at: When OilPriceAPI retrieved the data
data_as_of: State's publication date

Latency

State	Source Type	Typical Latency
Texas	Bulk file	< 24 hours
Oklahoma	Excel export	< 24 hours
New Mexico	REST API	< 12 hours

Why Well Permits Matter

Leading Indicator: Permits precede drilling by 30-90 days
Operator Activity: Track company capital deployment
Basin Intelligence: Monitor formation and geographic trends
M&A Signals: Identify hot spots before public announcements

Rig Counts - Baker Hughes weekly data
Drilling Productivity - DUC wells and productivity
Forecasts - EIA STEO production outlook