Drilling Intelligence API

Overview

Comprehensive drilling activity data including rig counts, frac spreads, well permits, and DUC (Drilled but Uncompleted) wells. Essential intelligence for energy traders, E&P companies, and market analysts tracking North American oil & gas production trends.

Access Level: Premium (Reservoir Mastery tier only)

Available Endpoints

Endpoint	Description	Update Frequency
`/v1/drilling-intelligence/latest`	All drilling metrics summary	Weekly/Monthly
`/v1/rig-counts/latest`	Latest rig count data	Weekly (Fridays)
`/v1/drilling-intelligence/frac-spreads`	Active frac spread counts	Monthly
`/v1/drilling-intelligence/well-permits`	New well permit data	Monthly
`/v1/drilling-intelligence/duc-wells`	DUC well inventory	Monthly
`/v1/drilling-intelligence/basin/{basin}`	Basin-specific data	Varies

Authentication

All drilling intelligence endpoints require premium API access:

curl -X GET "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/drilling-intelligence/latest" \
  -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

Rig Counts

Latest Rig Counts

GET /v1/rig-counts/latest

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "us": {
      "total": 625,
      "oil": 502,
      "gas": 119,
      "miscellaneous": 4,
      "week_change": -3,
      "year_ago": 734
    },
    "canada": {
      "total": 218,
      "oil": 142,
      "gas": 76,
      "week_change": 5,
      "year_ago": 195
    },
    "international": {
      "total": 843,
      "month_change": 12,
      "year_ago": 798
    },
    "metadata": {
      "source": "Baker Hughes",
      "release_date": "2025-09-20",
      "next_release": "2025-09-27"
    }
  }
}

Historical Rig Counts

GET /v1/rig-counts/historical?period=52w

Frac Spreads

Active hydraulic fracturing crew counts by major basin:

GET /v1/drilling-intelligence/frac-spreads

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "total_us": 265,
    "by_basin": {
      "permian": 145,
      "eagle_ford": 35,
      "bakken": 28,
      "haynesville": 22,
      "marcellus": 18,
      "other": 17
    },
    "month_change": -8,
    "year_ago": 290,
    "metadata": {
      "data_date": "2025-09-01",
      "source": "Primary Vision"
    }
  }
}

Well Permits

New drilling permits issued by state:

GET /v1/drilling-intelligence/well-permits

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "total_permits": 4250,
    "by_state": {
      "texas": 1850,
      "new_mexico": 620,
      "north_dakota": 380,
      "oklahoma": 425,
      "colorado": 290,
      "wyoming": 185,
      "other": 500
    },
    "month_over_month": {
      "absolute": 125,
      "percentage": 3.0
    },
    "oil_vs_gas": {
      "oil_permits": 3200,
      "gas_permits": 1050
    },
    "metadata": {
      "period": "2025-08",
      "source": "State Regulatory Agencies"
    }
  }
}

DUC Wells (Drilled but Uncompleted)

Inventory of wells drilled but awaiting completion:

GET /v1/drilling-intelligence/duc-wells

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "total_duc_wells": 4435,
    "by_basin": {
      "permian": {
        "count": 893,
        "month_change": -45,
        "months_inventory": 3.2
      },
      "eagle_ford": {
        "count": 345,
        "month_change": -12,
        "months_inventory": 4.1
      },
      "bakken": {
        "count": 328,
        "month_change": -8,
        "months_inventory": 5.5
      },
      "niobrara": {
        "count": 287,
        "month_change": 5,
        "months_inventory": 4.8
      }
    },
    "trends": {
      "three_month": "declining",
      "six_month": "declining",
      "completion_rate": "accelerating"
    },
    "metadata": {
      "data_date": "2025-08-31",
      "source": "EIA Drilling Productivity Report",
      "next_release": "2025-09-15"
    }
  }
}

Basin-Specific Data

Get all drilling metrics for a specific basin:

GET /v1/drilling-intelligence/basin/permian

Response:

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "basin": "Permian",
    "rig_count": 302,
    "frac_spreads": 145,
    "duc_wells": 893,
    "new_permits": 850,
    "production": {
      "oil_mbpd": 5842,
      "gas_bcfd": 21.3,
      "month_over_month_change": 1.2
    },
    "breakeven_price": 38.50,
    "operators": {
      "active_count": 145,
      "top_5": [
        "Pioneer Natural Resources",
        "EOG Resources",
        "Chevron",
        "ConocoPhillips",
        "Occidental"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Summary Endpoint

Get all drilling intelligence metrics in one call:

GET /v1/drilling-intelligence/summary

Market Impact Analysis

Leading Indicators

Metric	Increasing	Decreasing
Rig Count	Higher future production	Lower future production
Frac Spreads	Near-term production boost	Production slowdown
Well Permits	Future drilling activity up	Future drilling down
DUC Wells	Potential for quick production	Completions outpacing drilling

Typical Lead Times

Rig Count → Production: 4-6 months
Frac Spreads → Production: 1-3 months
Permits → Drilling: 6-12 months
DUC Completions → Production: 2-4 weeks

Rate Limits

Requests: 100 per minute
Cache: 5 minutes for real-time, 1 hour for historical

Example Usage

Python - Production Forecast

import requests

def analyze_production_outlook():
    headers = {'Authorization': 'Token YOUR_API_KEY'}

    # Get drilling intelligence
    response = requests.get(
        'https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/drilling-intelligence/summary',
        headers=headers
    )
    data = response.json()

    # Simple production outlook
    rig_trend = data['rig_counts']['us']['week_change']
    duc_trend = data['duc_wells']['total_change']

    if rig_trend > 0 and duc_trend < 0:
        return "Bullish: Rigs up, DUCs being completed"
    elif rig_trend < 0 and duc_trend > 0:
        return "Bearish: Rigs down, DUCs building"
    else:
        return "Neutral: Mixed signals"

JavaScript - Basin Comparison

async function compareBasins() {
  const basins = ['permian', 'bakken', 'eagle-ford'];
  const data = {};

  for (const basin of basins) {
    const response = await fetch(
      `https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/drilling-intelligence/basin/${basin}`,
      {
        headers: {
          'Authorization': 'Token YOUR_API_KEY'
        }
      }
    );
    data[basin] = await response.json();
  }

  // Find most active basin
  const mostActive = Object.entries(data)
    .sort((a, b) => b[1].data.rig_count - a[1].data.rig_count)[0];

  console.log(`Most active basin: ${mostActive[0]} with ${mostActive[1].data.rig_count} rigs`);
}

Error Codes

Code	Description
401	Invalid or missing API key
403	Premium access required
404	Basin or data not found
429	Rate limit exceeded
503	Data temporarily unavailable

Data Sources

Rig Counts: Baker Hughes (weekly, Fridays at noon CST)
Frac Spreads: Primary Vision (monthly)
Well Permits: State regulatory agencies (monthly)
DUC Wells: EIA Drilling Productivity Report (monthly)

/v1/prices/latest?code=WTI_USD - WTI crude oil price
/v1/prices/latest?code=NATURAL_GAS_USD - Natural gas price
/v1/storage/cushing - Cushing oil storage levels