Check Drilling Activity Before Selling Mineral Rights

Check drilling activity before selling mineral rights: a buyer has usually checked it before making an offer. Every producing state publishes permits, completions and production, but each record proves less than it seems: Pennsylvania's Active status means only that a permit was issued and the well is not plugged (Pennsylvania DEP, Apr 2022), and Texas reports production by lease, not by well (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).

This page covers the official well, permit, order and production systems of 14 producing states: what each kind of record shows, how far back and how current it is, what the status codes mean, and what the agencies themselves say their data cannot prove. A permit, a nearby well or a company slide is not proof that your tract will be drilled. Every point is taken from the state agency's own system or help pages.

Key Takeaways

Pennsylvania's Active status means a permit was issued, not that a well produces (Pennsylvania DEP, Apr 2022).
Texas reports production by lease, and one lease can combine many wells (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).
Texas production appears online with a two month lag (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).
The Texas drilling permit data covers every application since 1976 (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission does not hold the official production record (Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oct 2026).
In Oklahoma a spacing order alone does not pool owners (Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oct 2026).
North Dakota well production sits behind a paid subscription (North Dakota Oil and Gas Division, Oct 2026).
Most West Virginia production is reported once a year, due March 31 (WVDEP, Oct 2026).
Kansas production appeared online about three and a half months after the month ended (Kansas Geological Survey, Sep 2026).
Louisiana production reports are due within 60 days of the month (Louisiana Conservation, Oct 2026).
Colorado's online well production starts only in 1999 (Colorado ECMC, Oct 2026).
New Mexico may approve temporary abandonment for up to five years at a time (19.15.25 NMAC, Dec 2008).
Texas says its well data may not suit legal or surveying use (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).

Which state records show drilling near your minerals?

The state oil and gas regulator's well, permit, order and production systems. Most hold production data going back four decades or more, though Colorado's online history starts in 1999 and North Dakota's free reports in 2003.

Check drilling activity before selling mineral rights: years of production history online by state, from 49 years in Louisiana to 23 in North Dakota's free reports — Figure 1: Louisiana, Wyoming and Arkansas hold the longest online production histories; Colorado and North Dakota's free reports the shortest. Source: State agency data pages, as linked in the table, Oct 2026. Drawn by American Mineral Registry from the cited source, checked October 8, 2026.

State	Agency system	What it holds	Production online from
Texas	Railroad Commission	Permits since 1976, completions, plugging, field rules, unit plats in permit files	January 1993, by lease
New Mexico	Oil Conservation Division	Wells, completions, spacing units, well files, orders and case files	Start year not stated
Oklahoma	Corporation Commission	Intent to drill, completions from 2010, spacing and pooling orders	Held by the Oklahoma Tax Commission
North Dakota	Oil and Gas Division	Scout tickets, completions, well files, orders and case files	Free monthly reports from 2003
Colorado	ECMC COGIS	Permits, completion reports, status, production by well	1999
Wyoming	WOGCC	Wells, permits, dockets and orders, production by well	1978
Pennsylvania	DEP Oil and Gas Reports	Permits, spud dates, inspections, enforcement, production	1980
West Virginia	WVDEP Office of Oil and Gas	Wells, permits, enforcement, yearly production	1985
Ohio	ODNR	Permits and plugs, completions, annual production	1984
Louisiana	SONRIS	Well files, field orders, unit survey plats, production	1977, by lease, unit or well
Kansas	Kansas Geological Survey	Well records, scanned completion forms, lease production	1980s, by lease
Utah	DOGM Data Research Center	Wells, permits, spud dates, well files, orders	1984
Montana	BOGC DataMiner	Wells and activity, production by well, Board orders	Start year not stated
Arkansas	Oil and Gas Commission	Weekly permits and completions, well files, orders	1979

What does Texas publish?

Permits back to 1976, wellbore records for most wells ever drilled, and lease production from 1993.

Texas well records hold drilling permit applications, completion reports, plugging reports and transporter authority forms for each well (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).
The Texas drilling permit data set covers every application to drill an oil or gas well in Texas since 1976 (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).
Texas drilling permit records include the plats that designate the acreage in a pooled unit (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).
The Texas production query covers January 1993 to the present; earlier reports come from Central Records on request (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).

What do other states publish?

Similar records, with gaps that matter for an owner.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission does not hold the official production record and points owners to the Oklahoma Tax Commission (Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oct 2026).
North Dakota's well level production sits behind a subscription, while its monthly production report is free (North Dakota Oil and Gas Division, Oct 2026).
Colorado's online well production starts in 1999; older lease production is in paper books at the Denver office (Colorado ECMC, Oct 2026).
Wyoming's statewide production downloads run from 1978 to the compile date (WOGCC, Oct 2026).
Louisiana holds production data from 1977 by lease, unit or well, with earlier records as imaged audit cards (Louisiana Conservation, Feb 2026).
Arkansas's annual production reports run from 1979; older history is on scanned yearly cards (Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, Oct 2026).

What does each kind of record prove?

Less than its name suggests. A permit shows an intent to drill, a spacing order sets a unit's size, and a production report often combines several wells, so none of them alone says your tract is being developed or what it pays.

What each record proves and does not: permit, spacing order, pooling order or unit plat, completion report and production report — Figure 2: Each record answers one narrow question, and none on its own shows your share of a well's output. Source: Railroad Commission of Texas, Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Pennsylvania DEP and Louisiana Conservation pages, Oct 2026. Drawn by American Mineral Registry from the cited source, checked October 8, 2026.

What does a drilling permit show?

An application or approval to drill, and many permits are never used.

Oklahoma publishes an Intent to Drill master file, updated daily (Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oct 2026).
Oklahoma's status code EX marks a permit that expired without the well being drilled (Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oct 2026).
Pennsylvania marks permits that expired before drilling began as proposed but never materialized (Pennsylvania DEP, Apr 2022).
Wyoming's permit codes separate an active permit, an expired permit and a drilling or drilled permit (WOGCC, Oct 2026).
The Kansas Geological Survey places the drilling permit among the legal steps completed before a rig moves in (Kansas Geological Survey, Apr 2001).

What do spacing and pooling orders show?

The size of a unit and who shares in it, which are separate steps in some states.

The Texas field rules data set holds the spacing and production rules for each field (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).
In Oklahoma a spacing order alone does not combine owners; pooling is a separate application and hearing (Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oct 2026).
Oklahoma pooling orders usually require escrow for owners with unknown addresses or title problems and limit the time to drill (Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oct 2026).
Louisiana unit survey plats show mineral ownership of a pooled unit and are required only for units that produced (Louisiana Conservation, Feb 2026).
New Mexico's monthly data extracts include wells, completions, pools, properties and spacing units (New Mexico OCD, Oct 2026).

Does a production report show your well?

Often not on its own; several states report by lease or unit.

Texas reports production by lease, not by individual well, and one oil lease can combine many wells (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).
Louisiana's SONRIS shows production by the lease, unit or well tied to a serial number at that time, not necessarily the well alone (Louisiana Conservation, Oct 2026).
Kansas production at the Geological Survey is by lease, received monthly from the Department of Revenue (Kansas Geological Survey, Oct 2026).
The Texas lease or well number may differ from the number on an owner's payment stub (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).

How current is the production data?

Weeks to months behind, and in West Virginia a year or more. Recent months are also the ones most likely to change as late or corrected reports arrive.

Months before production appears: about 1.5 in North Dakota, 2 in Texas and Louisiana, about 3.5 in Kansas, up to 15 in West Virginia — Figure 3: Most states show production within two to four months; West Virginia's yearly reporting can leave a year or more unseen. Source: Railroad Commission of Texas, NDIC, Louisiana Conservation, KGS and WVDEP pages, Oct 2026. Drawn by American Mineral Registry from the cited source, checked October 8, 2026.

How long before production appears?

Each state publishes its own lag or deadline.

Texas states a two month lag for online production because reports are due at the end of the following month (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).
North Dakota's monthly production reports appear about one month and 15 days after the reporting month ends (North Dakota Oil and Gas Division, Oct 2026).
Louisiana production reports are due within 60 days of the production month (Louisiana Conservation, Oct 2026).
The Kansas Geological Survey added production through May 2026 on September 11, 2026, about three and a half months later (Kansas Geological Survey, Sep 2026).
West Virginia production is reported once a year for most wells, due March 31 of the following year (WVDEP, Oct 2026).
In West Virginia only horizontal H6A wells report production quarterly; all others report annually (WVDEP, Oct 2026).
Ohio horizontal wells report production quarterly and vertical wells annually (ODNR, Feb 2026).

Can published production change later?

Yes, and some reports are never updated.

Texas production figures can change later as revised, corrected or late reports arrive (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).
Utah's monthly PDF reports are run once and not updated for later amendments (Utah DOGM, Oct 2026).
Pennsylvania's production data are as reported by the well operator (Pennsylvania DEP, Oct 2026).

What a check should pay from production and your decimal is worked out in the oil and gas royalty calculator.

What do well status codes mean?

They place a well in its life from permit to plug, but each state names the stages differently, and a shut in or temporarily abandoned well can stay that way for years.

The life of a well in state records: permit issued or expired, drilled and completed, producing or shut in, temporarily abandoned or plugged — Figure 4: Shut in and temporarily abandoned wells are not plugged, and in several states can sit idle for years with approval. Source: OCC, ECMC, WOGCC, Utah DOGM, KGS and Pennsylvania DEP status tables, Oct 2026. Drawn by American Mineral Registry from the cited source, checked October 8, 2026.

What do shut in and temporarily abandoned mean?

An idle well that is not plugged.

New Mexico defines shut in as a well temporarily closed by a valve, disconnection or other physical means (19.15.2 NMAC, Dec 2008).
New Mexico may approve temporary abandonment for up to five years at a time (19.15.25 NMAC, Dec 2008).
Pennsylvania's regulatory inactive status covers a well capable of producing but temporarily shut in, granted for five years and then renewed yearly (Pennsylvania DEP, Apr 2022).
North Dakota grants temporarily abandoned status for one year, extendable, instead of plugging an abandoned well (North Dakota Oil and Gas Division, Jan 2012).
In Texas an inactive well returns to active status only after a status report and three straight months of minimum production (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).

How do states mark drilled and plugged wells?

With their own codes, which do not always separate producing from idle wells.

Oklahoma's status AC covers any drilled well not plugged, with no separate producing or shut in code (Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oct 2026).
Colorado's status codes separate shut in, temporarily abandoned, waiting on completion, producing and plugged and abandoned (Colorado ECMC, Oct 2026).
Wyoming uses SI for shut in, DR for dormant, TA for temporarily abandoned and PA for permanently abandoned (WOGCC, Oct 2026).
Kansas uses separate statuses for shut in, temporarily abandoned and plugged and abandoned (Kansas Geological Survey, Oct 2026).
Louisiana completion entries use codes including active, inactive future utility, waiting on pipeline and waiting on market (Louisiana Conservation, Oct 2026).

What do the agencies say their data cannot prove?

That it is accurate, complete, or fit for title work. Eleven of the 14 agencies reviewed disclaim the accuracy of their data, and several leave out confidential wells or older records.

Of 14 state oil and gas data systems read, 11 disclaim the accuracy of their data and 3 had no disclaimer on the pages read — Figure 5: Most agencies say plainly that their data may be wrong or incomplete, and put the checking on the user. Source: State agency disclaimer pages, as linked below, Oct 2026. Drawn by American Mineral Registry from the cited source, checked October 8, 2026.

What do the disclaimers say?

That the user checks the data, and that it is not a title record.

Texas says its GIS data sets are informational only and may not suit legal, engineering or surveying use (Railroad Commission of Texas, Oct 2026).
North Dakota warns that parts of its published information may be incorrect or out of date and are used at the user's risk (North Dakota Oil and Gas Division, Oct 2026).
Pennsylvania makes no guarantee about the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of its oil and gas report data (Pennsylvania DEP, Apr 2022).
Ohio says it cannot guarantee its production data are accurate or complete for any county or year (ODNR, Feb 2026).
The Kansas Geological Survey does not certify the completeness or accuracy of its production records (Kansas Geological Survey, Oct 2026).
Arkansas makes no warranty on completeness, accuracy or reliability and puts responsibility for conclusions on the user (Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, Oct 2026).

What is left out of the records?

Confidential wells, older paper, and some leases.

Production for confidential wells is withheld from North Dakota's subscription data (North Dakota Oil and Gas Division, Oct 2026).
Wyoming's statewide well download excludes confidential wells (WOGCC, Oct 2026).
The Kansas Geological Survey says it holds historical production for many leases, not all (Kansas Geological Survey, Oct 2026).
New Mexico says not every order has a location attached, so a location search for orders can miss some (New Mexico OCD, Oct 2026).
Most Louisiana hearing dockets are not imaged and must be viewed in person (Louisiana Conservation, Feb 2026).

Free official tools for every state are listed in free mineral rights search by state.

Methodology and Sources

Each of the 14 agencies' systems and help pages was opened on October 8, 2026; where an agency's site blocked AMR's network, an Internet Archive capture of the same page was read and is dated in the citation, as for Ohio. Record types, history, lags and status codes are quoted as each agency describes them, and status codes are not merged across states because they are not equivalent. A disclaimer is counted only where the agency's own page states one. Production history in the first chart runs from the first year each agency says its online data covers. The page is rechecked when an agency changes its system.

Glossary

Drilling permit: the regulator's approval for an operator to drill a well, which can expire unused.
Spud date: the day drilling of a well begins.
Completion: preparing a drilled well to produce oil or gas.
Spacing order: a regulator's order setting the size of the unit a well may drain.
Pooling order: an order combining owners' interests in a unit, sometimes without every owner's consent.
Shut in: a well closed off but not plugged.
Temporarily abandoned: an idle, unplugged well the regulator lets stay that way for a period.
Plugged and abandoned: a well sealed with cement and permanently closed.
Lease production: output reported for a lease, which can combine several wells.
API number: the unique number that identifies a well.

How to Check Drilling Activity Before Selling Mineral Rights