HOWARD County
District 11 · Permian (East) · Permits since 1977-06-06 · Data through 2026-07-20
Howard County permitting is running 15 permits a month over the trailing 90 days (45 total, down 22% on the prior quarter). 2 were issued in the past week. DIAMONDBACK E&P LLC leads with 42 permits in the past 12 months, one of 15 operators active in the county. 3 operators filed a first Howard County permit in the past year. Median permitted depth over the past year is 9,500 ft (prior year: 9,000 ft); 93% of the past year's permits are horizontal.
Permits (all)
15164
Operators (all)
717
Avg Depth (all)
7,670
Hz % (all)
37%
All Time
15,164
Depth Range: 0 - 20,000 ft
SWD wells in HOWARD County → 1,180 active injection & disposal wells · full UIC inventory
Saltwater disposal in HOWARD County → 149 disposal permits · SWD operators, capacity & injected volumes
Earthquakes in HOWARD County → 45 M2+ events in 24mo · TexNet
Permit Activity
Permit Types (all)
DRILL
13672
RECOMP
970
RENTR
345
OTHER
111
FLD-XFR
47
RECLASS
19
Top Operators
by permits, trailing 12 mo View All
| OPERATOR | PERMITS 12MO | WELLS |
|---|---|---|
| DIAMONDBACK E&P LLC | 42 | 394 |
| SURGE OPERATING, LLC | 36 | 792 |
| HIGHPEAK ENERGY HOLDINGS, LLC | 25 | 575 |
| APACHE CORPORATION | 18 | 468 |
| OVINTIV USA INC. | 15 | 476 |
| OXYROCK OPERATING, LLC | 10 | 618 |
| BAYSWATER OPERATING COMPANY LLC | 10 | 185 |
| LANGFORD & BRIGHAM OPERATING LLC | 10 | 44 |
| OXY USA INC. | 5 | 253 |
| SM ENERGY COMPANY | 4 | 462 |
Recent Permits
View All| PERMIT | LEASE | TYPE | ISSUED |
|---|---|---|---|
| 917271 | THE PEAKS 29-17 A UNIT | DRILL | 2026-07-20 |
| 917272 | THE PEAKS 29-17 B UNIT | DRILL | 2026-07-20 |
| 916706 | VERTIGO 6-7 | DRILL | 2026-06-30 |
| 916704 | VERTIGO 6-7 | DRILL | 2026-06-30 |
| 916651 | ENGLE UNIT B 43-54 | DRILL | 2026-06-25 |
| 916642 | ENGLE UNIT A 43-54 | DRILL | 2026-06-24 |
| 916652 | ENGLE UNIT B 43-54 | DRILL | 2026-06-24 |
| 915969 | EVANS-ANTELL UNIT B 46-03 | DRILL | 2026-06-01 |
| 915971 | EVANS-ANTELL UNIT B 46-03 | DRILL | 2026-06-01 |
| 915972 | EVANS-ANTELL UNIT B 46-03 | DRILL | 2026-06-01 |
New to HOWARD County
first county permit, past 12 mo| OPERATOR | FIRST PERMIT | PERMITS | BACKGROUND |
|---|---|---|---|
| OUTLAW WATER SERVICES LLC | 2026-04-21 | 2 | first TX permits |
| TREK RESOURCES, INC. | 2026-03-03 | 2 | active elsewhere in TX |
| DKL WATER GATHERING PERMIAN, LLC | 2025-08-21 | 1 | first TX permits |
Formations Beneath HOWARD County
from RRC completion filings| FORMATION | WELLS | MEDIAN TOP (FT) |
|---|---|---|
| San Andres | 6,329 | 3,071 |
| Clear Fork | 5,274 | 4,547 |
| Spraberry | 5,255 | 6,316 |
| Yates | 5,165 | 1,771 |
| Glorieta | 4,155 | 3,875 |
| Seven Rivers | 3,668 | 1,800 |
| Dean | 3,142 | 7,423 |
| Wolfcamp | 2,623 | 7,564 |