KARNES County
District 10 · Permian (West) · Permits since 1977-06-08 · Data through 2026-09-02
Karnes County permitting is running 10 permits a month over the trailing 90 days (31 total, down 48% on the prior quarter). BURLINGTON RESOURCES O & G CO LP leads with 44 permits in the past 12 months, one of 13 operators active in the county. One operator filed a first Karnes County permit in the past year. Median permitted depth over the past year is 14,000 ft; 98% of the past year's permits are horizontal.
Permits (1yr)
161
vs Prior
-26%
Operators (1yr)
13
Avg Depth (1yr)
14,647
Hz % (1yr)
98%
All Time
9,979
Depth Range: 325 - 27,000 ft
SWD wells in KARNES County → 41 active injection & disposal wells · full UIC inventory
Saltwater disposal in KARNES County → 52 disposal permits · SWD operators, capacity & injected volumes
Earthquakes in KARNES County → 49 M2+ events in 24mo · TexNet
Permit Activity
Permit Types (1yr)
DRILL
155
-39 vs prior
RECOMP
6
-19 vs prior
Top Operators
by permits, trailing 12 mo View All
| OPERATOR | PERMITS 12MO | WELLS |
|---|---|---|
| BURLINGTON RESOURCES O & G CO LP | 44 | 628 |
| MARATHON OIL EF LLC | 26 | 1753 |
| BPX OPERATING COMPANY | 20 | 254 |
| EOG RESOURCES, INC. | 18 | 1127 |
| MAGNOLIA OIL & GAS OPERATING LLC | 15 | 312 |
| SILVER HILL ENERGY OPERATING LLC | 12 | 24 |
| REPSOL OIL & GAS USA, LLC | 8 | 381 |
| GULFTEX ENERGY, LLC | 7 | 55 |
| DEVON ENERGY PRODUCTION CO, L.P. | 3 | 795 |
| BAYTEX ENERGY USA, INC. | 3 | 0 |
Recent Permits
View All| PERMIT | LEASE | TYPE | ISSUED |
|---|---|---|---|
| 918206 | RUPPERT A | DRILL | 2026-09-02 |
| 918216 | RUPPERT A | DRILL | 2026-09-02 |
| 918106 | CHRISTINE-HAUSMANN UNIT B | DRILL | 2026-09-02 |
| 918102 | CHRISTINE-HAUSMANN UNIT C | DRILL | 2026-09-02 |
| 918214 | RUPPERT A | DRILL | 2026-09-02 |
| 917574 | KIMBLE-G MALIK SA D | DRILL | 2026-08-31 |
| 917863 | CHRISTINE | DRILL | 2026-08-18 |
| 917865 | CHRISTINE | DRILL | 2026-08-18 |
| 917864 | CHRISTINE | DRILL | 2026-08-18 |
| 917573 | KIMBLE-G MALIK SA C | DRILL | 2026-08-05 |
New to KARNES County
first county permit, past 12 mo| OPERATOR | FIRST PERMIT | PERMITS | BACKGROUND |
|---|---|---|---|
| SILVER HILL ENERGY OPERATING LLC | 2026-04-20 | 12 | active elsewhere in TX |
Formations Beneath KARNES County
from RRC completion filings| FORMATION | WELLS | MEDIAN TOP (FT) |
|---|---|---|
| Austin Chalk | 5,630 | 11,214 |
| Eagle Ford | 5,129 | 11,516 |
| Wilcox | 4,346 | 5,158 |
| Queen City | 4,057 | 3,873 |
| Reklaw | 4,025 | 3,960 |
| Carrizo | 4,003 | 4,464 |
| Yegua | 3,573 | 1,944 |
| Anacacho | 1,848 | 10,537 |