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COUNTIES · PERMIAN BASIN · DISTRICT 08 · CODE 227

Howard County, Texas

The RRC's county figures put Howard County at 79,420,072 bbl of oil and 414,319,639 Mcf of gas in the twelve months through August 2026; oil is down 24% on the twelve months before.

2,335 leases under 88 operators had production in those months.

Howard County permitting is running 9.0 permits a month over the trailing 90 days (27 total, down 13% on the prior quarter).

Surge Operating, LLC leads with 34 permits in the past 12 months, one of 16 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); 91% of the past year's permits are horizontal.

The county has 1,165 active disposal and injection permits of 3,042 on file, with 496M barrels injected in the 12 months reported through September 2025.

137 earthquakes of magnitude 2 or more were located in the county's permit footprint over the past two years, the largest M4.3.

12,711 drilling permits have been issued in Howard County since 1977.

12,711 permits on file since 1977 · last issued Oct 30, 2026

Email me new permits

Also: every Howard County well in the statewide list, searchable → · a year of permits on the map →

5,769
active wells · 16,375 on file
88
producing operators, 12 months
2,335
producing leases, 12 months
79.4M
bbl oil, 12 months through Aug 2026 · −24%
414M
Mcf gas, same 12 months · +0%

RRC COUNTY FIGURES · NO. 6 IN OIL AND NO. 11 IN GAS OF 219 PRODUCING TEXAS COUNTIES

Howard County oil and gas production

RRC COUNTY FIGURES · THROUGH AUG 2026

Texas operators report production by lease, and the Railroad Commission totals it by county. Where a lease lies in more than one county, the split between them is the RRC's. Oil includes condensate; gas includes casinghead gas. Leases are still filing for Aug 2026, so that month and the twelve-month totals will rise.

12 months through Aug 2026 79,420,072 · prior 12 104,964,385(-24%)

05M10M15M2017201820192020202120222023202420252026

Latest months

MonthOilGas
Aug 2026still arriving5,077,958 bbl30,188,292 Mcf
Jul 20265,637,226 bbl33,946,230 Mcf
Jun 20265,710,462 bbl33,669,243 Mcf
May 20266,458,246 bbl35,016,226 Mcf
Apr 20266,393,667 bbl34,263,179 Mcf
Mar 20266,498,005 bbl35,632,466 Mcf
Feb 20266,131,573 bbl32,089,908 Mcf
Jan 20266,860,442 bbl35,206,086 Mcf
Dec 20257,463,621 bbl36,383,253 Mcf
Nov 20257,537,394 bbl35,720,864 Mcf
Oct 20257,979,821 bbl36,562,963 Mcf
Sep 20257,671,657 bbl35,640,929 Mcf

Operators by production

12 MONTHS THROUGH AUG 2026

  1. Oxyrock Operating, LLC212 leases

    11.8M bbl · 57.4M Mcf

  2. Surge Operating, LLC164 leases

    11M bbl · 59.6M Mcf

  3. SM Energy Company180 leases

    9.65M bbl · 55.3M Mcf

  4. Highpeak Energy Holdings, LLC186 leases

    8.79M bbl · 27.2M Mcf

  5. Birch Operations, Inc.117 leases

    3.15M bbl · 56M Mcf

  6. OXY USA Inc.169 leases

    7.07M bbl · 24M Mcf

  7. Ovintiv USA Inc.224 leases

    5.76M bbl · 27.8M Mcf

  8. Diamondback E&P LLC138 leases

    3.43M bbl · 33.2M Mcf

88 operators had production here in the twelve months. Each month is credited to the operator that reported it; ranked by barrels of oil equivalent, 6 Mcf to the barrel.

Every operator in Howard County →

Largest leases

2,335 LEASES WITH PRODUCTION · 12 MONTHS THROUGH AUG 2026

LeaseOperatorFieldOil, 12 moGas, 12 mo
S WilkinsonOil 44968Oxyrock Operating, LLCSpraberry (Trend Area)2,195,903 bbl4,869,631 Mcf
Guitar NorthOil 48742SM Energy CompanySpraberry (Trend Area)794,334 bbl5,494,319 Mcf
Rosebud FOil 64899Oxyrock Operating, LLCSpraberry (Trend Area)796,094 bbl1,867,941 Mcf
Coachwhip 17-29 Unit 1Oil 58716Diamondback E&P LLCSpraberry (Trend Area)443,250 bbl2,682,892 Mcf
Rosebud EOil 64803Oxyrock Operating, LLCSpraberry (Trend Area)565,824 bbl1,379,557 Mcf
VLT Vulcan 1/13 UnitOil 61999Chevron U. S. A. Inc.Spraberry (Trend Area)485,352 bbl1,667,836 Mcf
RosebudOil 64820Oxyrock Operating, LLCSpraberry (Trend Area)465,626 bbl1,248,126 Mcf
Shooter McGavin AOil 50752SM Energy CompanySpraberry (Trend Area)425,297 bbl1,295,565 Mcf
El Rey 28-16Oil 62721Diamondback E&P LLCSpraberry (Trend Area)529,241 bbl351,713 Mcf
Sideoats FOil 64458Oxyrock Operating, LLCSpraberry (Trend Area)343,963 bbl1,142,552 Mcf
WheatgrassOil 65058Oxyrock Operating, LLCSpraberry (Trend Area)397,730 bbl686,058 Mcf
KingsleyOil 56164Ovintiv USA Inc.Spraberry (Trend Area)239,085 bbl1,614,209 Mcf
Direwolf Unit 16-28Oil 62989Surge Operating, LLCSpraberry (Trend Area)332,651 bbl1,041,044 Mcf
Chevron Unit 03-56Oil 55261Surge Operating, LLCSpraberry (Trend Area)306,878 bbl1,024,413 Mcf
Phil ConnorsOil 50818SM Energy CompanySpraberry (Trend Area)287,638 bbl1,115,258 Mcf

Ranked by barrels of oil equivalent, 6 Mcf to the barrel. A lease in two counties is listed with its share in this one.

Every lease in Howard County →

Wells by status

16,375 WELLBORES ON FILE

  1. Plugged

    5,187

  2. Producing

    5,045

  3. Shut In

    3,344

  4. Not on schedule

    1,518

  5. Injection

    695

  6. No Production

    308

  7. Spudded

    148

  8. Permitted

    77

From the RRC wellbore file and the permit record. Other sites count the RRC's map locations, which include dry holes and locations this file does not hold, so their totals differ.

Wells spudded, by year

HorizontalVertical and directional

02004006002002200420062008201020122014201620182020202220242026

Drilling permits

Window30 days90 days180 days365 days
27
permits issued, 90d
-13%
vs prior 90d (31)
6
operators filing
81%
horizontal
9,581
avg permitted depth, ft

WINDOWS ON THE RRC ISSUE DATE · COMPUTED NOV 12, 2026 · WHY ISSUE AND SEEN DATES DIFFER

Permits issued by month

LAST 120 MONTHS · BY ISSUE DATE

Last 12 months 154 · prior 12 166(-7%)

0501002017201820192020202120222023202420252026

Operators by permits, last 12 months

By permits issued. Wells are the operator’s current inventory here from the RRC wellbore file.

OperatorPermitsWells
Surge Operating, LLC34842
Diamondback E&P LLC32412
Highpeak Energy Holdings, LLC17600
Oxyrock Operating, LLC15618
SM Energy Company14465
Apache Corporation13589
Ovintiv USA Inc.12498
Bayswater Operating Company LLC7190
Langford & Brigham Operating LLC744
OXY USA Inc.3256

Full operator directory: 711 operators have filed a permit here since 1977 →

New entrants, last 12 months

Operators whose first permit in Howard County came in the last year. 3 in total.

Permit types, 90d

TypeWindowPriorAll time
Drill243111,287
Recompletion20939
Reenter10314

What the types mean →

Formations in completed wells

RRC WELLBORE FILE · ≥10 WELLS

Tops reported on completion filings for wells in Howard County. A well counts for every formation it reports, so this reads as the county's stratigraphic column. About tops →

Fewer than ten wells in Howard County report the Ellenburger, so it is below this table's cutoff. Back to the formation →

FormationWellsPermitted last 3 yrsMedian top, ftP10–P90
San Andres6,3734303,0902,018–3,566
Clear Fork5,3184294,5702,892–5,567
Spraberry5,2974206,2795,101–6,713
Yates5,2044211,7711,210–1,996
Glorieta4,1822983,9042,522–4,446
Seven Rivers3,6942211,8141,255–2,119
Dean3,1722217,4206,328–7,900
Wolfcamp2,626147,5566,534–8,077
Rustler1,7923921,194906–1,425
Leonard1,7161576,5935,236–7,508
Queen1,231141,6871,400–2,410
Grayburg1,022342,0121,654–3,017
Strawn1,01919,4218,833–9,698
Mississippian79309,8009,252–10,106
Santa Rosa77992747400–1,000

Beyond the permit record

RRC UIC permits · H-10 reported volumes

Disposal and injection

1,165
active UIC permits of 3,042
5.8M
permitted bbl/day, active
496M
bbl injected, last 12 reported months
Sep 2025
reported through

Every active well, operator, and daily reporter in Howard County →

Permitted volume is a ceiling, not throughput. How to read it →

USGS catalog, Texas

Seismicity, last 2 years

137
M2+ events in the area
M4.3
largest

Monthly counts, magnitudes, and every recent event in the area →

Events are not tagged with a county; this counts M2+ events inside the bounding box of the county’s located permits, padded 0.1°. About TexNet →

Latest permits

NEWEST FIRST BY ISSUE DATE

PermitSeenIssuedOperatorLease / wellDepthAPI
919415Nov 1, 2026Oct 30, 2026Enterprise Products OperatingllcWildcat #138022742941
919676Oct 28, 2026Oct 26, 2026Highpeak Energy Holdings, LLCWillis Winters #17,53622702549
919361Oct 22, 2026Oct 20, 2026Oxyrock Operating, LLCBluestem G #11DNH12,00022742940
919359Oct 22, 2026Oct 20, 2026Oxyrock Operating, LLCBluestem F #10HAH12,00022742939
919357Oct 22, 2026Oct 20, 2026Oxyrock Operating, LLCBluestem F #9LLH12,00022742938
919356Oct 22, 2026Oct 20, 2026Oxyrock Operating, LLCBluestem F #8DNH12,00022742937
919355Oct 22, 2026Oct 20, 2026Oxyrock Operating, LLCBluestem F #7JMH12,00022742936
919354Oct 22, 2026Oct 20, 2026Oxyrock Operating, LLCBluestem E #6LLH12,00022742935
919353Oct 22, 2026Oct 20, 2026Oxyrock Operating, LLCBluestem E #5HAH12,00022742934
919352Oct 22, 2026Oct 20, 2026Oxyrock Operating, LLCBluestem E #4DNH12,00022742933

All Howard County permits →

Questions about Howard County

How many drilling permits were issued in Howard County in the last 12 months?

163 permits were issued in Howard County in the last 12 months, down 8% from 178 in the 12 months before. 91% were for horizontal wells. The most recent was issued Oct 30, 2026. 12,711 are on file since 1977.

Every Howard County permit →

Who is the most active operator in Howard County?

By drilling permits filed in the last 12 months, Surge Operating, LLC is the most active operator in Howard County, with 34 of 163, followed by Diamondback E&P LLC (32) and Highpeak Energy Holdings, LLC (17). 6 operators filed permits here in the last 90 days.

Operators in Howard County →

How many oil and gas wells are in Howard County?

16,375 wells are on file in Howard County, including 5,769 active, 5,187 plugged, and 77 permitted and not yet drilled. 3,776 are horizontal. The active wells are under 108 operators.

Every well in Howard County →

How much oil and gas does Howard County produce?

The Railroad Commission's county figures show 79.4 million barrels of oil and 414 million Mcf of gas in Howard County in the 12 months through August 2026, from 2,335 leases under 88 operators. Texas operators report production by lease; where a lease lies in more than one county, the split between them is the RRC's.

Production by month in Howard County →

Who are the largest producers in Howard County?

By oil and gas produced in Howard County in the 12 months through August 2026, the largest operator is Oxyrock Operating, LLC, with 11.8 million barrels of oil and 57.4 million Mcf of gas from 212 leases, followed by Surge Operating, LLC and SM Energy Company. 88 operators had production here in those months.

Operators in Howard County →

How much water is injected in Howard County?

496 million barrels of water were injected in Howard County in the 12 months through September 2025, reported on form H-10. 1,165 of the county's 3,042 disposal and injection permits are active.

Disposal and injection in Howard County →

What formations are drilled in Howard County?

Completion filings for wells in Howard County report tops for 15 formations in at least ten wells each. The most reported are the San Andres (6,373 wells, median top 3,090 ft), the Clear Fork (5,318 wells, median top 4,570 ft), and the Spraberry (5,297 wells, median top 6,279 ft).

Formations in Howard County →

What basin is Howard County in?

Petrora lists Howard County in the Permian Basin. It is in the Railroad Commission's District 08.

The Permian Basin →

Have there been earthquakes in Howard County?

137 earthquakes of magnitude 2 or more were located in the area of Howard County's permitted wells in the last 2 years; the largest was M4.3.

Earthquakes in Howard County →

About this data

Oil and gas are the Railroad Commission's county figures from its Production Data Query, through Aug 2026: Texas files production by lease, and where a lease lies in more than one county the split is the RRC's. Nothing here is estimated by Petrora. Wells from the RRC wellbore file and the permit record. Drilling permits from the RRC OGA049M master and daily daf420 files, rebuilt nightly into per-county figures; windows are on the date issued. Disposal from UIC permits and H-10 reports at the last settled month; earthquakes from the TexNet catalog inside the county's located-permit footprint.

Developers: this page as JSON is GET /v1/data/counties/tx/howard?days=90, documented in the API reference.