WARD County
District 10 · Permian (West) · Permits since 1977-06-06 · Data through 2026-09-04
Ward County permitting is running 13 permits a month over the trailing 90 days (40 total, down 18% on the prior quarter). 2 were issued in the past week. PITTS ENERGY CO. leads with 22 permits in the past 12 months, one of 21 operators active in the county. 4 operators filed a first Ward County permit in the past year. Median permitted depth over the past year is 11,000 ft (prior year: 12,500 ft); 63% of the past year's permits are horizontal.
Permits (6mo)
89
vs Prior
+75%
Operators (6mo)
15
Avg Depth (6mo)
9,615
Hz % (6mo)
55%
All Time
11,510
Depth Range: 0 - 58,509 ft
SWD wells in WARD County → 1,051 active injection & disposal wells · full UIC inventory
Saltwater disposal in WARD County → 84 disposal permits · SWD operators, capacity & injected volumes
Earthquakes in WARD County → 29 M2+ events in 24mo · TexNet
Permit Activity
Permit Types (6mo)
DRILL
62
+21 vs prior
RECOMP
19
+10 vs prior
RECLASS
6
NEW vs prior
FLD-XFR
2
+1 vs prior
Top Operators
by permits, trailing 12 mo View All
| OPERATOR | PERMITS 12MO | WELLS |
|---|---|---|
| PITTS ENERGY CO. | 22 | 68 |
| JETTA OPERATING COMPANY, INC. | 18 | 479 |
| APACHE CORPORATION | 13 | 450 |
| PERMIAN RESOURCES OPERATING, LLC | 10 | 91 |
| MANTI TARKA PERMIAN OP, LLC | 10 | 51 |
| CRESCENT ENERGY OPERATING, LLC | 9 | 642 |
| GOODNIGHT MIDSTREAM PERMIAN, LLC | 9 | 5 |
| BOSQUE TEXAS OIL LLC | 8 | 30 |
| VITAL ENERGY, INC. | 8 | 3 |
| MCM OPERATING, LLC | 6 | 3 |
Recent Permits
View All| PERMIT | LEASE | TYPE | ISSUED |
|---|---|---|---|
| 918211 | SEALY SMITH FOUNDATION | DRILL | 2026-09-04 |
| 918213 | SEALY SMITH FOUNDATION | DRILL | 2026-09-04 |
| 918222 | UL AIR FORCE I | DRILL | 2026-09-02 |
| 916725 | EDWARDS, JACK ET AL | RECOMP | 2026-09-02 |
| 917337 | EDWARDS, C. W., ET AL | RECOMP | 2026-08-27 |
| 917567 | EDWARDS, JACK -J- | RECOMP | 2026-08-26 |
| 917799 | VULCAN SECTION 2 UNIT | DRILL | 2026-08-21 |
| 917934 | EDWARDS, C. W. ET AL | RECOMP | 2026-08-20 |
| 917882 | EDWARDS 4 | RECOMP | 2026-08-17 |
| 917801 | VULCAN 2-3 F | DRILL | 2026-08-14 |
New to WARD County
first county permit, past 12 mo| OPERATOR | FIRST PERMIT | PERMITS | BACKGROUND |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRESCENT ENERGY OPERATING, LLC | 2025-12-29 | 9 | active elsewhere in TX |
| MCM OPERATING, LLC | 2026-08-14 | 6 | active elsewhere in TX |
| ADMIRAL PERMIAN OPERATING LLC | 2026-06-24 | 5 | active elsewhere in TX |
| PINON OPERATING II, LLC | 2026-04-24 | 1 | active elsewhere in TX |
Formations Beneath WARD County
from RRC completion filings| FORMATION | WELLS | MEDIAN TOP (FT) |
|---|---|---|
| Yates | 3,505 | 2,460 |
| Rustler | 3,046 | 950 |
| Delaware | 1,586 | 4,955 |
| Tansill | 1,532 | 2,300 |
| Queen | 1,159 | 2,934 |
| Cherry Canyon | 886 | 5,875 |
| Seven Rivers | 811 | 2,612 |
| San Andres | 776 | 3,534 |