TEXAS · WELLS · HIDALGO COUNTY · BALES GAS UNIT LEASE · API 42-215-32404 · DISTRICT 04
Bales Gas Unit #4
Hidalgo County · Belle Ferguson (Lo. Frio Cons.) field · Producing · Directional
Bales Gas Unit #4 (API 42-215-32404) is a well in Hidalgo County operated by Merit Energy Company, completed June 21, 1997 and listed as producing on the RRC schedule.
The RRC has issued one drilling permit (amended once), issued March 24, 1997, permitted to 11,176 ft.
It was permitted by Fina Oil & Chemical Company and has since transferred to Merit Energy Company on the wellbore schedule.
Completion filings report 4 formation tops, including Card Sd., Graham Sd., Hansen Sd., Marks Sd..
Its lease has reported 97.4K barrels of oil and 4.99M mcf of gas since June 1997, last reporting volume in April 2026.
Operator of record
Permitted by Fina Oil & Chemical Company; the EWA schedule now lists a different operator.
- Based in
- Dallas, TX
- P-5 status
- Active (A)
- P-5 last filed
- Nov 7, 2025
- Permits on file
- 1,049
- Phone
- (972) 701-8377
SOURCE · RRC EWA WELLBORE SCHEDULE
What each RRC source says
| Wellbore schedule | Merit Energy Company |
| Production reports | Merit Energy Companythrough Apr 2026 |
| Latest permit | Fina Oil & Chemical CompanyMar 24, 1997 |
The sources disagree, which usually means a transfer or a lease-level production filing by a different entity. Petrora goes with the schedule.
- 11,176
- total depth, ft
- 2
- permits on file
- Mar 24, 1997
- last permit issued
- Jun 21, 1997
- completed
- 97.4K
- cumulative oil, bbl
- 4.99M
- cumulative gas, mcf
PRODUCTION FROM PDQ LEASE REPORTS · Jun 1997 THROUGH Apr 2026
Regulatory status · RRC wellbore file
- Schedule
- ON SCHEDULE
- Completed
- Jun 21, 1997
- Shut in
- —
- Plugged
- —
Operator's P-5 on the schedule: Active (A)
Surface location
No coordinates on the permit record yet. The RRC's GIS record usually lands within days of issuance; historical master-file permits never carry one.
Lease production
PDQ LEASE REPORTS · REPORTED THROUGH APR 2026
Texas reports oil by lease, not by well. These are the lease this well is completed on; this well is the only one on it.Why →
| Lease | Field | Reporting operator | Wells | Oil, bbl | Gas, mcf | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bales Gas Unit G-4-166723 | Belle Ferguson (Lo. Frio Cons.) | Merit Energy Company | 1 | 97.4K | 4.99M | Jun 1997 – Apr 2026 |
Gas, mcf lease total
Last 12 months 34,525 · prior 12 45,196(-24%)
Chain of custody
Every operator that reported production on this well's lease, in order.
- 1Fina Oil & Chemical CompanyJun 1997 → Dec 2000
- 2Totalfinaelf E&P USA IncJan 2001 → Aug 2003
- 3Total E&P USA, Inc.Sep 2003 → Jan 2006
- 4Shell Western E&PFeb 2006 → Apr 2011
- 5OXY USA Inc.May 2011 → Apr 2017
- 6Merit Energy CompanyMay 2017 → Apr 2026
Permits
| Permit | Type | Operator | Received | Issued | Spud | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 460020-98 | Drill | Fina Oil & Chemical Company | Nov 14, 1997 | Mar 24, 1997 | Apr 17, 1997 | 11,600 |
| 460020-99 | Drill | Fina Oil & Chemical Company | Mar 18, 1997 | Mar 24, 1997 | — | 11,600 |
Completions
| Completed | Lease | Field | Operator | Status | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 1997 | Bales Gas Unit G-4-166723 | Belle Ferguson (Lo. Frio Cons.) | Merit Energy Company | Producing | 11,176 |
Formation tops
As filed on W-2/G-1. Subsea from 118 ft elevation.Download CSV →
| Formation | MD ft | Subsea |
|---|---|---|
| Card Sd. | 7,222 | -7,104 |
| Graham Sd. | 7,815 | -7,697 |
| Hansen Sd. | 8,220 | -8,102 |
| Marks Sd. | 8,855 | -8,737 |
Perforations
Perforated and open-hole intervals.
| From | To | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 10,394 | 10,399 | Perforated |
| 10,413 | 10,422 | Perforated |
| 10,540 | 10,546 | Perforated |
| 10,562 | 10,570 | Perforated |
| 10,931 | 10,941 | Perforated |
Casing
Strings as reported, shallowest first.
| Casing in | Set at | Hole in | Cement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.75 | 2,015 | 14.75 | 900 S |
| 7.625 | 8,665 | 9.875 | 885 S |
| 3.5 | 11,136 | 6.75 | 300 S |
Completion filings
W-2 and G-1 reports on record in the RRC wellbore file, newest first. The suffix identifies the wellbore or completion event. The record date is the RRC's own date on the record, not the day the report was filed: 462,034 of the state's filings carry 1984-01-12. About these reports →
| Suffix | RRC record date | W-2 / G-1 date | Logs referenced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | Mar 26, 2004 | Jan 23, 2004 | — |
| 00 | Mar 11, 1998 | Nov 12, 1997 | Yes |
| 00 | Mar 5, 1998 | — | — |
The source documents
Petrora holds the structured record. The scanned filings live at the RRC; these links open its search already filled in for this API.
- Wellbore filings for 42-215-32404 → W-2, G-1, plugging reports, as PDFs
- Completion packets for 42-215-32404 → scanned completion filings
Log images filed since 2004 open from the RRC's log search for this well; none are loaded here for it.
About this data
Permits from the RRC OGA049M master and daily daf420 files; wellbore and operator of record from the EWA schedule, weekly; completions, formation tops, casing, and perforations from the dbf900 wellbore file; production from PDQ lease reports, which lag two to three months; injection from UIC permits, H-10 reports, and TexNet daily volumes; earthquakes from the TexNet catalog.
New to these records? How to read a well page · API numbers · completion reports and tops · why production is by lease
Developers: this page as JSON is GET /v1/data/wells/21532404, documented in the API reference.