WELL · 42-427-31521 · DISTRICT 4
Howell J.J. #5
Starr County · LA Copita (Vicksburg Cons.) field · Producing · Vertical
Howell J.J. #5 (API 42-427-31521) is a permitted well in Starr County filed by Shell Western E&P; no completion report is on file yet.
The RRC has issued 2 drilling permits between 1981 and 2001, permitted to 9,325 ft.
It was permitted by Shell Western E&P and has since transferred to Merit Energy Company on the wellbore schedule.
Completion filings report one formation top, including Vicksburg.
Operator of record
Permitted by Shell Western E&P; 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 | Shell Western E&PJul 18, 2001 |
The sources disagree, which usually means a transfer or a lease-level production filing by a different entity. Petrora goes with the schedule.
- 9,325
- total depth, ft
- 2
- permits on file
- Jul 18, 2001
- last permit issued
- —
- completed
- 0
- cumulative oil, bbl
- 3.03M
- cumulative gas, mcf
PRODUCTION FROM PDQ LEASE REPORTS · Jan 1993 THROUGH Jul 2026
Regulatory status · RRC wellbore file
- Schedule
- ON SCHEDULE
- Completed
- —
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howell, J.J. G-4-93203 | LA Copita (Vicksburg W) | Merit Energy Company | 1 | 0 | 3.03M | Jan 1993 – Jul 2026 |
Gas, mcf lease total
Last 12 months 62,036 · prior 12 50,668(+22%)
Chain of custody
Every operator that reported production on this well's lease, in order.
- 1Shell Western E&P Inc.Jan 1993 → Feb 2000
- 2Shell Western E&PMar 2000 → Apr 2011
- 3OXY USA Inc.May 2011 → Apr 2017
- 4Merit Energy CompanyMay 2017 → Apr 2026
Permits
| Permit | Type | Operator | Received | Issued | Spud | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 511556-99 | Recompletion | Shell Western E&P | Jul 18, 2001 | Jul 18, 2001 | Apr 2, 2002 | 10,000 |
| 112972-99 | Drill | Shell Oil Company | Mar 19, 1981 | Mar 19, 1981 | Mar 22, 1981 | 9,400 |
Completions
| Completed | Lease | Field | Operator | Status | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Howell J.J. G-4-93203 | LA Copita (Vicksburg Cons.) | Merit Energy Company | Producing | 9,325 |
| — | Howell J.J. G-4-93203 | LA Copita (Vicksburg Cons.) | Merit Energy Company | Producing | 9,325 |
Formation tops
As filed on W-2/G-1. Subsea from 381 ft elevation.Download CSV →
Perforations
Perforated and open-hole intervals.
| From | To | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 7,455 | 7,480 | Perforated |
| 7,530 | 7,555 | Perforated |
| 7,970 | 8,020 | Perforated |
| 8,100 | 8,120 | Perforated |
| 8,340 | 8,434 | Perforated |
| 8,518 | 8,592 | Perforated |
| 8,734 | 8,816 | Perforated |
| 8,842 | 8,862 | Perforated |
| 9,082 | 9,092 | Perforated |
| 9,160 | 9,170 | Perforated |
Casing
Strings as reported, shallowest first.
| Casing in | Set at | Hole in | Cement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.75 | 1,210 | 14.75 | 640 S |
| 7.625 | 7,459 | 9.875 | 1,525 S |
| 2.875 | 8,246 | — | — |
| 5 | 8,702 | 6.75 | 350 S |
| 2.875 | 9,325 | 4.25 | 135 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. About these reports →
| Suffix | Filed | W-2 / G-1 date | Logs referenced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | Oct 22, 2002 | Sep 3, 2002 | Yes |
| 00 | Oct 6, 1997 | Sep 18, 1997 | — |
| 00 | Nov 25, 1996 | Nov 18, 1996 | — |
| 00 | Sep 19, 1994 | Jul 28, 1994 | — |
| 00 | Jan 12, 1984 | May 18, 1981 | — |
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 42-427-31521 → W-2, G-1, plugging reports, as PDFs
- Completion packets for 42-427-31521 → scanned completion filings
Log images are in archives with no per-well link: the RRC's Neubus archive (2004 onward). then paste it into their search.
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/42731521, documented in the API reference.