Sources & methodology

Sources

• Production: RRC Production Data Query dump (RRC Production Data Query dump, extract dated Sep 18, 2026), published monthly by the Texas Railroad Commission.
• Drilling permits: RRC Drilling Permit Master and Trailer daily file (RRC Drilling Permit daily file, downloaded Oct 16, 2026).
• Prices: U.S. EIA monthly spot prices, WTI Cushing (Sep 2026: $97.31/BBL) and Henry Hub (Sep 2026: $2.95/MMBtu).
• County boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundaries, GeoJSON conversion from eric.clst.org.

Definitions

• Oil = crude oil + condensate (BBL). Gas = gas-well gas + casinghead gas (MCF).
• BOE (map shading, rankings) = oil + gas ÷ 6.
• County figures use RRC's county allocation, which RRC describes as an estimate based on allowables and potentials.
• The latest two months are provisional: operators file late and amend, so these usually rise in later releases. Charts show them in a lighter color, and trends use only non-provisional months.

Trends

• "Last 12 months" = Aug 2025 to Jul 2026, compared with the 12 months before.
• Lease summaries compare Mar 2026–May 2026 with the same three months a year earlier.

Pages

• Lease pages exist for leases with at least 100,000 BBL of liquids or 1,000,000 MCF of gas in the last 12 months (6,054 leases).
• Operator pages cover the top 200 operators by BOE.
• Amended or re-filed permits are listed once, under their latest filing. Only permits issued this month count as new.
• Map dots: 82 of 284 new permits carry surface coordinates in the RRC file. Production records have no coordinates, so "nearby" permits on lease pages are matched by county.

Royalty estimates

(oil volume × oil price + gas volume × gas price) × decimal interest. Gross, before severance tax and any deductions your lease allows; EIA Henry Hub is quoted per MMBtu, not MCF. Use the price and decimal on your check stub where you can.