The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) issued a total of 759 original drilling permits in September 2026, the agency said in an Oct. 12 news release.
The total includes 684 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, 7 to re-enter plugged wellbores, 1 field transfer, 63 for re-completion, and 4 reclassifications, according to the RRC. By well type, the original drilling permits comprised 120 oil, 66 gas, 541 oil and gas, 11 injection, 4 service, and 17 other permits, the agency said.
In September, Commission staff also processed 961 oil, 280 gas, and 95 injection completions, according to the release.
The RRC broke the figures down by district. Of the 685 permits to drill new oil and gas holes listed in the agency’s district table, the Midland district (District 8) accounted for the most at 323, followed by the San Antonio area (District 1) with 101, the San Angelo area (District 7C) with 69, and East Texas (District 6) with 43. Midland also led in new completions, with 319 oil and 33 gas, the agency said, while the San Angelo area recorded 120 new oil completions.
The table lists totals of 685 permits to drill new oil and gas holes, 564 new oil completions, and 132 new gas completions across the RRC’s districts, according to the release. The agency’s release did not explain the one-permit difference between the 684 figure cited in the text and the 685 total in the table.
Detailed data on drilling permits and well completions for the month is available through the RRC’s monthly drilling, completion, and plugging summaries on its website, the agency said.
The Railroad Commission, established in 1891, describes itself as the oldest regulatory agency in the state. It has jurisdiction over the oil and gas industry, alternative fuels safety, natural gas utilities, surface mining, and intrastate pipelines, according to the release.