The Railroad Commission of Texas issued 695 original drilling permits in August 2026, with the Midland district accounting for nearly half of all permits to drill new oil and gas holes, the agency reported in a Sept. 9 news release.
The monthly tally is one of the state’s clearest near-term measures of drilling activity, and the district-level breakdown shows where operators are concentrating work as the fall drilling season begins.
Of the 695 original permits, 594 were issued to drill new oil or gas wells, according to the commission. Another eight went to re-enter plugged wellbores, 15 were field transfers, 76 were for re-completion and two were reclassifications. Broken out by well type, the agency reported 116 oil permits, 48 gas permits, 481 combined oil and gas permits, 30 injection permits, two service permits and 18 classified as other.
Commission staff also processed 939 oil completions, 287 gas completions and 168 injection completions during the month, the release said.
The Midland district, designated District 8, led the state with 290 permits to drill new oil or gas holes, followed by the San Antonio area with 66 and the San Angelo area with 63. Southeast Texas recorded 34, East Texas 29 and North Texas 25. The Refugio area logged 24, while the Lubbock area and West Central Texas each recorded 20. The Panhandle reported 11, Deep South Texas eight and East Central Texas four.
Completion figures followed a similar geographic pattern. Midland reported 270 new oil completions and 42 new gas completions, more than any other district, while the San Angelo area recorded 87 new oil completions and none for gas. Statewide, districts reported 470 new oil completions and 141 new gas completions, according to the agency’s district table.
The commission publishes detailed monthly drilling permit, completion and plugging summaries on its website, and it maintains a district map showing the boundaries used in the monthly report.
Established in 1891, the Railroad Commission is the oldest regulatory agency in the state and has regulated the oil and gas industry for more than 100 years, the agency said. Its jurisdiction also covers alternative fuels safety, natural gas utilities, surface mining and intrastate pipelines.