RRC: RRC Information Resources

RRC Information Resources

The Railroad Commission maintains historical information that is used by employees, other state agencies, local government, the oil and gas industry, and the general public in its Central Records and Imaging units and RRC Library. An estimated 132 million pages of analog and digital documents encompassing the history of each Texas oil and natural gas well from the drilling permit application to the final plugging report are preserved.

Oil and Gas Records

Search Oil and Gas Well Records - Oil and Gas Well Records can be searched by key fields or full text and include applications to drill, oil and gas completion reports, plugging reports, producer's transportation authority and miscellaneous records from 1981 to present.

How to Request Well Records

When requesting copies of well records, production, inkjet plots, well data reports and geological data, whether by mail, phone, fax, Internet, or in person, please provide as much of the following information as possible:

County name (where property or well is located)
Approximate date of drilling activity
Lease or well name and well number
Original or current operator name
Field name and reservoir
Commission number (API, Drilling Permit, Oil Lease number, and/or Gas ID number)
Location (survey name, abstract, section, block, etc.)

There are several ways to request information from the Information Services’ Central Records Section:

Fillable Adobe Acrobat Form

If you are viewing the form using the Adobe Reader than you will need to print and fax (512-463-7200) or mail (P O Box 12967, Austin, Texas 78701) the form to the Railroad Commission.
If you are viewing the form using the Adobe Acrobat software you can save the form and attach to an email and send to ims@rrc.state.tx.us.

Word 2000

You can print and fax (512-463-7200) or mail (P O Box 12967, Austin, Texas 78701) the form to the Railroad Commission.
You can save the form and attach to an email and send to ims@rrc.state.tx.us.

Call, Fax, Email or Visit

Call: 512-463-6882
Fax: 512-463-7200
Email: ims@rrc.state.tx.us
Visit: 1701 North Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701; 10th Floor, Room 10-100
Hours: 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday

Document Price List - costs for reproducing records and research

General Information Pertaining to Leases and Royalites

http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/divisions/og/not-reg-og-guide/ognotrrc.html

This outline is provided as an informal guide to members of the public seeking information or legal services the Railroad Commission cannot provide. Since the Texas Legislature has given the Railroad Commission limited authority to regulate the oil and gas industry in Texas, our staff cannot advise you in all oil and gas matters. Areas over which the Railroad Commission has no authority include lease and royalty matters (including leasing, payment of royalties and the right to receive royalties), the financing of or investment in oil and gas activities, property rights matters and bankruptcy.

Information Available in Central Records

Oil and Gas Well Records (1920 to Present)

Prior to 1981: located on microformat (microfilm, microfiche, unit jackets)

1981 to present: Districts 06 – 10 are in paper format. 1981-1985: Districts 01 – 05 are on microfilm; District 05, 1981 – present, is also in electronic format.

Contents:

Application To Drill (W-1 and location plat)
Gas/Oil completion reports (G-1/W-2 and attachments)
Plugging reports (W-3 and attachments)
P-4’s (Producer’s Transportation Authority)
Miscellaneous (correspondence, backpressure curve, dual completion packets, directional survey, etc.)

Oil and Gas Hearing Files (1920 to Present)

Types of hearings:

New Field Designation
Statewide Rules (SWR 38/39, SWR 10, etc.)
Field Rules
Fluid Injections
Miscellaneous (Administrative, Exception To Rules, etc.)

Contents (dependent on type of hearing):

Notice of Hearing
Final Order/Special Order
Electric logs
Maps (Contour, Structure, Cross Section, etc.)
Engineer notes/reservoir data
Exhibits

Oil and Gas Production

1993 to Present: Available on the Internet; click on Interactive Data web site address for the Production Data Query (PDQ) application: http://webapps.rrc.state.tx.us/PDQ/home.do

1992 & prior: On microformat (microfilm/microfiche)

Reported monthly and annually
Lease production (oil is reported by lease and gas is reported by well)
Field production

Guide To Filing System in Central Records

Oil and Gas Potential Well Records

In order by District, Field name, Gas ID number, Oil lease number.
Contains all well record information filed on completed/plugged wells.
Gas folders are located after the field general folder. Each well is separated with “ID dividers” within the folder.
Oil lease folders are located after the gas folders and are filed in numeric order by lease number.
Oil and Gas Potential Well Records filming cycles:

1964 - 1967
1968 - 1972
1973 - 1980
1981 - 1985 (Districts 01 through 05 only)

NOTE: District 6E (East Texas Field) remains in paper copy.

Wildcat by County

Files 2000 - Present

In order by District, County name, and Operator name.
Paper copy material can be located before the suspense files

Film 1966 - 1999

In order by District, County name and Operator name.
Filmed at the beginning of each district’s suspense filming

Wildcat by County filming cycles:

1968 & Prior
1971 & Prior
1974 & Prior
1978 & Prior (Districts 01 & 02 only)
1980 & Prior
1985 & Prior
1999 & Prior

Suspense Files

Suspense files house all incoming Applications To Drill (form W-1) until the well is either completed or plugged. Expired drilling permits and dry holes (plugging reports) remain in the Suspense file. Suspense files are in numeric order, by API number.

Suspense files dated 2000 through present remain in paper copy
Suspense files dated 1966 through 1999 are on microfilm and can be located in the following filming cycles:

1968 & prior (only 20,000 API numbers assigned by the Commission)
1971 & Prior
1974 & Prior
1978 & Prior (Districts 01 & 02 only)
1980 & Prior
1985 & Prior
1999 & Prior

Oil and Gas Well Records Located on Microfilm

Unit Jackets and Well Records Runs consist of Form 1, Form 2, Form 2A, Form 4, plats, driller’s logs, SW-1, letters and miscellaneous forms. These records cover approximately the years between 1920 to the mid 1960s.

Material dated approximately 1920 through 1962 (if filed) can be located on Unit Jackets. These are in order by operator control number (assigned by Central Records staff for tracking purposes) and lease name. Each lease has its own jacket filed by the operator’s control number.
The J-run, also called a Major run, covers the approximate years of 1920 through 1966 for well records filed by all major operators. The records are in order by operator number and lease name.
The K, L, and M runs cover the approximate years of 1963 to April 1966.
Records are in order by operator number and lease name. They are as follows:

J - Run: includes material dated 1920 - 1966.
K - Run: includes material dated 1963 - 1964
L - Run: includes material dated 1964 - 1965
M - Run: includes material dated 1965 to April 1966

Oil and Gas Closed Potential Records Located on Microfilm

Potential records were filed approximately 1930 through 1963.
Closed Oil Potential records include Form 3 (Initial Potential Test for Oil), Salt Water Disposal permits, and miscellaneous plats. The records are in order by district, field, operator, lease name, and well number.
Closed Gas Potential records include letters, plats, miscellaneous documents, and form GWT-1 (Initial Potential Test for Gas) for District 10 only. The records are in order by district, field, and operator name.
Form GWT-1 for Districts 01 through 09 for this time period will be found on the GWT microfilm. The index to the microfilm is organized by district, operator, well name and number, and completion date. This information is necessary to determine the roll of film on which a specific record may be located.

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