Reports show decline in drilling activity in Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s slowdown in the oil and gas industry is reflected in the latest figures for permits to drill and completion reports from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

The number of Intents to Drill permits issued in the first half of 2019 was 2,549, down from the 3,356 permits issued for all of 2018. That’s a decline of 807.

Only the first six months of 2019 are available because the number typically has a six-month lag, according to a spokeswoman at the Corporation Commission. In 2017, the number of Intents to Drill that won approval was 2,449 and the year 2018 saw a dramatic increase of 907 as oil and gas drilling in the state was on the upswing.

The number of completion reports followed the upswing and the slowdown.

In 2017, the Corporation Commission received 1,093 completion reports.  The number of horizontal completion reports was 805 while the number for non-horizontal wells was 288.

In 2018, at least 1,333 wells were completed and the breakdown included 1,140 horizontal wells and 193 vertical wells. The wells completed in 2019 totaled 531 horizontal and 58 vertical. Again, the completion reports, like the Intents to Drill have a six-month lag in being filed with the state agency.

Source: Corporation Commission