Texas Drilling Permits: Week of July 24–July 31, 2026 — RRC Activity Report

Texas Drilling Permits: Week of July 24–July 31, 2026 — RRC Activity Report

The Texas Railroad Commission recorded 236 new drilling permits for the week of July 24–July 31, 2026, reflecting continued momentum across the Permian Basin as WTI crude climbed to $84.84 per barrel, up $2.23 from the prior close. The price move gives operators additional incentive to lock in permits ahead of potential drilling program expansions heading into the back half of the year.

Eddy County led all counties with 72 permits, followed by Lea County with 32, Ector County with 20, Reeves County with 18, and Andrews County with 10. Together, these five counties accounted for more than 65% of total permit volume for the week, underscoring how concentrated activity remains in the western Permian corridor. The Permian Basin overall generated 104 permits this week, confirming its position as the primary driver of new drilling authorizations across Texas.

On the operator side, Kaiser-Francis Oil Co topped the list with 19 permits, signaling an active development push. WPX Energy Permian, LLC followed with 13 permits, while XTO Permian Operating LLC and XTO Energy, Inc each filed 12 permits — a combined 24 permits between the two XTO entities, reflecting ExxonMobil's continued Permian investment. EOG Resources, Inc. rounded out the top five with 12 permits, maintaining its steady multi-basin permitting pace.

Several high-priority permits stood out this week for operators and land teams tracking near-term development. Permian Resources Operating, LLC filed two permits in Reeves County (#915421 and #915422), both flagged for close monitoring despite spud dates still listed as TBD. Avid Energy Assets LLC filed a permit in Martin County (#756584), while Pitts Energy Co. filed in Ward County (#917374). Chevron U.S.A. Inc. also filed a notable permit in Midland County (#907233). While these permits currently show a priority score of 0 and no confirmed spud timeline, their filing alone signals operator intent worth tracking as the RRC updates status in coming weeks.

For land professionals, service providers, and E&P teams, permit filings remain one of the earliest indicators of where capital and rig activity are headed next. With volume concentrated in Eddy, Lea, Ector, Reeves, and Andrews counties, and majors like Chevron and EOG alongside independents like Kaiser-Francis and Pitts Energy actively filing, this week's data points to sustained Permian development even as commodity prices fluctuate.

Tracking permit activity manually across dozens of counties and hundreds of weekly filings is time-consuming and easy to fall behind on. DownHole Digital monitors Texas RRC permit data in real time, giving oilfield service companies, landmen, and operators a faster way to spot new filings, rising operators, and county-level trends as they happen — rather than weeks later.

Stay ahead of Texas drilling activity by learning more at downhole.digital.