Few US oil wells gained in 2009

The total number of producing oil wells in the US stayed relatively flat over 2009 in the low-price environment of the first half of the year and the partial recovery of the second half. By the end of the year, the total oil well count increased by only 70 wells, to 526,114 from its 2008 number of 526,044, as reported by state agencies and estimated by World Oil. After several years in which it was common for states to gain or lose several thousand wells, state well counts were comparatively stable last year, with the biggest gain (1,641 wells) in Pennsylvania and the biggest loss (1,862 wells) in Indiana.

Seven states continue to have the largest number of wells: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, California, Ohio, New Mexico and Louisiana, in that order. Together they account for 78% of US producing oil wells. The top five states’ relative rankings remained the same as in 2008, but Louisiana’s well total (the sixth largest in 2008) slipped slightly below that of New Mexico last year to land in seventh place.

Texas dropped 599 wells, but remained the state with the highest well count at 149,102. Permian Basin development drilling remained relatively strong despite the downturn, leading to a total gain of nearly 1,250 wells in Districts 7C and 8. But this gain was overcome by triple-digit losses in Districts 1, 7B, 8A, 9 and 10. The prolific East Texas Field, designated District 6E, was the only other area in the state to see its well count increase, with a gain of 62.

Oklahoma, Kansas, California and Ohio saw their well counts rise by less than 3%, and New Mexico’s well total fell by 70, while Louisiana’s lost 757 wells. These losses were concentrated in the South district and state waters, while the North district saw a net gain of 11 wells. The North district continues to dominate the state with 16,407 oil producers, 82% of Louisiana’s total. In addition, Colorado and Pennsylvania each saw four-figure increases in their oil wells. South Dakota had the biggest percentage increase, gaining 100 wells last year for a total of 251.

Twelve states had fewer oil producing wells at the end of 2009 than they had at the beginning of the year. Indiana, which had seen small decreases each of the last three years, lost almost 40% of its oil wells—the biggest reduction of any state both in percentage and in absolute numbers. In addition, the number of wells in the federal portion of the Gulf of Mexico fell by 418.

Based on those states for which we were able to obtain a breakout of artificial lift versus naturally flowing wells, the implied percentage of US wells that are producing oil by artificial lift rose to 96.1% in 2009 from 94.8% the previous year.