Texas Rig Count & Drilling Permits: September 2026
Original drilling permits approved by the Railroad Commission of Texas, by district and play, alongside the Baker Hughes rig count. Pulled from the primary sources and refreshed automatically each month.
759 original drilling permits approved statewide
Original W-1 drilling permits the Commission approved during the month, excluding amendments. Month-over-month compares with August 2026; year-over-year compares with September 2025.
Texas and Permian rig count
Baker Hughes publishes the North America Rotary Rig Count every Friday, with Texas, Permian, Eagle Ford and Haynesville counts. This report adds those series automatically once the automated feed clears Baker Hughes' access controls. Until then, the current count is one click away:
Where the September 2026 permits were approved
The Commission reports by its twelve oil and gas districts. Districts 8 and 8A are the Permian core; 7C is its southern edge; 1 and 2 carry most Eagle Ford activity; 6 is the Texas side of the Haynesville.
| District | Area | Sep 26 | Aug 26 | Sep 25 | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08 | Midland (Permian core) | 345 | 306 | 293 | 45.5% |
| 01 | San Antonio (Eagle Ford west) | 105 | 67 | 55 | 13.8% |
| 7C | San Angelo / Southern Permian | 69 | 71 | 57 | 9.1% |
| 06 | East Texas / Haynesville | 47 | 35 | 36 | 6.2% |
| 8A | Lubbock (Permian north) | 44 | 56 | 40 | 5.8% |
| 02 | San Angelo-Victoria (Eagle Ford east) | 42 | 24 | 27 | 5.5% |
| 03 | Houston / Upper Gulf Coast | 31 | 42 | 12 | 4.1% |
| 09 | North Texas / Barnett | 26 | 40 | 28 | 3.4% |
| 05 | East Texas (Tyler) | 16 | 9 | 12 | 2.1% |
| 7B | Abilene / Central Texas | 16 | 22 | 8 | 2.1% |
| 04 | South Texas / Lower Gulf Coast | 13 | 10 | 11 | 1.7% |
| 10 | Panhandle | 5 | 13 | 8 | 0.7% |
| Statewide | 759 | 695 | 587 | 100% | |
Monthly permits, last 14 months
| Month | Original permits | New drill | Horizontal | Permian districts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 759 | 684 | 609 | 458 |
| August 2026 | 695 | 594 | 495 | 433 |
| July 2026 | 693 | 612 | 534 | 412 |
| June 2026 | 750 | 686 | 577 | 423 |
| May 2026 | 753 | 655 | 571 | 488 |
| April 2026 | 752 | 661 | 564 | 494 |
| March 2026 | 692 | 624 | 544 | 451 |
| February 2026 | 579 | 501 | 443 | 341 |
| January 2026 | 727 | 673 | 606 | 524 |
| December 2025 | 504 | 464 | 404 | 316 |
| November 2025 | 412 | 369 | 316 | 249 |
| October 2025 | 756 | 654 | 612 | 501 |
| September 2025 | 587 | 516 | 443 | 390 |
| August 2025 | 560 | 482 | 414 | 332 |
How this report is built
- Drilling permits come from the Railroad Commission of Texas Monthly Drilling, Completion and Plugging Summaries. The figures are original W-1 permits approved during the month, grouped by purpose of filing and by district. Amended permits are excluded. The Commission posts each month's summary as it becomes available, usually early in the following month, and occasionally revises a prior month; a revised summary replaces the original here.
- Rig counts come from the Baker Hughes North America Rotary Rig Count, released every Friday.
- Play groupings are RRC district sums, not operator-level basin assignments: Permian = districts 8, 8A and 7C; Eagle Ford = districts 1 and 2; Haynesville = district 6. District 1 and 2 totals include non-Eagle Ford permits, so treat them as upper bounds.
- Refresh is automated. A script re-reads both sources weekly and publishes when the data changes. Last refresh: 2026-10-09.
Prospecting from this signal? The district table tells you where permits are being approved this month. Pair it with the Permian Basin operator directory and the Texas statewide directory to turn a district into a call list.
Turn activity data into a go-to-market plan
ModalPoint builds go-to-market strategy for companies selling to oil and gas. If the districts above are your territory, a 30-minute call is the fastest way to see whether we can help.