The RRC Production Query is a free online tool from the Texas Railroad Commission that lets you pull monthly oil and gas production volumes for any reported lease or well in the state, with records going back to January 1993.1Railroad Commission of Texas. Texas Oil and Gas Production Statistics for January 2026 Mineral owners use it most often to cross-check royalty payments; landmen and analysts use it for due diligence and asset review. This walks through what you need to search, how to run the query, how to read the results, and how to use them against a royalty check.
What to Gather Before You Search
You’ll search fastest with one of two identifiers. Oil leases carry a five-digit lease number, and gas wells carry a six-digit ID.2Railroad Commission of Texas. Mapping Well Data Download Manual The API number is a ten-digit code unique to each wellbore that stays the same no matter who operates the well: the first two digits identify Texas, the next three the county, and the last five are the serial number.3Railroad Commission of Texas. Oil and Gas Well Records – Online
You’ll also need the RRC district. Texas divides its oil and gas territory into numbered districts, some with letter subdivisions like 6E or 7B, and the Specific Lease Query will not return results without one.4Railroad Commission of Texas. Specific Lease Query Criteria If you don’t already know it, look up the county on the RRC’s county-district page or click the well’s location in the Public GIS Viewer.5Railroad Commission of Texas. Oil and Gas Counties and Districts
Your royalty check stub is the most common place to find these numbers. Texas law requires the operator or payor to list the property name, lease or well number, county, volumes sold, price, severance taxes deducted, and your decimal interest on every payment.6Railroad Commission of Texas. Royalties FAQ The RRC lease ID posted at the well entrance can differ from the number on your stub, so gather both when you can. Division orders and tax documents also carry these identifiers.
How to Run the Query
The Production Data Query sits inside the RRC’s online research queries portal. From the main site, go to Resource Center, then Research Queries, and pick Production Data Query. Two search paths open up: a General Production Query and a Specific Lease Query.7Railroad Commission of Texas. Production Data Query
Use the Specific Lease Query when you already have a district and lease number. Enter both and the system returns records for that exact lease. If you only have an operator name or partial information, the General Production Query casts a wider net, but you’ll wade through more hits. A lease that has changed hands over time may appear under multiple operator names.
Click through to the lease, and the full production history table opens. It shows monthly reported volumes from January 1993 forward. Narrow the date range before pulling results, especially for older leases; the raw output can run to hundreds of rows.
Why the Numbers Look Late
Production data is not live. Operators file monthly Form PR reports, and the deadline is the last working day of the month following the production month.8Railroad Commission of Texas. Oil and Gas EDI Filing Deadlines January production isn’t due until the end of February and won’t show up in the public database until March at the earliest.
The RRC describes this as a two-month lag. Even after data appears, it keeps getting revised as late filings and corrections come in, and the agency notes production records are “substantially complete after about six months.”9Railroad Commission of Texas. Production Data Query System (PDQ) FAQs A month showing zero output doesn’t automatically mean the well was shut in. The operator may simply not have filed yet. Wait at least six months before drawing conclusions from any single month. Operators are required by state administrative rule to file Form PR for every producing property every calendar month, and electronic filings must reach the RRC by noon on the deadline date.10Railroad Commission of Texas. Texas Administrative Code Title 16, Part 1, Chapter 3
Reading the Production Table
The results table splits production into columns by product. Getting these straight prevents most misreadings.
- Oil production is measured in barrels; this is the crude extracted from the lease that month.
- Casinghead gas is the natural gas that comes up alongside oil from an oil well, reported in thousand cubic feet (Mcf). It’s a byproduct of oil production, not output from a dedicated gas well.
- Gas well gas is gas produced from wells classified as gas wells, also in Mcf, sometimes called “dry gas.”
- Condensate is liquid hydrocarbons that separate from the gas stream at the surface, reported in barrels and shown separately from crude because it’s taxed at its own market value.
Each product type has its own disposition code column, and the codes mean different things for oil than for gas.
Disposition Codes: Oil vs. Gas
Disposition codes describe what happened to the product after it left the ground, and the RRC uses two entirely different systems for oil and for gas.11Railroad Commission of Texas. Form PR Monthly Production Report Disposition Codes Reading them interchangeably is a guaranteed mistake.
Crude Oil and Condensate
Oil and condensate codes describe how the product physically left the lease, not whether it was sold:
- Code 0: moved by pipeline
- Code 1: moved by truck
- Code 2: moved by tank car or barge
- Code 5: lost or stolen, including spills, leaks, and fire; the operator must file Form H-8 if more than five barrels are lost
- Code 73: used on the lease itself
Because these codes track transport method rather than sale, Code 0 or Code 1 alone doesn’t tell you whether the oil was sold. The volume in that row is what left the lease by that method.
Gas
Gas codes describe end use:
- Code 1: used as lease or field fuel for operations, compressors, or drilling
- Code 2: delivered to a transmission line for end use without further processing
- Code 3: delivered to a gas processing plant
- Code 4: vented or flared; the operator must explain why in the remarks section of Form PR
- Code 5: used for gas lift operations
- Code 6: injected for pressure maintenance
Code 4 is where flaring shows up. Statewide Rule 32 limits how long an operator can flare without a permit, and administrative flaring exceptions run a maximum of 180 days, with any extension requiring a formal commission order.12Cornell Law Institute. 16 Texas Administrative Code 3.32 – Gas Well Gas and Casinghead Gas Large Code 4 volumes month after month should have exception documentation on file with the RRC.
Comparing Production to Your Royalty Check
This is why most mineral owners run the query. Start with your stub. Texas law requires each payment to include the property name, volumes sold, price per barrel or Mcf, severance taxes deducted, other deductions or adjustments, your decimal interest, and the resulting net value.6Railroad Commission of Texas. Royalties FAQ Pull the same production month from the PDQ and compare volumes.
Mind the timing. If your July royalty check arrives in September, July production may not appear in the PDQ until September at the earliest, and it won’t be substantially complete for about six months.9Railroad Commission of Texas. Production Data Query System (PDQ) FAQs Small differences between stub and PDQ are normal: operators report gross production to the RRC, but you may be paid on net volumes after lease use, shrinkage, and line losses. Those factors should explain the gap. If they don’t, look closer.
Severance tax deductions on the stub should match reported volumes times the applicable rate times the posted price. Texas taxes oil at 4.6 percent of market value,13State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 202.052 – Rate of Tax natural gas at 7.5 percent,14State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 201.052 – Rate of Tax and condensate at the same 4.6 percent as crude.15Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Natural Gas Production Tax If the math doesn’t work, that’s worth investigating.
You have the right to request an itemized explanation of deductions and adjustments from the payor by certified mail, and the payor must respond within 60 days.6Railroad Commission of Texas. Royalties FAQ You can also ask for the RRC lease identification number the payor uses for state reporting, which confirms you’re pulling the right records from the PDQ.
Exporting the Records
Once your data table is on screen, the system can generate a downloadable report. CSV works best for spreadsheet calculations and side-by-side comparisons across leases. A PDF export creates a static document suitable for printing or attaching to correspondence. Standard online searches and downloads through the RRC are free.16Railroad Commission of Texas. Research Queries Physical records and certified copies obtained directly from the RRC carry separate fees. An export showing state-reported volumes for a period is a solid starting point in a royalty dispute.
If the Numbers Still Don’t Match
If your certified-mail request doesn’t resolve the discrepancy, or if the operator’s response confirms a shortfall, you may have a legal claim. Texas applies a four-year statute of limitations to royalty underpayment claims under the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, which sets a four-year period for suits based on debt, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty from the date the cause of action accrues.17State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.004 – Four-Year Limitations Period
That clock is unforgiving. Texas courts have held that if a mineral owner could have discovered the discrepancy through reasonable diligence within the limitations period, the claim expires whether or not the owner actually looked. Because the PDQ is public, an operator can point to it to argue the information was never hidden. Checking your production data on a regular schedule protects your ability to bring a claim.
One boundary is worth knowing. The RRC runs an informal complaint procedure for disputes involving gas purchasing, transportation, or gathering practices; you submit preliminary information through a form, and commission staff decide whether the complaint falls within their jurisdiction.18Railroad Commission of Texas. Complaint Filing Most royalty underpayment disputes are not part of that process; they run through negotiation with the operator and, if needed, litigation.