Short answer
Oklahoma had 2,103 oil and gas extraction, drilling, support and refining establishments in 2023, second only to Texas, employing 32,669 people (Census County Business Patterns). In Oklahoma Corporation Commission records, the operators filing the most new-drill permits in 2026 are Mewbourne Oil, Continental Resources, Validus Energy II Midcon, FW Midcon I and Devon Energy. ONEOK and Williams, both in Tulsa, are the largest public companies headquartered in the state by 2025 revenue.
- 2,103 establishments, 12.59% of the US total, with 32,669 employees and a $4.09 billion payroll in 2023.
- 105 operators filed 647 new-drill permits with the Corporation Commission from 1 January to 29 October 2026, against 610 in all of 2025.
- 21 operators with 1,000 or more active wells hold 28.1% of the state's 129,147 active wells; 1,293 operators run fewer than ten.
- Devon Energy (after its May 2026 merger with Coterra) and Expand Energy now give Houston-area head office addresses.
- The Commission doesn't publish production by operator; the Oklahoma Tax Commission keeps it.
On this page
This report is for anyone who needs a working list of Oklahoma oil and gas companies: job seekers, mineral owners checking an operator, companies choosing a contractor, and B2B sellers whose customers are producers, drilling contractors, service firms and refiners.
Who is drilling in Oklahoma in 2026
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) publishes every intent-to-drill permit in a master file it updates daily. Counting new-drill permits by the date each record was created, these operators filed the most between 1 January and 29 October 2026:
| Operator (as the OCC names it) | Address on the permit | New-drill permits, 2026 to 29 Oct | New-drill permits, 2025 | Active wells |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mewbourne Oil Company | Tyler, TX | 64 | 70 | 675 |
| Continental Resources Inc | Oklahoma City | 57 | 51 | 1,043 |
| Validus Energy II Midcon LLC | Denver, CO | 50 | 36 | 1,208 |
| FW Midcon I, LLC | Oklahoma City | 37 | 0 | 1,502 |
| Devon Energy Production Company LP | Oklahoma City | 34 | 30 | 1,170 |
| Camino Natural Resources LLC | Denver, CO | 19 | 27 | 63 |
| Warwick-Jupiter LLC | Oklahoma City | 19 | 10 | 33 |
| Coterra Energy Operating Co. | Oklahoma City | 16 | 14 | 539 |
| BCE-Mach III LLC | Oklahoma City | 15 | 18 | 2,323 |
Three more operators filed 12 each. Active wells are open wellbores with status "AC" in the OCC's nightly well file, including injection and disposal wells.
In all, 105 operators filed 647 new-drill permits in 2026 to 29 October, against 610 from 107 operators in 2025. Roger Mills (106), Grady (83), Custer (78) and Canadian (77) counties drew the most 2026 permits, all in western and central Oklahoma.
The public companies based in Oklahoma
SEC-registered oil and gas companies whose latest 10-K gives an Oklahoma head office, ranked by revenue as each filing reports it:
| Company | Headquarters | Business | Revenue (latest fiscal year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ONEOK | Tulsa | Midstream | $33.63 billion (2025) |
| Williams Companies | Tulsa | Natural gas pipelines | $11.95 billion (2025) |
| Helmerich & Payne | Tulsa | Drilling contractor | $3.75 billion (year to September 2025) |
| NGL Energy Partners | Tulsa | Water, crude and liquids logistics | $3.16 billion (year to March 2026) |
| Gulfport Energy | Oklahoma City | Exploration and production | $1.42 billion (2025) |
| Mach Natural Resources | Oklahoma City | Exploration and production | $1.18 billion (2025) |
| Riley Exploration Permian | Oklahoma City | Exploration and production | $392.0 million (2025) |
| SandRidge Energy | Oklahoma City | Exploration and production | $156.4 million (2025) |
| Mammoth Energy Services | Oklahoma City | Services | $44.3 million (2025) |
| Empire Petroleum | Tulsa | Exploration and production | $34.2 million (2025) |
| Reserve Petroleum | Oklahoma City | Exploration and production | $17.4 million (2025) |
Three large producers sit outside that table. Continental Resources of Oklahoma City files a 10-K ($7.69 billion of 2025 revenue) but has had no listed shares since November 2022. Devon Energy ($17.19 billion) gave Oklahoma City on its 2025 10-K, but its 8-K for the Coterra merger of 7 May 2026 gives a Houston office, and Expand Energy announced in February 2026 that it would move its head office to Spring, Texas. Devon still drills in Oklahoma; Expand's 2025 10-K lists its operations in Louisiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. More on each city: Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
Oklahoma oil and gas in Census data
US Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, State of Oklahoma, NAICS 211 (Oil and Gas Extraction), 213111 (Drilling Oil and Gas Wells), 213112 (Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations) and 324110 (Petroleum Refineries):
| Measure (2023) | Oklahoma |
|---|---|
| Establishments | 2,103 |
| Employees (week of March 12) | 32,669 |
| Annual payroll | $4,090,713,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 15.5 |
| Average annual pay | $125,217 |
| Share of US establishments | 12.59% of 16,710 |
| Rank among states | 2nd |
| Segment (NAICS) | Establishments | Employees | Average annual pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support activities (213112) | 1,129 | 15,320 | $88,776 |
| Crude petroleum extraction (211120) | 636 | 7,112 | $210,529 |
| Natural gas extraction (211130) | 173 | 3,229 | $149,800 |
| Drilling (213111) | 161 | 5,360 | $88,892 |
| Petroleum refineries (324110) | 4 | 1,648 | $165,788 |
The combined size split isn't published (the refinery cells are withheld), but the segments show a market of small firms: 716 of 1,129 support and 517 of 809 extraction establishments have fewer than five employees.
| County | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma County | 493 | 9,066 |
| Tulsa County | 228 | 3,135 |
| Canadian County | 87 | 2,276 |
| Carter County | 80 | 619 |
| Stephens County | 79 | Not reported |
| Woodward County | 70 | Not reported |
| Kingfisher County | 68 | 1,099 |
| Cleveland County | 66 | Not reported |
"Not reported" means the Census Bureau flagged the figure as high-noise: its confidentiality noise moved the value by 5% or more. The counts are establishments with paid employees, not companies, and exclude the self-employed; head offices (NAICS 55) and pipelines (NAICS 486) are counted elsewhere, so Tulsa's midstream giants barely show here.
Where the wells are
The OCC's well file lists 129,147 active wells: 68,937 oil, 42,864 gas and the rest mostly injection and disposal wells, run by 2,524 named operators. Carter (9,036), Stephens (8,830), Creek (6,605), Pontotoc (4,343) and Grady (4,058) counties have the most. Ownership is lopsided:
| Operator size by active wells | Operators | Share of active wells |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 or more | 21 | 28.1% (36,240 wells) |
| 100 to 999 | 209 | 39.4% (50,874 wells) |
| 10 to 99 | 1,001 | 25.7% (33,243 wells) |
| Fewer than 10 | 1,293 | 3.1% (4,055 wells) |
The other 4,735 active wells are listed without an assigned operator. The largest holders are consolidators of older wells, led by Citation Oil & Gas (6,043), Diversified Production (3,896) and two BCE-Mach entities (4,764), not the busiest drillers. Another 18,042 wells are listed as orphaned, with no known or viable operator.
Refining is concentrated too. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) lists five Oklahoma refineries with 543,800 barrels a day of operating capacity at 1 January 2026: Phillips 66 at Ponca City (228,000), Valero at Ardmore (86,000), HF Sinclair's Tulsa West (85,000) and Tulsa East (70,300) plants, and CVR at Wynnewood (74,500). EIA puts Oklahoma sixth among states for crude oil output in 2025, at 404,000 barrels a day, and sixth for marketed natural gas.
How to find and vet an Oklahoma operator
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| OCC oil and gas data files | Operator list (13,320 records, 2,634 with open surety status), the nightly well file, intent-to-drill and completion files, the orphan well list |
| Oklahoma Tax Commission production lookup (linked from the OCC page) | Production by production unit, the official record for volumes |
| The Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma | The statewide trade association in Oklahoma City, with a buyers guide for suppliers |
| SEC EDGAR | 10-Ks for the public companies above, with basins, capital plans and headcount |
To vet an operator, confirm an open surety status in the operator list, count its active wells by county in the well file, check the intent-to-drill file for recent permits (the clearest sign it is about to spend), and use Tax Commission records for volumes.
Selling to Oklahoma oil and gas companies
| Account type | How many | Who usually decides |
|---|---|---|
| Active drillers (filed 2026 permits) | 105 operators | Completions, drilling and supply chain managers |
| Large legacy-well operators | 21 with 1,000+ active wells | Production superintendents, field operations, regulatory staff |
| Small operators | 1,293 with fewer than 10 wells | The owner or a contract pumper |
| Service contractors | 1,129 support establishments | Owner, district manager, HSE manager |
| Refineries | 5 plants | Maintenance, reliability and turnaround planners |
Illustrative example. The seller and its rates are invented; the well counts are OCC data.
Red Dirt Integrity (reddirt.example) tests casing on older wells before an operator decides to rework or plug them. Its best prospects are the 21 operators with 1,000 or more active wells each: big backlogs of aging wellbores, and few enough to research one by one. With three contacts at each (production superintendent, regulatory manager, operations VP) that's 63 people. At a 6% reply rate, about 4 conversations; one 200-well testing program at $650 a well is $130,000. Bebop can build the account list from a description like this and research each operator; the prospect list guide covers the method.
Next step: see how the largest companies compare nationally in the list of the largest oil and gas companies.
Sources
- County Business Patterns (CBP), 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Oil and gas data files (operator list, RBDMS well data, intent to drill master file), Oklahoma Corporation Commission, files downloaded 30 October 2026
- Crude oil production by state, annual, US Energy Information Administration, released 30 September 2026
- Natural gas marketed production by state, annual, US Energy Information Administration, accessed 30 October 2026
- Refinery Capacity Report, Table 3: capacity by state as of 1 January 2026, US Energy Information Administration, 2026
- Form 10-K filings: ONEOK, Williams, Helmerich & Payne, NGL Energy Partners, Gulfport, Mach, Riley, SandRidge, Mammoth, Empire, Reserve, Continental, SEC EDGAR, fiscal 2025 filings, accessed 30 October 2026
- Devon Energy Form 8-K: completion of merger with Coterra Energy, SEC EDGAR, 7 May 2026
- Expand Energy Form 10-K, fiscal 2025, SEC EDGAR, 18 February 2026
- Expand Energy Form 8-K: headquarters relocation and leadership changes, SEC EDGAR, 9 February 2026
- The Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma, The Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many oil and gas companies are in Oklahoma?
Census County Business Patterns counted 2,103 oil and gas extraction, drilling, support and refining establishments in Oklahoma in 2023, the second most of any state, employing 32,669 people. That counts locations with paid employees, not companies. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission's operator list had 2,634 operators with an open surety status in October 2026, and 2,524 named operators had at least one active well.
What is the largest oil company in Oklahoma?
By 2025 revenue, the largest SEC-registered companies headquartered in Oklahoma are ONEOK ($33.63 billion) and Williams ($11.95 billion), both midstream companies in Tulsa. Among producers, Continental Resources of Oklahoma City reported $7.69 billion in its 2025 10-K. Devon Energy and Expand Energy were larger but have moved their head offices to the Houston area in 2026.
Did Devon Energy leave Oklahoma City?
Devon's 2025 10-K gave 333 W. Sheridan Avenue, Oklahoma City, as its address. When it completed its merger with Coterra Energy on 7 May 2026, the 8-K it filed listed its principal executive offices at 840 Gessner Road, Houston. Devon still operates wells in Oklahoma: its production subsidiary filed 34 new-drill permits with the Corporation Commission from January to October 2026.
How do I look up an oil and gas operator in Oklahoma?
Download the Oklahoma Corporation Commission's operator list, a daily Excel file with each operator's number, address and surety status. Then search the nightly well file for its wells and the intent-to-drill file for recent permits. The Commission doesn't hold production volumes; the Oklahoma Tax Commission keeps production by production unit, and the OCC data page links to its lookup.
Which Oklahoma counties have the most oil and gas activity?
By active wells in the Corporation Commission's well file, Carter, Stephens and Creek counties lead, each with more than 6,000. By new drilling, Roger Mills, Grady, Custer and Canadian counties drew the most new-drill permits in 2026. By Census establishments, Oklahoma County (493) and Tulsa County (228) lead, because that is where the offices and service yards are.