Wildcatters Learn · Operations
What is an Intent to Drill in Oklahoma?
Intent to Drill is Oklahoma Corporation Commission terminology for a regulator filing describing proposed well work.
What to know
- Intent to Drill is preserved as Oklahoma regulator terminology.
- Form 1000 can concern more than a new drill.
- A filing is not proof that physical work occurred.
Keep the Oklahoma filing name attached to the record
An Intent to Drill is an Oklahoma Corporation Commission filing describing proposed well work. OCC identifies Form 1000 as an Application to Drill, Recomplete or Reenter. That source terminology matters because the requested operation can be different from drilling a new well.
The Oklahoma OCC · Oil and gas forms identifies the form and its purpose. Use the regulator's name for the document instead of treating every Intent to Drill as an already approved permit.
Why it matters
Wildcatters preserves the regulator’s term instead of relabeling every filing as a permit.
Read the requested operation before counting activity
The Oklahoma OCC · Form 1000 user manual distinguishes selections such as drilling, deepening, recompleting, re-entering, and amending. Those operations should not be combined into a count of newly drilled wells without explanation.
When assembling an activity timeline, keep the operation type beside the filing date and status. An amendment can revise an existing proposal; a re-entry concerns an existing well context. The source record, not a generic dashboard label, should control how the activity is described.
Connect the filing to the right well and version
Look for the filing identifier, applicant or operator identifier, well name, location, and related well identifiers where assigned. Compare the legal location and attachments when similar well names appear. A proposed record may not yet contain every identifier that appears on later lifecycle records.
Keep the application version and any amendments together. If the proposed work changes, avoid carrying the original description into a report about the latest filing. Preserve the date of the record you actually reviewed so another researcher can reproduce the finding.
Intent, approval, and commencement
| Evidence | Appropriate description |
|---|---|
| Intent to Drill filed | Proposed work appears in an OCC filing |
| Approval documented | The regulator authorized the described work |
| Spud recorded | Drilling commencement was reported |
| Completion documented | A separate completion event was reported |
A filing date should not be used as a substitute for a spud date. The spud guide explains how drilling commencement differs from permission to drill.
Avoid importing another jurisdiction’s assumptions
Do not assign Texas form meanings or federal APD statuses to an Oklahoma record merely because the documents serve related functions. Keep the native status, operation type, and issuing regulator visible in comparisons.
An Intent to Drill does not establish ownership, expected production, reserves, or whether a property is available for sale. If the next lifecycle record is absent from the source you are using, record that limitation rather than invent a drilling or completion outcome.
Research checklist
- Identify the OCC filing and operation type.
- Review amendments and the current source status.
- Match the legal location and identifiers to later records.
- Report proposed and completed work as separate events.
Put it into practice
Check the records behind a property
Use Wildcatters Intelligence to explore the available well, operator, production, and regulatory records. Confirm the source, jurisdiction, and reporting dates before drawing conclusions.
Open Intelligence 2.0Related reading and research
Sources and review
Primary sources are linked beside the relevant explanations. Source publication dates and jurisdictions still apply.