Market Data
Every dot on the map is a real well drilled and reported to a state regulator. The color reflects status — producing, permitted but not drilled, plugged and abandoned, or shut-in — and the line extending from each well represents the horizontal lateral when the regulator has filed it. The map updates weekly as new permits and completions are filed.
Three things drive what mineral owners notice first. Density of producing wells around a tract is the strongest near-term signal of value — operators don't drill into vacuum. Permitted locations matter more than completed wells in basins where the permit-to-spud lag is short (Permian, DJ, Bakken) and less in basins where permits sit for years before development (parts of Appalachia, Black Warrior). Plugged-and-abandoned clusters often mark the up-dip edge of a play, which can either mean “avoided” or “tested and skipped” depending on the formation and vintage.
The lateral lines are the most consistently useful overlay for valuing horizontal-era minerals. A unit's economic value tracks lateral length far more cleanly than gross acreage, and the visible direction of laterals tells you which formations the operator currently considers prospective. When you see two operators drilling perpendicular laterals across the same section, you're usually looking at a stacked-pay scenario where multiple formations are being targeted independently.
Mineral owners often arrive here trying to answer one of three questions: is anyone drilling near my tract right now, who is drilling, and how does my section compare to the offset development. The map answers the first two directly. For the third question — comparing your tract to its neighbors — pair the map with our production data for the same county.
The most common misread we see: owners assume a section with no visible wells is dead. In active basins, undrilled acreage in the path of a known development trend is frequently more valuable than acreage that's already been produced, because future units can still be assembled around it. A blank spot adjacent to dense permits is usually undrilled, not unwanted. Conversely, sections dense with old vertical wells but no horizontal laterals are often considered “held by production” without future upside — the surface looks developed, the subsurface isn't.
For owners considering a sale, three map patterns shift offer ranges materially: active permits within two miles of your tract, lateral activity that orients across (not parallel to) your section line, and recent operator turnover in the surrounding acreage. The first signals near-term cash flow, the second indicates your tract is a candidate for the next unit, and the third often means a more aggressive buyer just acquired the neighborhood.
Pointer Minerals is a direct principal buyer — we own and underwrite mineral interests across 19 producing states, with more than 1,000 wells currently held on our books. When we evaluate a tract a seller sends us, the map is one of the first things we open, but we're looking for things most owners wouldn't notice on a first pass.
The signal we weight heaviest is operator quality of the most recent permits in the surrounding township. A premium operator staking a new lateral within a section of your tract is a stronger forward indicator than five producing wells from a distressed operator. We also look for the cadence of permit filings — three permits filed within a 90-day window typically precedes a development drilling program, while permits filed one-per-year often mean lease maintenance rather than real activity.
None of this changes what your tract is fundamentally worth — geology doesn't care who looks at the map — but it does shape how quickly we can underwrite and how confident we are in the offer we send. If you'd like us to run a tract for you, the fastest path is to send us a brief description of what you own and we'll come back within 48 hours with a written number.
Well locations and permits are refreshed weekly from each state regulator's public-records system (TX RRC, NM OCD, ND DMR, OK OCC, CO COGCC, WY OGCC, PA DEP, and others). Completion and status updates lag the source by 0–14 days depending on the regulator.
Not every state requires operators to file the actual lateral path. In states that do (Texas, North Dakota, New Mexico, Colorado), we display the filed line. In states where only the surface and bottom-hole locations are public, we display a straight-line approximation. Vertical wells appear as single points.
Yes — click any well and the popup shows the current operator of record, the API number, completion date if available, and the field name the regulator has assigned. For a broader look at operator footprints, see our operator directory.
No. The map is regulatory data only. Pointer's acquisitions and offer history are confidential. If you want a number specific to your tract, the only way to get one is to send us the basics and let us underwrite it.