New natural gas and oil drilling permits almost doubled in May in one portion of the Permian Basin in Texas, but overall, activity was down sharply in the state.

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) issued 65 natural gas and oil drilling permits for the San Angelo district, aka District 7C, a nearly 97% increase year/year. San Angelo is considered to be on the edge of the Permian.

“The Permian Basin is the most productive oil and gas region in the nation, and operators are taking advantage of drilling there,” a RRC spokesperson told NGI. 

In the Panhandle region of West Texas, operators that snagged new drilling permits last month included Apache Corp., Blackbeard Operating LLC, Callon Petroleum Operating Co., EOG Resources Inc., Endeavor Energy Resources LP, Mewbourne...