There is a database resource operated by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s  (“WVDEP”) Office of Oil and Gas  (“OOG”) with which you can find the reported production of a well that is on your surface or is being said to hold a lease by production.

The only piece of information you need in order to research the well production data is the API # of the well.  An API # is a number unique to that well.  It is a permanent identifier that is assigned based on the location of the well anywhere in the United States.  (This identification was a standard ID originally established by the American Petroleum Institute.)  An API # should be located somewhere on the well.  You can also call and ask the company paying the royalties on the well or tending the well what the API # is if you do not own the surface and do not have permission to enter the property.

All API #s for wells in Doddridge County, West Virginia have the following format:  047 – 017 – #####.  47 signifies the great state of West Virginia.  017 identifies Doddridge County.  The last five numbers are the well number.

Here is the link for the OOG’s database:

https://apps.dep.wv.gov/oog/wellsearch_new.cfm

Because the database already knows you are searching for production data for a well in West Virginia, it does not ask for you to enter the state identifier, 47.  Instead, start with the county identifier and then enter the well identifier.  For purposes of our example, I entered 017-04569.

By entering this information, I then see that this example well was drilled by Key Oil Company in 2003 on the Morris Farm and is known as “Maxwell 14.”  More importantly, I can see the monthly amount of gas reported to have been produced, expressed in mcfg.  All producers are required to self-report production to the WVDEP annually by filling out the correct form.