California Oil and Gas Wells Map
WellsMap USA maps 242,547 oil and gas wells in California, from California Department of Conservation, CalGEM records (updated September 2026). 53,972 are listed as active and 156,792 as plugged, abandoned or never drilled. Wells are spread across 47 counties and 8,665 operators.
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California wells by type
| Type | Wells | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Oil & gas | 165,459 | 68% |
| Injection / disposal | 43,041 | 18% |
| Dry hole | 16,780 | 6.9% |
| Gas | 6,531 | 2.7% |
| Monitoring | 5,041 | 2.1% |
| Unknown type | 3,380 | 1.4% |
| Test hole | 1,571 | 0.6% |
| Storage | 486 | 0.2% |
| Water | 258 | 0.1% |
California wells by status
| Status | Wells | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Plugged | 146,853 | 61% |
| Active | 53,972 | 22% |
| Inactive / shut in | 30,054 | 12% |
| Cancelled / never drilled | 9,939 | 4.1% |
| Permitted | 1,653 | 0.7% |
| Unknown status | 76 | 0.0% |
Counties with the most oil and gas wells in California
| County | Wells | Active |
|---|---|---|
| Kern | 156,912 | 40,899 |
| Los Angeles | 24,745 | 3,586 |
| Fresno | 12,486 | 2,051 |
| Orange | 9,087 | 916 |
| Ventura | 8,553 | 2,428 |
| Santa Barbara | 7,093 | 808 |
| Monterey | 3,879 | 851 |
| San Luis Obispo | 2,016 | 269 |
| Solano | 1,723 | 62 |
| Yolo | 1,486 | 19 |
| Kings | 1,330 | 158 |
| Colusa | 1,271 | 143 |
| Glenn | 1,255 | 169 |
| San Joaquin | 1,250 | 100 |
| Sutter | 1,232 | 201 |
| Sacramento | 908 | 62 |
| Tulare | 778 | 69 |
| Contra Costa | 676 | 19 |
| Tehama | 618 | 78 |
| San Benito | 388 | 17 |
Top oil and gas operators in California by well count
| Operator | Wells | Active |
|---|---|---|
| Chevron U.S.A. Inc. | 58,510 | 13,370 |
| Aera Energy LLC | 57,776 | 13,378 |
| California Resources Production Corporation | 11,543 | 3,004 |
| Sentinel Peak Resources California LLC | 10,941 | 3,932 |
| California Resources Elk Hills, LLC | 10,486 | 4,155 |
| Berry Petroleum Company, LLC | 8,401 | 2,149 |
| E & B Natural Resources Management Corporation | 4,070 | 1,441 |
| Tidelands Oil Production Co. | 2,645 | 676 |
| Union Oil Company of California | 2,532 | 0 |
| Crimson Resource Management Corp. | 2,270 | 1,096 |
| CalNRG Operating, LLC | 2,223 | 1,194 |
| Shell Western E&P Inc. | 2,003 | 0 |
| THUMS Long Beach Co. | 1,725 | 1,310 |
| Mobil Oil Corporation | 1,585 | 0 |
| Exxon Mobil Corporation | 1,456 | 0 |
| Holmes Western Oil Corporation | 1,417 | 608 |
| Macpherson Oil Company LLC | 1,239 | 522 |
| Union Pacific Resources Co. | 952 | 0 |
| Cat Canyon Resources LLC | 887 | 13 |
| Bridge Energy LLC | 814 | 262 |
Largest oil and gas fields in California by well count
| Field | Wells |
|---|---|
| Midway-Sunset | 36,290 |
| Belridge, South | 33,327 |
| Kern River | 21,770 |
| Any Field | 14,490 |
| Lost Hills | 10,435 |
| Coalinga | 9,604 |
| Cymric | 8,432 |
| Elk Hills | 6,677 |
| Wilmington | 5,556 |
| McKittrick | 4,987 |
| Kern Front | 3,698 |
| Huntington Beach | 3,670 |
| Belridge, North | 3,661 |
| Buena Vista | 3,535 |
| Poso Creek | 3,193 |
California wells drilled by decade
| Decade | Wells spudded |
|---|---|
| 1860s | 1 |
| 1880s | 40 |
| 1890s | 84 |
| 1900s | 719 |
| 1910s | 980 |
| 1920s | 1,029 |
| 1930s | 1,390 |
| 1940s | 3,827 |
| 1950s | 5,304 |
| 1960s | 7,469 |
| 1970s | 7,372 |
| 1980s | 11,610 |
| 1990s | 8,876 |
| 2000s | 12,488 |
| 2010s | 25,642 |
| 2020s | 2,795 |
Based on the 89,626 wells with a recorded spud date.
About this data
Well locations, types and statuses come from public records published by California Department of Conservation, CalGEM, retrieved September 2026. Counties missing from the source records are assigned from each well's location. Records can be incomplete or out of date; check with the regulator before relying on them.