Oil and Gas Program

The Oil and Gas Program is the permitting authority for oil and gas activity within the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), under Chapter 377, Florida Statutes, and Rules 62C-25 through 30, F.A.C. Companies interested in exploring for or producing hydrocarbons in Florida are regulated by the program through permits and field inspections, and its key activities include permitting and oversight of drilling and operating wells and of geophysical operations. DEP says all permitted activities are inspected by staff in two field offices near Florida's productive oil fields, in northwest Florida (Jay) and south Florida (Fort Myers).

In a Phase I ESA

ASTM E1527-21 does not name oil and gas well records among its standard record sources. The general reading of a well at or near a property is on Oil or gas well on or near the subject property.

• Every permitted well has a permit number. DEP says permits issued for all wells in the state have an associated permit number, which is needed to search in OCULUS, and that the numbers are in the Oil and Gas Permit Database.
• The database covers all permitted wells. DEP describes the database as a spreadsheet compiling information on all permitted wells in the state, updated quarterly or as needed, and last updated on September 8, 2026. It has a quick search on its "Facility Information" tab, well information on its "Wells" tab, and links for each well to DEP's Information Portal and to the well on DEP's interactive map.
• The well file is in OCULUS. DEP says the program provides public access there to permit information, inspection reports, well logs and many other documents for each well in the state.
• The forms show what a file can hold. The program's forms include an application for permit to drill (Form 3), a notice of change of operator (Form 3A), a well record (Form 8), a well completion report (Form 9), a monthly well production and test report (Form 10), a monthly injection well report (Form 10A), a plugging and site restoration performance bond (Form 2) and a notice of plugging completion and site restoration (Form 16). For a well that was plugged, ask for the Form 16 notice.
• Injection wells for oil and gas are here too. DEP's Aquifer Protection Program says Class II injection wells, used to inject fluids associated with the production of oil and natural gas or to enhance hydrocarbon recovery, are regulated by the Oil and Gas Program. The other classes are on the Underground injection wells page.
• Orphaned wells have been plugged under a federal grant. Under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, DEP says the Department of the Interior awarded Florida a $25 million initial state grant in August 2022 to add to existing well plugging work. DEP gives the program's status "as of date of website"; the page as read, last modified October 7, 2026, shows 16 wells plugged and abandoned and 6 temporarily abandoned with the production zone plugged.
• The older maps stop in 2002. DEP's Florida Geological Survey posts Map Series 6, a collection of 26 maps that identifies locations of oil and gas wells, in 14 regional maps and 12 inset maps. It says the series was last updated in 2002 and points to the Oil and Gas Program for updated data.

Where to look a site up

• The Interactive Map of Permitted Wells, linked from the program's pages.
• The Oil and Gas Permit Database, the spreadsheet of all permitted wells.
• DEP's Oil and Gas Data page, which links the permit database, production data by well, field and state, and a geophysical database.
• The Florida Geological Survey's Oil and Gas Maps page, which links Map Series 6 and a Map Direct page of oil and gas well data.
• DEP's Oil and Gas Program Contacts page gives the Tallahassee office and the Fort Myers and Jay field offices. Its phone numbers are listed under staff names.

Getting the file

DEP says to search OCULUS with the well's permit number, following its Guide to Oculus, and to contact a program representative with questions. The program's orphaned well grant documents are in OCULUS too, in the "Oil & Gas" catalog under the "OG File Cabinet" profile. DEP's paper records route and fees are on the Public records and OCULUS page.

Sources

Florida Department of Environmental Protection pages, read October 15, 2026:

• Oil and Gas Program, no modified date shown.
• Oil and Gas Data, last modified June 3, 2026.
• Oil and Gas Permit Database, last modified September 8, 2026.
• Oculus Document Management, last modified April 17, 2026.
• Forms, last modified April 17, 2026.
• Plugging and Abandonment, last modified October 7, 2026.
• Oil and Gas Program Contacts, last modified April 17, 2026.
• Oil and Gas Maps, last modified January 12, 2026.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection page, read October 6, 2026:

• UIC Wells Classification, last modified May 27, 2026.