Pennsylvania
Oil and gas wells
Pennsylvania oil and gas wells
Oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania are permitted and inspected by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), through its Office of Oil and Gas Management. DEP says it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of oil and gas wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania since 1859.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name well records among its standard record sources. They are worth checking on a property with possible oil and gas history. That is advice for the search, not something DEP says.
- Many old wells are not in the record. DEP says oil and gas development went on for nearly a century before permitting requirements were enacted in 1955, and that an estimated 100,000 to 560,000 wells are yet to be accounted for. Its well map shows only wells that have locational information. So a map with no well on a property does not show that none was drilled there.
- Old plugging was not to today's standard. DEP says the materials and techniques historically used for well plugging are inadequate by today's standards.
- Abandoned and orphan wells carry risk. DEP says owners and operators are legally responsible for plugging wells, that this has not always happened, and that abandoned and orphan wells pose risks including methane leaks, migration and water contamination. An orphan well, as DEP gives the statutory definition, is one abandoned before April 18, 1985 that the present owner or operator has not affected or operated, and from which the present owner, operator or lessee has received no economic benefit other than as a landowner or royalty recipient.
- Home-use gas wells change hands with houses. DEP says wells providing home-use gas are very common, are often near the homes they serve and are sold with them, and that real estate transactions often fail to address the regulatory requirements of operating a gas well. Ask the owner whether a gas well serves the property and whether it was transferred.
- Spills at well sites have their own policy. The policies page of DEP's Land Recycling Program links a policy on addressing spills and releases at oil and gas well sites or access roads, and a standard operating procedure for implementing the oil and gas spill policy. See Act 2 remediation standards.
DEP's oil and gas field program is in its Northcentral, Southwest and Northwest regional offices.
What the record shows
DEP's oil and gas reports give production information, permits issued, the date drilling commenced (the SPUD date), county and operator data, and inspections, violations and enforcement actions. The reports page also links reports of plugged wells, of DEP orphan and abandoned wells, of oil and gas waste, and of resolved water supply complaints, and a set of water supply determination letters.
The well map shows conventional and unconventional wells, producing and non-producing, based on reports submitted by operators. DEP says it also shows permitting documents, inspections and compliance information.
Where to look a site up
- The Oil and Gas Mapping Application locates wells by address, county, latitude and longitude, municipality or zip code, and can display data by permit number or operator.
- DEP's Oil and Gas Reports page links the interactive reports and a data dictionary.
- In eFACTS, DEP says the public can search for permits, operators, wells and inspections under the oil and gas program.
- eMapPA also shows well locations.
- For Allegheny County, DEP has a story map that lays a historical development map from the 1930s to 1960s over aerial imagery and DEP's known wells.
- Questions about the reports go to the Office of Oil and Gas Management's Bureau of Compliance and Data Administration at 717-772-2199 or RA-EP-BOGMOGRE@pa.gov.
Getting the file
DEP recommends an Informal File Review, requested on an electronic form and scheduled with the regional office, before a request under the Right-to-Know Law. Both routes are on the Informal File Review and Right-to-Know requests page.
Sources
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection pages, read October 1, 2026, no modified date shown: