What data is contained in Header Records?

This articles gives an overview of fields that can be found in the Header Record.

Core Identification Fields

These fields uniquely identify each well in the database:

  • API: API (American Petroleum Institute) number assigned to the well by the state.  
    • API10: 10-digit API number
    • API12: 12-digit API number (last 2 default to "00" when not provided by state)
    • API14: 14-digit API number (last 4 default to "0000" when not provided by state)
  • UWI: UWI for wells that do not use standard API numbers (Canadian)

Location Information

Geographic location details:

  • Surface Location: Latitude and Longitude coordinates for the surface location
  • Bottom Hole Location: Latitude and Longitude coordinates for the bottom hole
  • District: District name for the well (TX only)
  • State: State the well is located in
  • County: county the well is located in
  • Field: Field where the well was drilled
  • Country: Designates if the well is located in the United States or Canada
  • Section / Township / Range (for Texas: Survey / Abstract):  
    Grid1 Meridian / Survey (TX)
    Grid2 Township / Block (TX)
    Grid3 Range / Section (TX) 
    Grid4 Section / Abstract label (TX)
    Grid5 Quarters / Alternate survey (TX)

Geological References

  • Basin: Prominent basin as defined by EIA maps
  • Play: Prominent play as defined by EIA maps
  • Primary Formation: Primary formation as indicated by production

Well Information

  • Well Name: Well name, typically lease name + well number
  • Well Number: Well number as reported by state system
  • Well Status: Active Producer, Inactive, Historic, Plugged & Abandoned, DUC, Completed - Not Active, Expired Permit, etc. 
  • Well Type: Oil, Gas, Oil & Gas, Injection, Disposal, etc.
  • Wellbore Profile: Horizontal, Vertical, or Directional
  • Drilling Floor Elevation: Elevation of the drilling floor above sea level
  • Ground Elevation: Ground elevation above sea level
  • Kelly Bushing Elevation: Elevation of the kelly bushing above sea level
  • Measured Depth: Total measured well depth (MD)
  • True Vertical Depth: Total true vertical depth (TVD) 
  • Offshore Water Depth: Water depth at location of offshore drilling rig
  • Heel Location: Heel Latitude and Heel Longitude for well heel point (azimuth ≥ 90)
  • Kick-off Point: Kop Latitude and Kop Longitude where well deviates (azimuth ≥ 10)
  • Lateral Length: Length of lateral, determined by state report, depth difference, or coordinate calculation
  • Trajectory: Available in Grid North and True North orientations, with and without TVD (3D)

Important Dates

Key operational dates:

  • Completion Date: Most recent completion date
  • First Production Date: First month of reported production
  • Permit Date: Most recent permit date
  • Plug Date: Date well is plugged
  • Spud Date: Most recent spud date
  • Test Date: Most recent date of well test

System Management

Internal tracking and management fields:

  • Date Catalogued: Date/time record was catalogued into export database
  • Date Created: Date record was created in WellDatabase
  • Date Last Modified: Date record was last modified in WellDatabase
  • Internal ID: Unique record identifier as integer for quick querying
  • Simple ID: Well identifier as integer for simple querying
  • Well ID: Unique well identifier

Data Model

The schema in our data model provides a complete and detailed framework for capturing and analyzing the data available in WellDatabase.


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