A DUC — drilled but uncompleted — is a well that has been spudded but has not yet been completed or reported first production. For a mineral owner, a DUC on your tract usually means royalty income is coming but has not started.
Month-end count of wells spudded in the prior three years without reported first production. The latest months can revise as first-production reports arrive.
| Time since spud | Wells | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0–90 days | 751 | 15.2% |
| 91–180 days | 848 | 17.2% |
| 181–365 days | 1,266 | 25.6% |
| 1–2 years | 980 | 19.8% |
| 2–3 years | 1,096 | 22.2% |
Aging percentiles: 25th 143 days · median 284 · 75th 678 · 90th 928.
| County | DUCs | Median wait (days) |
|---|---|---|
| Midland | 450 | 266 |
| Reeves | 351 | 253 |
| Martin | 347 | 260 |
| Loving | 317 | 344 |
| Upton | 282 | 204 |
| Reagan | 201 | 234 |
| Webb | 148 | 218 |
| Andrews | 138 | 283 |
| Glasscock | 131 | 235 |
| Howard | 130 | 246 |
| Culberson | 122 | 594 |
| Ector | 112 | 321 |
| Crane | 111 | 318 |
| Ward | 108 | 372 |
| Winkler | 85 | 535 |
| De Witt | 85 | 241 |
| Harrison | 75 | 250 |
| Yoakum | 73 | 206 |
| La Salle | 73 | 345 |
| Karnes | 67 | 143 |
| Mcmullen | 65 | 185 |
| San Augustine | 60 | 143 |
| Borden | 54 | 321 |
| Gaines | 53 | 491 |
| Dawson | 50 | 327 |
| Operator | DUCs | Median wait (days) |
|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Natural Resources | 389 | 211 |
| Diamondback Energy | 336 | 257 |
| Eog Resources | 158 | 201 |
| Oxy | 104 | 376 |
| Chevron | 96 | 295 |
| Xto Energy | 94 | 353 |
| De Central Operating, LLC | 93 | 188 |
| Apache | 79 | 181 |
| Bpx Operating Company | 76 | 272 |
| Permian Resources Operating LLC | 75 | 186 |
| Blackbeard Operating | 73 | 423 |
| Anadarko Petroleum | 72 | 276 |
| Mewbourne Oil Company | 68 | 231 |
| Continental Resources | 65 | 241 |
| Fasken Oil And Ranch | 65 | 282 |
| Highpeak Energy Holdings | 58 | 434 |
| Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company | 56 | 101 |
| Ngl Water Solutions | 55 | 702 |
| Coterra Energy Inc | 54 | 609 |
| Sm Energy Company | 48 | 233 |
| Endeavor Energy Resources | 47 | 703 |
| Cog Operating | 46 | 255 |
| Ovintiv Usa Inc | 46 | 248 |
| Pdeh LLC | 43 | 178 |
| Oxyrock Operating, LLC | 43 | 178 |
| Basin / play | DUCs | Median wait (days) |
|---|---|---|
| Permian Basin | 3,275 | 278 |
| Gulf Coast Basin (La - Tx) | 858 | 262 |
| East Texas Basin | 432 | 259 |
| Palo Duro Basin | 51 | 725 |
| Bend Arch | 50 | 528 |
| Fort Worth Syncline | 47 | 448 |
| Avalon-Bone Spring | 31 | 612 |
| Anadarko Basin | 31 | 416 |
| Strawn Basin | 22 | 545 |
| South Oklahoma Folded Belt | 10 | 245 |
| Austin Chalk | 6 | 989 |
| Thirty-One Carbonate-Chert | 4 | 987 |
Groups with fewer than three wells are not shown. Data as of 2026-09-29.
A drilled-uncompleted well, or DUC, has been spudded but has not yet been completed or reported first production. Operators hold DUCs as capacity they can bring online without drilling a new well.
Valor counts 4,941 Texas wells spudded in the last three years with no reported first production; the median well has waited 284 days since spud.
A DUC on your tract usually means royalty income is coming but has not started. The aging profile on this page shows how long wells typically wait, which can help set expectations for first payment.
Wells with a spud date in the last three years and no first-production date, from public oil and gas data. Valor computes the count, aging percentiles and 24-month trend; recent months can revise as first-production reports arrive.
No. Valor publishes the backlog as statistics — totals, aging, and county, operator and formation groupings of three or more wells — rather than a list of individual wells.
These statistics are computed by Valor from public oil and gas data. © Valor, all rights reserved.