Dawson County lies on the eastern edge of Llano Estacado on the southern High Plains. The land, surfaced with sand and loam, comprises 902 sq. mi. of rolling prairie that drains to the playas. The county is named after Nicholas Mosby Dawson, a hero during the Texas Revolution. Lamesa is the county seat.
Oil production in Dawson County reached its peak in 1996 – 1997 in which more than 8,045,275 barrels of oil were produced. As of August 2014, 436,734 barrels of oil and 279,219 million cu. ft. of gas were produced.
In 2011, 150 drilling permits were approved, reaching an all-time high. In its entire oil production history, Dawson County has already 5,352 drilled wells; 89 companies have been operating in the county. Top producing operators include Chevron USA Inc., Devon Energy Production Co. LP, Diamondback E&P LLC, Endeavor Energy Resources LP, and Fasken Oil and Ranch Ltd.
Top Leases in Dawson County, TX:
- Ackerly /Dean/ Field Unit Oil Lease #060521
- Cedar Lake Unit Oil Lease #000577
- Darrell Oil Lease #070133
- East Ackerly Dean Unit Oil Lease #060687
- East Milagro Unit Oil Lease #040636
- Echols “7” Oil Lease #041504
- Gin Unit Oil Lease #066868
- Koger “2” Oil Lease #038721
- Los Ybanez Spraberry Unit Oil Lease #069470
- Peterson Oil Lease #069521
- South Welch Unit Oil Lease #060337
- Welch North Unit Oil Lease #019573
- West Spraberry Unit Oil Lease #067167
- West Welch Unit Oil Lease #014783
| Operator Number | Operator Name | Location | Leases |
| 000254 | A.K.C. OPERATING | ||
| 000894 | ABACO OPERATING, LLC | San Antonio, TX 78209 | |
| 003125 | ABRAXAS PETROLEUM CORPORATION | San Antonio, TX 78258 | |
| 003140 | ABRAXAS PRODUCTION CORPORATION | ||
| 007890 | ADENA EXPLORATION, INC. | ||
| 007937 | ADKINS, R. L. CORP. | ||
| 008380 | ADOBE OIL & GAS CORP. | ||
| 008390 | ADOBE OIL CO. | ||
| 008575 | AGAR & AGAR, INC. | ||
| 008718 | AGGIETECH OIL, LTD. | Midland, TX 79708 | |
| 009105 | AIKMAN OIL CORP. | Oklahoma City, OK 73157 | |
| 009120 | AIKMAN, WILLIAM H. | ||
| 011195 | ALBRITTON-MEYER | ||
| 012465 | ALHANCO ENERGY CORPORATION | ||
| 015734 | ALTA ENERGY CORPORATION | ||
| 015726 | ALTURA ENERGY LTD. | ||
| 016859 | AMAX OIL & GAS INC. | ||
| 016880 | AMBASSADOR OIL CORP. | ||
| 016980 | AMERADA HESS CORPORATION | ||
| 017000 | AMERADA PETROLEUM CORP. | ||
| 018008 | AMERICAN COMETRA, INC. | ||
| 018023 | AMERICAN EXPLORATION COMPANY | ||
| 018900 | AMERICAN PETROFINA CO. OF TEX. | ||
| 019756 | AMERIND OIL COMPANY, LTD. | ||
| 020200 | AMINI OIL COMPANY | ||
| 020190 | AMINI, K. K. | ||
| 020215 | AMINOIL USA INC. | ||
| 020425 | AMOCO PRODUCTION COMPANY | ||
| 020582 | ANADARKO PRODUCTION COMPANY | ||
| 023900 | ANDOVER OIL COMPANY | ||
| 027200 | APACHE CORPORATION | Houston, TX 77056 | 3 |
| 027426 | APEX MINERALS CO. | ||
| 028723 | ARATEX PRODUCTION COMPANY | ||
| 029270 | ARCH PETROLEUM INC. | ||
| 029410 | ARD DRILLING COMPANY | ||
| 029413 | ARD DRILLING COMPANY INC. | ||
| 029589 | ARDEN ENERGY PARTNERS, INC. | San Angelo, TX 76906 | |
| 029860 | ARGO PETROLEUM CORPORATION | ||
| 029870 | ARGONAUT ENERGY CORPORATION | ||
| 031585 | ARMOR PETROLEUM, INC. | Wichita Falls, TX 76308 | 1 |
| 034680 | ASHLAND OIL & REFG. CO. | ||
| 035410 | ASPEN EXPLORATION, INC. | ||
| 036574 | ATLAS ENERGY CORPORATION (DEL.) | Oklahoma City, OK 73112 | |
| 036618 | ATROPOS EXPLORATION COMPANY | Dallas, TX 75225 | |
| 037680 | AUSTRAL OIL COMPANY INCORPORATED | ||
| 038723 | AVRA OIL COMPANY | Dallas, TX 75206 | 1 |
| 048175 | BANAM CORPORATION | ||
| 049772 | BAR-BELL, INC. | ||
| 053106 | BARRETT BROTHERS OIL & GAS, INC. | San Antonio, TX 78217 | |
| 054313 | BASIC ENERGY SERVICES, L.P. | Fort Worth, TX 76102 | |
References:
Gelin, Leona M., and Mark Odintz. “DAWSON COUNTY.” Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association, 12 June 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2015. <http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcd03>.
“Oil Wells and Production in Dawson County, TX.” Dawson County, TX Oil Wells, Operators, and Production Data. Texas Data Applications, LLC. Web. 31 Jan. 2015. <http://www.texas-drilling.com/dawson-county>.