Oil and gas wells in Chautauqua County

14,371 wells — 2.8% of the Kansas register. 349 were plugged at public expense, and 964 sit inactive.

14,371Wells

1214 ftMedian depth

349Plugged by the State

964Inactive

What stands out in Chautauqua County

The operator named on most of these records is Wells-battelstein, on 462 of them (3.2%), ahead of John M. Denman Oil CO (229) and Kelt Energy (212). The oldest well here was completed in 0981 and the most recent in 2026, and the deepest reaches 9890 feet — Ownbey 3, drilled in 1982.

Depth, over the 11,142 wells in Chautauqua County where a figure was reported (78%) — a median, never a mean
Measurement	Median	90th percentile	Kansas median
Total depth	1214 ft	2099 ft	2831 ft — shallower here

What happened to these wells — in Chautauqua County

6,131 of the 14,371 wells in Chautauqua County are classed as plugged and abandoned. 349 were plugged at the State’s expense because no responsible party could be found, and 964 sit on the register as inactive — neither producing nor plugged.

⚠️ Two fields in this register disagree, and we show both rather than pick one: across Kansas, 245,220 wells are classed as plugged but 92,867 of them carry no plugging date, while 26,002 wells carry a date under another class. Here, 4,405 of these wells have a date on file. What each class means.

Who operates in Chautauqua County

Operator of record	Wells	Share
Wells-battelstein	462	3.2%
John M. Denman Oil CO	229	1.6%
Kelt Energy	212	1.5%
Kansas Energy Company, L.l.c	187	1.3%
Jones and Buck Development	153	1.1%
Denman Brothers	143	1.0%
Sm Oil & Gas, INC	143	1.0%
Wells-battelstein O&g	103	0.7%
Sinclair Prairie Oil CO	94	0.7%
Argas INC	92	0.6%
Not Confirmed	92	0.6%
Wells-battelstein Oil & Gas	89	0.6%
Bill Farris	86	0.6%
Kcc Fee Fund Plug	83	0.6%
Denman John M Oil	72	0.5%
Union Gas System INC	63	0.4%
Rigdon & Bruen Oil	59	0.4%
Little Nick Oil CO	58	0.4%

The operator of record is the one the register names. It is not necessarily the one there today, and it is not a judgement on anyone.

Which oil fields

Field	Wells	Share
Unknown	2,297	16.0%
Peru-sedan	1,971	13.7%
Elgin	338	2.4%
Leniton	228	1.6%
Hale-inge	226	1.6%
Wildcat	199	1.4%
Frasier	164	1.1%
Wayside-havana	106	0.7%
Landon-floyd	103	0.7%
Hylton	91	0.6%
Oliver	90	0.6%
Lowe	84	0.6%
Unnamed	80	0.6%
Sedan Peru	62	0.4%

When they were drilled

Decade	Wells	Share
2020s	82	0.6%
2010s	560	3.9%
2000s	364	2.5%
1990s	582	4.0%
1980s	1,858	12.9%
1970s	754	5.2%
1960s	242	1.7%
1950s	274	1.9%
1940s	47	0.3%

An old well on land in Chautauqua County?

349 wells in Chautauqua County were plugged at the State’s expense, out of 14,371 on the register — the sign that an operator was gone. If you find a well on your land, report it and do not tidy it up: knocking over casing can make you the responsible party. This site reads the register; it does not plug wells. Tell us where and we pass the request to Kansas operators and consultants.

We recommend nobody and we are nobody's agent. We have no arrangement with any firm today — we are collecting these requests in order to go and find them. What we do with this.

Wells in Chautauqua County

Chautauqua County — the last column reads *yes* where the register records the well as plugged, *State* where it was plugged at public expense, and a dash where neither. A 0 depth means none was reported. The legal description is on the record, never on a page.
Lease and well	Operator	Field	Depth (ft)	Year	Plugged
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'a' 10 API 15-019-20767-0001	R & R Oil Company	Peru-sedan	700	—	State
Dexter Dex-04 API 15-019-19772	—	Unknown	425	—	State
Carter 8 API 15-019-26962	Carter, Calvin Gene	Peru-sedan	1296	2009	State
Calvin 1-a API 15-019-26514	—	Sedan Peru	1835	2000	State
Rissman 4 API 15-019-25626	Carroll T L	Hale-inge	1750	1987	State
Rissman 5 API 15-019-25636	Carroll, T. L. Enterprises	—	1730	1987	State
Carter B-3 API 15-019-25256	Hopkins, Robert T	Peru-sedan	1205	1986	State
Anderson 2 API 15-019-24744	Black Eagle Resources	Lowe	1945	1984	State
Bedell 1 API 15-019-23599	D & B Oil	Wauneta	1440	1982	State
Oscar Carter 3-a API 15-019-23236	S&s O&g Prod	Peru-sedan	1000	1981	State
Burns 1 API 15-019-21610	Elk Oil	Hoover	812	1980	State
Elizabeth Rissman Company 2 API 15-019-21644	Plains Drilling Company	Unknown	225	1980	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'a' 7 API 15-019-20764	R & R Oil	Peru-sedan	1120	1977	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'a' 8 API 15-019-20765	R & R Oil Company	Peru-sedan	1056	1977	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'a' 9 API 15-019-20766	R & R Oil Company	Peru-sedan	1088	1977	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'a' 2 API 15-019-20718	R & R Oil	Peru-sedan	896	1976	State
Spurlock 57 API 15-019-20499	John M. Denman Oil	Peru-sedan	1125	1975	State
Allan 'b' 1 API 15-019-20097	Wyatt Petroleum Corp	Peru-sedan	1892	1968	State
Heirs B 3 (spur39) API 15-019-40842-0001	Darnall, Walter E	—	1080	1964	State
Fish Estate 1 API 15-019-41008	Walker, O. J	—	990	1959	State
Austin 10 API 15-019-19590-0001	Kcc Fee Fund Plug	—	750	1958	State
Kennedy Fee Fund ? API 15-019-70254	State of Ks	Unknown	1860	—	State
Kennedy Fee Fund 1 API 15-019-70255	State of Ks	—	0	—	State
Shotgun-thorne 1 API 15-019-70086	State of Ks	—	1200	—	State
Shotgun-thorne 2 API 15-019-70087	State of Ks	—	1200	—	State
Shotgun-thorne 3 API 15-019-70088	State of Ks	—	1200	—	State
Shotgun-thorne 4 API 15-019-70089	State of Ks	—	1200	—	State
Shotgun-thorne 5 API 15-019-70090	State of Ks	—	1200	—	State
Carter 1 API 15-019-70003	State of Kansas	—	705	—	State
Blake 1-a API 15-019-70082	State of Ks Fee Fund Plg	Unknown	1288	—	State
Blake 2-a API 15-019-70085	State of Ks Fee Fund Plg	Unknown	1260	—	State
Blake 3-a API 15-019-70083	State of Ks Fee Fund Plg	Unknown	1244	—	State
English Ow-2 API 15-019-71414	State of Ks	—	1025	—	State
English Ow-1 API 15-019-71415	State of Ks	—	1000	—	State
Troyer Ow-1 API 15-019-70060	State of Kansas	—	900	—	State
Steve Shaffer 4 API 15-019-19091	—	Unknown	400	—	State
Steve Shaffer 7 API 15-019-19092	—	Unknown	360	—	State
Steve Shaffer 5 API 15-019-19093	—	Unknown	125	—	State
Steve Shaffer 1 API 15-019-19094	—	—	900	—	State
Steve Shaffer 2 API 15-019-19095	—	—	440	—	State
Steve Shaffer 3 API 15-019-19096	—	—	440	—	State
Steve Shaffer 6 API 15-019-19097	—	—	420	—	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'a' 3 API 15-019-20747	R & R Oil Company	Unknown	960	—	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'a' 4 API 15-019-20748	R & R Oil Company	Unknown	620	—	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'a' 5 API 15-019-20749	R & R Oil Company	Unknown	900	—	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'a' 6 API 15-019-20754	R & R Oil Company	Unknown	1088	—	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'd' 1 API 15-019-20812	R & R Oil Company	Unknown	920	—	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'd' 2 API 15-019-20823	R & R Oil Company	Unknown	960	—	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'd' 3 API 15-019-20824	R & R Oil Company	Unknown	1088	—	State
Q. C. Henderson 1 API 15-019-20853	R & R Oil Company	—	1088	—	State
Q. C. Henderson 2 API 15-019-20854	R & R Oil Company	—	1008	—	State
Q. C. Henderson 3 API 15-019-20855	R & R Oil Company	—	1088	—	State
Q. C. Henderson 4 API 15-019-20856	R & R Oil Company	—	1188	—	State
Q. C. Henderson 5 API 15-019-20857	R & R Oil Company	—	704	—	State
Q. C. Henderson 6 API 15-019-20858	R & R Oil Company	—	672	—	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'd' 4 API 15-019-20864	R & R Oil Company	Unknown	1088	—	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'd' 5 API 15-019-20865	R & R Oil Company	Unknown	928	—	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'd' 6 API 15-019-20866	R & R Oil Company	Unknown	1088	—	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'd' 7 API 15-019-20867	R & R Oil Company	Unknown	960	—	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'd' 8 API 15-019-20868	R & R Oil Company	Unknown	1088	—	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'd' 9 API 15-019-20869	R & R Oil Company	Unknown	1056	—	State
Cookson Hills Christian Schools 'd' 10 API 15-019-20870	R & R Oil Company	Unknown	1088	—	State
Merle Allan 2 API 15-019-21179	Merle Allan	Unknown	1200	—	State
Oscar Carter 1 API 15-019-21300	Inland Exploration INC	Unknown	1207	—	State
Spurlock 58 API 15-019-21473	J. M. Denman	—	1120	—	State
Oscar Carter 1 Swd API 15-019-21611	Inland Exploration, INC	Unknown	621	—	State
Elizabeth Rissman Company 2 API 15-019-21758	Plains Drilling Company	Unknown	450	—	State
Elizabeth Rissman Company 3 API 15-019-21759	Plains Drilling Company	Unknown	800	—	State
Elizabeth Rissman Company 5-a API 15-019-22068	Plains Drilling Company	Unknown	800	—	State
Carter 2 1 API 15-019-22378	Westport Petroleum	—	565	—	State
Oscar Carter 4-a API 15-019-23237	Westport Petroleum Corporation	Unknown	1121	—	State
Kingry 1 API 15-019-24954	Core Petroleum, INC	—	850	—	State
Alexander Mccoy B-2 API 15-019-01032-0001	—	Peru-sedan	1080	—	State
Mcnown Was Sweeney 2 API 15-019-19130	Clyde Endicott	Unknown	100	—	State
Mcnown Was Sweeney 3 API 15-019-19131	Loyd Benefield CO	Unknown	1100	—	State
Mcnown Was Sweeney 4 API 15-019-19132	Loyd Benefield	Unknown	1100	—	State
Mcnown Was Sweeney 5 API 15-019-19133	—	Unknown	1100	—	State
Mcnown Was Sweeney 6 API 15-019-19134	Raven Oil Company	Unknown	1100	—	State
Mcnown Was Sweeney 7 API 15-019-19135	Raven Oil Company	Unknown	1100	—	State
Mcnown Was Sweeney 8 API 15-019-19136	—	Unknown	1100	—	State
Troyer 3 API 15-019-19149	—	Unknown	310	—	State
Troyer 001 API 15-019-19150	—	—	1000	—	State
Troyer 002 API 15-019-19151	—	—	850	—	State
Carra 'd' 16-khhc API 15-019-25509	Kelt Energy	Unknown	775	—	State
Carra D 22-khhc API 15-019-25515	Kelt Energy	Unknown	755	—	State
Charles Atterberry 1 API 15-019-19086	—	—	602	—	State
Kennedy Fee Fund 2 API 15-019-70046	State of Kansas	Unknown	1860	—	State
Carter B-1 Owwo API 15-019-01039	Hopkins, Robert T	Unknown	1070	—	State
Carter B-5 API 15-019-25870	Hopkins, Robert T	Unknown	1120	—	State
Venamon 1 - State API 15-019-70104	State of Kansas	—	1000	—	State
Venamon 2 - State API 15-019-70108	State of Kansas	—	1000	—	State
Henderson 001 API 15-019-19237	—	—	1536	—	State
Henderson Hen C7 API 15-019-19239	—	—	704	—	State
Henderson 9 API 15-019-19242	—	—	992	—	State
Henderson 7 API 15-019-19243	—	—	1056	—	State
Henderson 8 API 15-019-19244	—	—	1056	—	State
Henderson 11 API 15-019-19245	—	—	1056	—	State
Kennedy Fee Fund 1 API 15-019-70036	State of Kansas	Unknown	0	—	State
Carra 'd' 44 C2 API 15-019-19410	—	Unknown	775	—	State
Mcnown Was Sweeney 1 API 15-019-19485	—	Unknown	1100	—	State
M. A. Alexander 2 API 15-019-19514	—	—	1160	—	State
M. A. Alexander 6 API 15-019-19517	—	—	1145	—	State
M. A. Alexander 23 API 15-019-19535	—	—	1050	—	State
M. A. Alexander 11 API 15-019-19522	—	—	5	—	State
M. A. Alexander 20 API 15-019-19531	—	—	1090	—	State
M. A. Alexander 10 API 15-019-19521	—	—	1140	—	State
M. A. Alexander 12 API 15-019-19523	—	—	870	—	State
M. A. Alexander 9 API 15-019-19520	—	—	1075	—	State
M. A. Alexander 28 API 15-019-19536	—	—	1140	—	State
M. A. Alexander 19 API 15-019-19530	—	—	1140	—	State
M. A. Alexander 17 API 15-019-19528	—	—	1060	—	State
M. A. Alexander 8 API 15-019-19519	—	—	1075	—	State
M. A. Alexander 13 API 15-019-19524	—	—	90	—	State
M. A. Alexander 7 API 15-019-19518	—	—	1125	—	State
M. A. Alexander 14 API 15-019-19525	—	—	1050	—	State
M. A. Alexander 15 API 15-019-19526	—	—	1205	—	State
M. A. Alexander 22 API 15-019-19533	—	—	850	—	State
M. A. Alexander 18 API 15-019-19529	—	—	1060	—	State
M. A. Alexander 16 API 15-019-19527	—	—	1120	—	State
M. A. Alexander 1 API 15-019-19513	—	—	710	—	State
M. A. Alexander 4 API 15-019-19515	—	—	1110	—	State
M. A. Alexander 21 API 15-019-19532	—	—	1050	—	State
M. A. Alexander 5 API 15-019-19516	—	—	1030	—	State
M. A. Alexander 40 API 15-019-19540	—	—	260	—	State
M. A. Alexander 42 API 15-019-19543	—	—	1090	—	State
M. A. Alexander 38 API 15-019-19537	—	—	1110	—	State
M. A. Alexander 27 API 15-019-19539	—	—	1140	—	State
M. A. Alexander 35 API 15-019-19538	—	—	1050	—	State
M. A. Alexander 47 API 15-019-19544	—	—	1180	—	State
M. A. Alexander 44 API 15-019-19541	—	—	1000	—	State
M. A. Alexander 30 API 15-019-19542	—	—	680	—	State
Holroyd 13 API 15-019-19651	—	—	850	—	State
Holroyd 12 API 15-019-19650	—	Peru-sedan	850	—	State
Holroyd 1 API 15-019-19588	—	—	1025	—	State
Holroyd 2 API 15-019-19589	—	—	675	—	State
Holroyd 14 API 15-019-19598	—	—	900	—	State
Holroyd 9 API 15-019-19595	—	—	975	—	State
Holroyd 7 API 15-019-19593	—	—	600	—	State
Holroyd 5 API 15-019-19591	—	—	750	—	State
Holroyd 6 API 15-019-19592	—	—	900	—	State
Holroyd 10 API 15-019-19596	—	—	850	—	State
Holroyd 8 API 15-019-19594	—	—	900	—	State
Holroyd 11 API 15-019-19597	—	—	850	—	State
Holroyd 15 API 15-019-19599	—	—	950	—	State
Holroyd 19 API 15-019-19603	—	—	450	—	State
Focht 17 API 15-019-19640	—	—	1000	—	State
Focht 14 API 15-019-19637	—	—	1000	—	State
Focht 12 API 15-019-19635	—	—	1000	—	State
Focht 10 API 15-019-19633	—	—	1000	—	State
Focht 4 API 15-019-19630	—	—	1000	—	State

By class in Chautauqua County

Counties with a comparable register

Allen 20,676
Barton 17,844
Miami 17,245
Ellis 15,913
Woodson 15,807
Neosho 15,453
Butler 15,077
Russell 13,770
Greenwood 13,046
Wilson 12,772
Anderson 12,692
Cowley 11,511
Stafford 11,492

Neighbours by the size of their register, not a ranking: the list slides with the county, so each of the 82 county pages is reachable from the others. All of them.