If you were at the national conference, you know that Texas had a station at our booth where you could build your own duck. Several attendees came by to design a duck with their own cowboy hat, bandana and sunglasses - and we had great conversations about the current plans for the chapter. With the price of oil fluctuating as it has in recent months, you may have another type of DUC on your mind – Drilled but UnCompleted wells that may have recently cropped up on your property.
DUCs are defined by industry as wells been drilled but not yet hydraulically fractured and tied in. DUCs are found in all the major shale regions - Permian, Bakken, Eagle Ford, Niobrara, Appalachia, Haynesville, and tracked by the EIA, Energy Domain, and Enverus. According to Energy Domain’s data, as of mid-October 2025, there are currently 9,156 DUCs in the United States. Of that number, 3,348 are Texas. The attached map from Energy Domain shows you where the wells are located in Texas.
Why would an operator delay completions?
There are several reasons why operators can choose to delay completion of wells and each of them have some kind of impact on their bottom line and yours as a mineral owner.
Commodity price timing & capital discipline are an important reason that operators might DUC a new well. When prices are soft, especially gas prices, operators defer completions to protect returns, then draw DUCs when prices improve. Reuters reported in September 2025 that industry surveys show firms pulling back CAPEX amid price/cost uncertainty.
The limited number of available frac crews and sand haulers also limits the number of completions that can be done. Operators require these subcontracted crews to meet certain industry and company standards – trained crews can be in short supply post COVID
Midstream bottlenecks affect the ability for the products to be taken out of the field. Pipelines can solve these issues, but infrastructure has been a key issue in places like the Permian Basin where new wells come online in rural areas where no established pipelines exist. This has led to excessive gas flaring in the Permian leading to millions of dollars of lost gas revenue.
Water management has always been a key issue in oil and gas operations. Whether it is obtaining water for fracing the wells or disposing of the water, it is an ever-present concern. Produced water handling and disposal limits have been an issue in the Permian Basin where some wells can yield as much as ten barrels of water per barrel of oil. However, with new legislation and alternative produced water disposal, this issue should be resolved in the coming years. As produced water is recycled, it will become more important to mineral owners to monitor to ensure that they receive their fair share of any strategic minerals that are recovered from recycled water.
When an oil and gas field is first established, these wells are called parent wells. As they deplete, operators may come in and drill infill wells. These wells are often referred to as “child” wells. Completing child wells near depleted parents can hurt both wells if the activities are not carefully planned. This is why wells are taken offline temporarily when other wells are being stimulated within the same section or near the section.
Pad logistics and cash flow phasing can also create DUCs. Operators may choose to drill an entire pad of horizontal wells at the same time, which will delay first sales until the entire pad is complete. This could delay payments for several months or even a year.
While there isn’t a lot that we can do as mineral owners to prevent DUCs from happening, we can try to understand when they are occurring and why. Instead of getting upset with your operator, communicate with them. Do some research on them and their operations. Review their press releases and find out what their future plans might be. Talk to other mineral owners in your area and find out if they are experiencing delay’s from DUCs. In short, know your property and what is going on with it.
My parting thought is that you look on the bright side. If an operator has your property DUCked, they aren’t depleting it at a low price per barrel. Remember, oil and gas assets are a finite resource. You want the highest prices for your family. If your operator isn’t producing your well, find out their reasoning. This will help you keep your ducks in a row.