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WellCensus

API and MCP server

Plug the well and operator registry into your own systems and AI tools. The MCP server answers anyone in public mode; full records, the REST API, the change feed and webhooks come with Enterprise.

MCP server (AI tools)

Connect WellCensus to Claude, ChatGPT or your own agent. The server is https://wellcensus.com/api/mcp (Streamable HTTP). Without a key it answers in public mode: summaries with a link to each record, 5 results per call. With an Enterprise key it returns full records, change history and the change feed.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wellcensus": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://wellcensus.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer wck_live_…" }
    }
  }
}

Tools: search_wells, get_wells, search_operators, get_operators, recent_changes (Enterprise), about.

REST API (Enterprise)

Create a key under Account → API keys, then send it as Authorization: Bearer wck_live_…. JSON responses; keyset paging with cursor; up to 100 records per page and 120 requests a minute per key.

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $KEY" \
  "https://wellcensus.com/api/v1/wells?state=TX&limit=100"
EndpointWhat it returns
GET /api/v1datasets, filters, your limits
GET /api/v1/wellsU.S. oil & gas wellbores from state regulator registries plus the USGS documented-orphaned-wells inventory: API number, operator of record, status, well type, spud / completion / plug dates, depth and location. Registry header data, not production volumes. Filters: statecountyoperator_idstatus · q = name prefix
GET /api/v1/operatorsCanonical oil & gas operators of record, de-duplicated across state registries, with well counts by status and the states they hold wells in. Filters: canonical_namerankable · q = name prefix
GET /api/v1/wells/{api_number}one well + its last 20 changes
GET /api/v1/operators/{id}one operator + its last 20 changes
GET /api/v1/changeschange feed: new, updated, removed records (dataset, after_id, since)

Bulk files and webhooks

Enterprise includes every national and state file (gzipped CSV, refreshed weekly), and any alert can post to your webhook, signed with X-Census-Signature: t=…,v1=HMAC-SHA256(secret, t.body).