Big Chief Drilling
Operator of record for 28 catalogued wells across 3 states. Every well below links to its full registry page.
Filed as: BIG CHIEF DRILLING CO · Big Chief Drilling · Big Chief Drilling Company
At a glance
Big Chief Drilling is the operator of record for 28 catalogued U.S. oil & gas wells in 3 states. 2 (7%) are active, 26 (93%) plugged & abandoned. Its largest concentration is in Illinois, with 21 wells (75% of its portfolio).
Wells operated
28
Active
2
Plugged
26
Orphaned
0
Portfolio by state
| State | Wells |
|---|---|
| Illinois | 21 |
| Oklahoma | 4 |
| Arkansas | 3 |
Well mix
- Oil wells
- 13
- Gas wells
- 1
- Shut-in
- 0
- Active share
- 7%
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Claim Big Chief Drilling to keep this portfolio accurate — verified operators can correct well statuses and add plugging documentation.
Claim your operator profileWhere does Big Chief Drilling operate?
Big Chief Drilling's catalogued wells are spread across 3 states: Illinois (21), Oklahoma (4) and Arkansas (3). Its 21 Illinois wells are 0.0% of the 174,478 catalogued in that state — its largest share of any state. Counts cover only states whose registries WellCensus has ingested with operator names; wells in Nebraska and Texas (location indexes) and in states without a registry ingest are not yet attributed to any operator.
How many of Big Chief Drilling’s wells are active, plugged or orphaned?
7% of Big Chief Drilling's catalogued wells are active, 22 percentage points below the national share of 29%. 93% are plugged & abandoned, against 47% nationally. None of the wells filed under this name is flagged as orphaned.
What kinds of wells does Big Chief Drilling operate?
By product class, 13 (46%) are oil wells and 1 (4%) gas wells; nationally the shares are 43% and 17%. The deepest of its wells with a published depth is Harp, E J 1 in Scott, AR at 15,472 ft. The wells listed below sit in Scott (AR), Miller (AR), Lafayette (AR), White (IL), Jasper (IL) and Edwards (IL) and other counties. State filings spell the name 3 ways; WellCensus merges exact-normalized spellings only, so subsidiaries and affiliates keep their own pages.
Notable wells operated by Big Chief Drilling
| Well | API # / state ID | Status | Type | Location | Operator | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harp, E J 1 | 03-127-10002 | Plugged & abandoned | Gas | Scott, AR | Big Chief Drilling Company | 15,472 ft |
| Froid, Alviena N 1 | 03-091-00797 | Plugged & abandoned | Oil | Miller, AR | Big Chief Drilling Company | 6,003 ft |
| Gnat, J E 1 | 03-073-00567 | Plugged & abandoned | Oil | Lafayette, AR | Big Chief Drilling Company | 4,005 ft |
| French H G 1 | 12-193-01219 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | White, IL | Big Chief Drilling | 3,562 ft |
| McCormack, Roy 1 | 12-079-00208 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Jasper, IL | Big Chief Drilling | 3,234 ft |
| Heap, Elma 1 | 12-079-00132 | Active | Oil | Jasper, IL | Big Chief Drilling | 3,213 ft |
| Heap, Elma 2 | 12-079-00268 | Plugged & abandoned | Oil | Jasper, IL | Big Chief Drilling | 3,118 ft |
| Thompson-Seals 1 | 12-047-00163 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Edwards, IL | Big Chief Drilling | 3,084 ft |
| Giesecke, Henry 1 | 12-027-01563 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Clinton, IL | Big Chief Drilling | 2,942 ft |
| Fiscus 1 | 12-101-00384 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Lawrence, IL | Big Chief Drilling | 2,897 ft |
| Keach, Orran 1 | 12-079-24993 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Jasper, IL | Big Chief Drilling | 2,799 ft |
| Peach C B 1 | 12-185-04086 | Plugged & abandoned | Oil | Wabash, IL | Big Chief Drilling | 2,742 ft |
Deepest first where depth is published. See all 28 wells →
Frequently asked questions
How many wells does Big Chief Drilling operate?
Big Chief Drilling is the operator of record for 28 catalogued oil & gas wells, with the largest concentration in Illinois (21). Only wells in states WellCensus has ingested are counted.
How many of Big Chief Drilling's wells are still active?
2 of Big Chief Drilling's catalogued wells are active; 26 are plugged & abandoned.
In which states does Big Chief Drilling operate wells?
Big Chief Drilling is the operator of record for wells in Illinois (21), Oklahoma (4) and Arkansas (3).
Does Big Chief Drilling operate mostly oil or gas wells?
13 of Big Chief Drilling's catalogued wells are oil wells and 1 are gas wells; the rest are injection, service or unclassified wells.
What is Big Chief Drilling's deepest well?
Among wells with a published depth, Harp, E J 1 in Scott, AR is the deepest at 15,472 ft.
Where Big Chief Drilling's wells are
About this data
Source: State oil & gas regulator registries (operator of record as filed, exact-normalized across states) plus the USGS United States Documented Orphaned Well Database (2026), as published October 10, 2026 — WellCensus refreshes it monthly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: WellCensus, “Big Chief Drilling — well portfolio”, https://wellcensus.com/operators/big-chief-drilling-13003 (data as of October 10, 2026).
Dataset updated . Operator portfolios are resolved from raw state registry filings (exact-normalized names; subsidiaries stay separate).