Merit Oil
Operator of record for 14 catalogued wells across 2 states. Every well below links to its full registry page.
Filed as: MERIT OIL CO, INC · MERIT OIL COMPANY · MERIT OIL, INC
At a glance
Merit Oil is the operator of record for 14 catalogued U.S. oil & gas wells in 2 states. 1 (7%) are active, 8 (57%) plugged & abandoned and 5 flagged as orphaned. Its largest concentration is in Kentucky, with 13 wells (93% of its portfolio).
Wells operated
14
Active
1
Plugged
8
Orphaned
5
Portfolio by state
| State | Wells |
|---|---|
| Kentucky | 13 |
| Mississippi | 1 |
Well mix
- Oil wells
- 4
- Gas wells
- 0
- Shut-in
- 0
- Active share
- 7%
Is this your company?
Claim Merit Oil to keep this portfolio accurate — verified operators can correct well statuses and add plugging documentation.
Claim your operator profileWhere does Merit Oil operate?
Merit Oil's catalogued wells are spread across 2 states: Kentucky (13) and Mississippi (1). Its 13 Kentucky wells are 0.0% of the 201,022 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 Merit Oil’s wells are active, plugged or orphaned?
7% of Merit Oil's catalogued wells are active, 22 percentage points below the national share of 29%. 57% are plugged & abandoned, against 47% nationally. 5 wells filed under this name are flagged as orphaned — unplugged, with no operator able to plug them.
What kinds of wells does Merit Oil operate?
By product class, 4 (29%) are oil wells and 0 (0%) gas wells; nationally the shares are 43% and 17%. The deepest of its wells with a published depth is H S Harris 1 1 in Jefferson, MS at 5,600 ft. The wells listed below sit in Jefferson (MS), Adair (KY), Clinton (KY), Christian (KY), Lincoln (KY) and Wayne (KY) 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 Merit Oil
| Well | API # / state ID | Status | Type | Location | Operator | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H S Harris 1 1 | 23-063-20391 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Jefferson, MS | Merit Oil Company | 5,600 ft |
| Wright, Owen 1 | 16-001-00638 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Adair, KY | Merit Oil, Inc | 1,900 ft |
| Cash, Elmer 3 | 16-053-00480 | Active | Oil | Clinton, KY | Merit Oil, Inc | 757 ft |
| Putty, W H Lease 8 | 16-047-00711 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Christian, KY | Merit Oil Co, Inc | 0 ft |
| Putty, W H 4-W | 16-047-00707 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Christian, KY | Merit Oil Co, Inc | 0 ft |
| Rice, Eddy 1 | 16-137-00043 | Orphaned | Other type | Lincoln, KY | Merit Oil, Inc | 0 ft |
| Russell, Hern 3 | 16-137-00042 | Orphaned | Oil | Lincoln, KY | Merit Oil, Inc | 0 ft |
| Lee, R E Mrs 2re | 16-231-00245 | Orphaned | Oil | Wayne, KY | Merit Oil, Inc | — |
| Rice, Eddy 2 | 16-137-00033 | Orphaned | Other type | Lincoln, KY | Merit Oil, Inc | — |
| Smith, James 1 | 16-053-00481 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Clinton, KY | Merit Oil, Inc | — |
| Smith, Lola 5 | 16-053-01621 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Clinton, KY | Merit Oil, Inc | — |
| Smith, Lola 3 | 16-057-01883 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Cumberland, KY | Merit Oil, Inc | — |
Deepest first where depth is published. See all 14 wells →
Frequently asked questions
How many wells does Merit Oil operate?
Merit Oil is the operator of record for 14 catalogued oil & gas wells, with the largest concentration in Kentucky (13). Only wells in states WellCensus has ingested are counted.
How many of Merit Oil's wells are still active?
1 of Merit Oil's catalogued wells are active; 8 are plugged & abandoned and 5 are flagged as orphaned.
In which states does Merit Oil operate wells?
Merit Oil is the operator of record for wells in Kentucky (13) and Mississippi (1).
Does Merit Oil operate mostly oil or gas wells?
4 of Merit Oil's catalogued wells are oil wells and 0 are gas wells; the rest are injection, service or unclassified wells.
What is Merit Oil's deepest well?
Among wells with a published depth, H S Harris 1 1 in Jefferson, MS is the deepest at 5,600 ft.
Where Merit Oil'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, “Merit Oil — well portfolio”, https://wellcensus.com/operators/merit-oil-68882 (data as of October 10, 2026).
Dataset updated . Operator portfolios are resolved from raw state registry filings (exact-normalized names; subsidiaries stay separate).