Sterling Drilling
Operator of record for 169 catalogued wells across 5 states. Every well below links to its full registry page.
Filed as: STERLING DRILLING · STERLING DRILLING CO · STERLING DRILLING COMPANY · Sterling Drilling Company
At a glance
Sterling Drilling is the operator of record for 169 catalogued U.S. oil & gas wells in 5 states. 15 (9%) are active, 150 (89%) plugged & abandoned. Its largest concentration is in Kansas, with 139 wells (82% of its portfolio).
Wells operated
169
Active
15
Plugged
150
Orphaned
0
Portfolio by state
| State | Wells |
|---|---|
| Kansas | 139 |
| Colorado | 16 |
| Wyoming | 7 |
| Kentucky | 5 |
| Michigan | 2 |
Well mix
- Oil wells
- 106
- Gas wells
- 8
- Shut-in
- 0
- Active share
- 9%
Is this your company?
Claim Sterling Drilling to keep this portfolio accurate — verified operators can correct well statuses and add plugging documentation.
Claim your operator profileWhere does Sterling Drilling operate?
Sterling Drilling's catalogued wells are spread across 5 states: Kansas (139), Colorado (16), Wyoming (7), Kentucky (5) and Michigan (2). Its 139 Kansas wells are 0.0% of the 473,140 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 Sterling Drilling’s wells are active, plugged or orphaned?
9% of Sterling Drilling's catalogued wells are active, 20 percentage points below the national share of 29%. 89% are plugged & abandoned, against 47% nationally. None of the wells filed under this name is flagged as orphaned.
What kinds of wells does Sterling Drilling operate?
By product class, 106 (63%) are oil wells and 8 (5%) gas wells; nationally the shares are 43% and 17%. The deepest of its wells with a published depth is 1-B State in Elbert, CO at 6,331 ft. The wells listed below sit in Elbert (CO), Weld (CO), Clark (KS), Logan (CO), Kiowa (CO) and Yuma (CO). State filings spell the name 4 ways; WellCensus merges exact-normalized spellings only, so subsidiaries and affiliates keep their own pages.
Notable wells operated by Sterling Drilling
| Well | API # / state ID | Status | Type | Location | Operator | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-B State | 05-039-05022 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Elbert, CO | Sterling Drilling Company | 6,331 ft |
| 1-C State | 05-039-05014 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Elbert, CO | Sterling Drilling Company | 6,243 ft |
| 2-C State | 05-039-05013 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Elbert, CO | Sterling Drilling Company | 6,131 ft |
| 1-A State | 05-039-05019 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Elbert, CO | Sterling Drilling Company | 6,071 ft |
| 1 Uprr-Mathews | 05-039-05024 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Elbert, CO | Sterling Drilling Company | 6,045 ft |
| 1 Rothrock-Lutin | 05-123-05569 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Weld, CO | Sterling Drilling Company | 5,972 ft |
| Blackhall Unit 1 | 15-025-30077 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Clark, KS | Sterling Drilling Company | 5,599 ft |
| 1 Zeigler-Geer | 05-075-06684 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Logan, CO | Sterling Drilling Company | 5,530 ft |
| 1 Clara H Mcnish | 05-075-07022 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Logan, CO | Sterling Drilling Company | 5,501 ft |
| 1 Lavelle | 05-061-06070 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Kiowa, CO | Sterling Drilling Company | 5,455 ft |
| 1 Walz | 05-125-05017 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Yuma, CO | Sterling Drilling Company | 5,417 ft |
| 1 Smith | 05-075-07001 | Plugged & abandoned | Other type | Logan, CO | Sterling Drilling Company | 5,360 ft |
Deepest first where depth is published. See all 169 wells →
Frequently asked questions
How many wells does Sterling Drilling operate?
Sterling Drilling is the operator of record for 169 catalogued oil & gas wells, with the largest concentration in Kansas (139). Only wells in states WellCensus has ingested are counted.
How many of Sterling Drilling's wells are still active?
15 of Sterling Drilling's catalogued wells are active; 150 are plugged & abandoned.
In which states does Sterling Drilling operate wells?
Sterling Drilling is the operator of record for wells in Kansas (139), Colorado (16), Wyoming (7), Kentucky (5) and Michigan (2).
Does Sterling Drilling operate mostly oil or gas wells?
106 of Sterling Drilling's catalogued wells are oil wells and 8 are gas wells; the rest are injection, service or unclassified wells.
What is Sterling Drilling's deepest well?
Among wells with a published depth, 1-B State in Elbert, CO is the deepest at 6,331 ft.
Where Sterling Drilling's wells are
- Oil & gas wells in Kansas· 139 operated by Sterling Drilling
- Oil & gas wells in Colorado· 16 operated by Sterling Drilling
- Oil & gas wells in Wyoming· 7 operated by Sterling Drilling
- Oil & gas wells in Kentucky· 5 operated by Sterling Drilling
- Oil & gas wells in Michigan· 2 operated by Sterling Drilling
- Largest U.S. well operators
- All well operators
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, “Sterling Drilling — well portfolio”, https://wellcensus.com/operators/sterling-drilling-7870 (data as of October 10, 2026).
Dataset updated . Operator portfolios are resolved from raw state registry filings (exact-normalized names; subsidiaries stay separate).