With Tap Rock confirming first production in early October 2025, we can now close the loop between drilling cadence, air permit filing, and first sales, showing the entire end-to-end development cycle. Here’s the updated and polished blog ready for posting on Oilgasleads.com or LinkedIn:
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Tap Rock’s Flotilla Project: Drilling-to-Production in Record Time
When Tap Rock Operating LLC filed its air permit for the Flotilla Central Tank Battery (CTB) in mid-October 2025, it looked like a typical facility notification in Ward County, Texas. But that timing—right after the first production volumes were recorded—reveals a lot about Tap Rock’s execution cadence across licensing, drilling, completions, and facility build-out.
From Licence to First Oil: A Complete Project Cycle
The Flotilla pad, located in Block 33 near Barstow, consists of wells A 211H through G 222H. According to state records and your Block 33 drilling dataset, Tap Rock’s workflow unfolded with remarkable precision:
Phase Interval Insight Licence → First Activity ~71 days (avg), 58 days (median) A disciplined spud window—drilling commenced roughly two months after each permit was issued. Between Activity Dates ~55 days (avg), 48 days (median) Indicates a single walking rig moving efficiently across wells on the pad. Last Activity → Air Permit Filing ~147 days (avg), 136 days (median) Suggests a full completions and facilities window typical of a coordinated multi-well program.
By the first week of October 2025, Tap Rock confirmed the Flotilla project was online—meaning every well had been drilled, completed, tied into the CTB, and was recording production before the mid-October air permit completion date.
“All the wells were drilled, wells completed, facility built, and production recorded,”
— Customer confirmation, October 2025
A Textbook Project Cadence
This timeline represents a roughly 9-month cradle-to-sales cycle, starting from the earliest well licence filings to confirmed production:
- Permitting Phase (Q1 2025) – Licence approvals set the stage for pad construction.
- Drilling Phase (Q2 2025) – Rig on-site within ~60 days; sequential wells spudded with <2-month gaps.
- Completions & Facilities (Q3 2025) – Frac crews followed within 3–4 months of final spud; CTB and pipeline tie-ins underway.
- First Production (Early October 2025) – Gas and oil flowback complete, production recorded.
- Air Permit Completion (Mid-October 2025) – Regulatory closeout marks formal facility registration.
Why This Matters
- Operational Efficiency: A 58-day median licence-to-spud and a 136-day completion window show how tightly Tap Rock choreographs its drilling and facilities schedules.
- Capital Discipline: Rapid cycle times reduce non-productive capital exposure and align with Tap Rock’s broader strategy of pad-based development across the Delaware Basin.
- Market Signal: The air permit’s timing confirms that facility infrastructure (CTB, separators, vapor recovery) was finalized only days after the pad came online—often the last regulatory step before steady-state production.
The Bigger Picture in Ward County
Ward County remains one of the most active Delaware Basin zones for coordinated pad development. Multiple operators—including Tap Rock, Oxy, and Diamondback—are synchronizing drilling and air-permitting windows to minimize downtime between the rig release and sales. The Flotilla cadence mirrors this trend perfectly: a continuous workflow from licence to production in under a year.
Final Takeaway
The Flotilla project demonstrates Tap Rock’s project discipline and confirms what seasoned watchers know:
When a CTB air permit hits within days of first oil, the operator has executed an entire drilling-to-sales cycle flawlessly.
With early production in October 2025 and full facility authorization by mid-month, Flotilla marks another efficient build in Ward County—and a solid case study in how precise cadence planning shortens the road from permit to profit.
