If you watch air permits closely, you know they tend to land right as operators migrate from drilling into facility buildout and flowback readiness. That’s exactly what we’re seeing on Tap Rock’s Flotilla project east of Barstow in Ward County, TX. On October 14, 2025, Tap Rock filed and completed an air permit for FLOTILLA CTB—a central tank battery supporting the Flotilla A/B/C/D/E/F/G well set. When we line that up against the 2025 activity for Block 33, the project cadence points squarely toward a pad moving into completions.
West Texas Operator Account Directory
Includes: Account Name, Wells Drilled, Rig Count, Website, Location…
How we measured cadence (your dataset)
We analyzed the wells you provided for Block 33 (2025 drilling) and calculated three timing signals:
- Drilling Cadence — days from Well Licence (permit) date → First Activity date
- Operational Cadence — average days between sequential Activity dates on the pad (how quickly the rig stepped to the next well)
- Completion Window — days from the Last Activity date → Air Permit date (CTB)
Air Permit used: TCEQ Project #399245, Action COMPLETE on 2025-10-14 for FLOTILLA CTB (Ward County, Region 07 – Midland; Tap Rock Operating LLC).
What the numbers say (Block 33, 2025)
From five Flotilla-area wells in your file:
- Drilling Cadence (licence → first activity)
- Average: 71 days
- Median: 58 days
Read: licence to spud/mobilization in ~2 months median—tight for a multi-well pad.
- Operational Cadence (between activity dates)
- Average: ~55 days
- Median: 48 days
Read: roughly 1½ months between successive activity steps—consistent with a single walking rig moving across a pad and/or staggered activity reporting.
- Completion Window (last activity → 2025-10-14 air permit)
- Average: 147 days
- Median: 136 days
Read: ~4–5 months after the last drilling activity, the CTB air permit hits—classic sign of facilities and flowback readiness.
Translation: Tap Rock’s licence-to-spud tempo is disciplined, the inter-well stepping cadence is steady, and the CTB permit drops on a timeline that typically precedes wireline/fracs, flowback, and initial turn-to-sales.
Why this timing pattern matters
- Rig performance & pad strategy: The inter-activity median (~48 days) suggests a consistent, programmatic pace—what you expect when a walking rig or standardized pad plan is in use. Even if contractor details vary by well, the cadence pattern is the tell.
- Facilities & takeaway planning: A CTB air permit at ~4–5 months after last drilling usually means midstream/facility scopes (treating, storage, gas handling) are lining up with frac schedules. Expect line tie-ins, temporary flaring permissions, and trucking activity to start showing up next.
- Revenue timing: This cadence often correlates with first sales in the few to several weeks after the CTB and associated authorizations clear—depending on frac crew availability, sand logistics, and gathering capacity.
What to watch next
- Frac signals: wireline/completions vendor traffic, sand deliveries, zipper frac indicators.
- TCEQ filings: any flare-related authorizations or emissions event notices (often coincide with flowback periods).
- Production bullets: early sales nominations or signs of gathering system activations in the area.
Bottom line
Tap Rock’s Flotilla in Block 33 is moving from the drill phase into facility + completions setup. With a median 58-day licence-to-spud, a ~48-day inter-activity stepping rhythm, and the 10/14/2025 CTB permit, the project is right on a textbook glidepath toward frac/flowback. If you sell into drilling & completions or early production infrastructure in Ward County, the window to position services is now.
