Well Spacing

The massive 1918 oil discoveries in Burkburnett, Desdemona, and Ranger led to chaotic, dense drilling, causing reservoirs to quickly lose pressure and “die” prematurely. To prevent this legal anarchy and natural resource loss, the Texas Railroad Commission passed Rule 37 in 1919 to impose wider well spacing. Rule 37 was often ignored until about 1930, when a later round of over-drilling on small parcels began as the East Texas oil field developed. Some of the litigation that solidified Rule 37 came from disputes over closely-packed wells like those on the strip parcels along the Cotton Belt Railroad right-of-ways in Gladewater, Texas.