US Well Number Standard

The PPDM USA Well Identification Framework describes the numbering system to be used for wells in the United States to ensure that all Well Origins and Wellbores are identified so that risk related, technical or business data can be associated with the appropriate well component as defined in PPDM’s What is a Well. It is a foundation for the management and exchange of all information about wells.

In particular, the PPDM Association urges regulators and operators to ensure that every Well Origin and Wellbore that is permitted, constructed (or partly constructed), operated or taken out of service (abandoned, suspended, orphaned etc) be assigned a permanent and unique identifier as defined in this standard.

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The US Well Number is the official successor to the API Well Number from the American Petroleum Institute (API). In 2010, the API transferred custody of their standard to the PPDM Association. The new standard provides continuity with the API Number while addressing some challenges that have evolved in the past four decades: well designs and data flows have become more complex, safety and environmental risks have increased where unidentified wellbores are present, and data exchange is difficult if identifiers are assigned inconsistently.