Selecting Operator Name will return only wells for which the specified name matches the operator for one or more of the Well Events associated with the well. Search Results will be further restricted by any additional criteria specified in the search.
Searches involving operator name, lease name or well number could be too specific and return no matching results. For example, searching for the lease name 'John Doe' may return no results because the first name might be entered as 'J.' in the database. A search for only the name 'Doe' would be successful. Or, searching for the Operator Name "NIPSCO" may return no results because the operator name might be entered as Northern Indiana Public Service Co. Spelling discrepancies will also yield unsuccessful search results. A good search strategy to deal with potential problems is to search using partial names.
Great variety exists in the format and spelling of Operator Names in the PDMS, a result of many things: operators changing their names, typographical errors made on the permits, data entry mistakes, no set standard, and so forth. This should be kept in mind when running a query based on the operator name. No systematic effort has been made to address this issue.
In some cases, the most recently used name of the operator will not have been entered in the PDMS if the name change was not associated with a new well activity.
The best source for current operator names is the Division of Oil and Gas. See their Active Operator List (Operators Listing).
Link to full explanation of Operator Name in PDMS.