Onshore drilling in Texas Railroad Commission District 3 totaled 814 wells in 1988, a 1% decrease from 1987's total of 822 wells. Exploratory drilling increased by 18.0%; development drilling declined 6.8%. Thirty-six new field discoveries resulted from drilling 128 new-field wildcats for a 28.1% success rate. Other exploratory wells (new-pool wildcats, deeper pool tests, shallower pool tests, and outpost-extension wells) had a 56.0% success rate; 100 wells were drilled in this category. The developmental success rate was 69.3% with 586 development wells drilled in 1988.

The Eocene trend was the most active with 28.5% of the activity.. The Wilcox and Yegua Formations were the primary targets, receiving 47.6% and 46.2% of the Eocene activity, respectively.

Offshore exploratory drilling in District 3 totaled 109 wells, a 70.3% increase from 1987's total of 64. Development drilling totaled 64 wells, a 28.0% increase from 1987 activity. The offshore exploratory success rate was 6.2% for new-field wildcats and 58.3% for other exploratory wells. The developmental success rate was 75.0%.