Reference

South Carolina API county codes

Every South Carolina API well number starts with 39, the state code. The next three digits are the county code, one of the 46 listed below, so a number beginning 39-001 belongs to a well in Abbeville County.

To decode a whole number, including the sidetrack and completion digits, paste it into the API well number decoder.

How to read a South Carolina API number

39State: South Carolina
001County: Abbeville
12345Well, unique within the county

The first ten digits identify one well. Two more digits can follow for a sidetrack, and two after that for a later completion. The county is the one where the well starts at the surface, so a horizontal well that crosses a county line keeps its surface county's code. A few state regulators assign the producing county instead, so the state record is the final word on a well near a boundary.

All 46 South Carolina counties

County code County API numbers start
001 Abbeville 39-001-
003 Aiken 39-003-
005 Allendale 39-005-
007 Anderson 39-007-
009 Bamberg 39-009-
011 Barnwell 39-011-
013 Beaufort 39-013-
015 Berkeley 39-015-
017 Calhoun 39-017-
019 Charleston 39-019-
021 Cherokee 39-021-
023 Chester 39-023-
025 Chesterfield 39-025-
027 Clarendon 39-027-
029 Colleton 39-029-
031 Darlington 39-031-
033 Dillon 39-033-
035 Dorchester 39-035-
037 Edgefield 39-037-
039 Fairfield 39-039-
041 Florence 39-041-
043 Georgetown 39-043-
045 Greenville 39-045-
047 Greenwood 39-047-
049 Hampton 39-049-
051 Horry 39-051-
053 Jasper 39-053-
055 Kershaw 39-055-
057 Lancaster 39-057-
059 Laurens 39-059-
061 Lee 39-061-
063 Lexington 39-063-
065 McCormick 39-065-
067 Marion 39-067-
069 Marlboro 39-069-
071 Newberry 39-071-
073 Oconee 39-073-
075 Orangeburg 39-075-
077 Pickens 39-077-
079 Richland 39-079-
081 Saluda 39-081-
083 Spartanburg 39-083-
085 Sumter 39-085-
087 Union 39-087-
089 Williamsburg 39-089-
091 York 39-091-

County names are the US Census names for these codes. The API standard does not promise the two match, so we checked them against state well records. Across 35 states, where this table names a county it matched the one the agency recorded on 85,091 of 85,100 wells. Offshore state and federal waters use their own pseudo-county codes, which are not listed here.

Finding the well itself

The API number stops at the county. It does not hold the well's coordinates, lease, survey section or operator. Those sit in the well record, which you find by searching the full number in the state agency's system. Search it at the South Carolina oil and gas regulator.

Frequently asked questions

What is the API state code for South Carolina?

39. API state codes run alphabetically from 01 for Alabama to 49 for Wyoming, then 50 for Alaska and 51 for Hawaii. They are not the Census FIPS state codes, which is a common source of wrong lookups.

How do I find the county from a South Carolina API number?

Read digits three to five and find them in the table on this page. In 39-001-12345, the county code is 001, which is Abbeville County. If the code is missing from the table, it is usually an offshore area rather than an onshore county.

Does a South Carolina API number give the well's exact location?

No. The number stops at the county. Coordinates, the lease and the survey location are in the well record held by the state agency, which you search with the full API number.

State codes: American Petroleum Institute Bulletin D12A well numbering standard. County names: US Census county FIPS names, checked against state well records. Reference generated .

How to cite this page

Sources: American Petroleum Institute Bulletin D12A well numbering standard; US Census county FIPS codes.

TetraSoft. (2026). South Carolina API county codes. Reference generated 2026-09-24. https://tetrasoftco.com/tools/api-county-codes/south-carolina/