State Code
The first two digits (42 in the example above) of the API number represent the state where the surface location of the well is located. The state codes are based on standard state codes proposed by IBM in 1952 for accounting applications. The states are numbered from 01 (Alabama) to 49 (Wyoming), with the District of Columbia being number 08. After this scheme was devised, Alaska (50) and Hawaii (51) joined the United States. Numbers 52 to 54 are reserved for future states, including perhaps Puerto Rico.
There are additional "State Codes" that are reserved for "pseudo-states." The pseudo-state numeric codes for offshore federal waters are Alaska Offshore (55), Pacific Coast Offshore (56), Northern Gulf of Mexico (60), and Atlantic Coast Offshore (61). A list of all the state codes is available from the Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts.
The state codes used in an API number are different from another standard which is the Federal Information Processing Standard state code established in 1987 by NIST.
Read more about this topic: API Well Number
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