POSTELLE, J. F.

Operated by APACHE CORPORATION (P-5 27200) in the RHODA WALKER (CANYON 5900) field. Every figure below is a volume the Railroad Commission published, multiplied by a monthly price you can check.

Oil lease lease 20702District 08Field 76184333Hydrogen sulphide fieldNGPA filingOilCasinghead gasSaveExport
Value, all time
$23.8 M
Jan 1993 – May 2026
Value, last 12 filed months
$0
at the published price for each month
Months reported
401
no gaps in the span
Streams
2
oil, casinghead gas

The Railroad Commission's own record for the field this lease produces from, including the spacing rule that governs how close together its wells may be drilled.

These are facts about the field, not about this lease. The field holds 124 leases and 306 wells, and the rule below applies to all of them.

Discovered
1967-08-28
as the register files it
Field class
Oil and gas
the register's own label
Between wells
0 ft
minimum
From a lease line
330 ft
minimum

A drilling unit in this field needs at least 20 acres. The field rule took effect on 2017-08-01.

The register flags this field for hydrogen sulphide. That is a poisonous gas that occurs naturally in some formations. The flag is a property of the field as the Commission records it. It is not a measurement taken at this lease, and it is not a statement that gas is escaping anywhere.

The Commission's schedule remark for this field reads: BETWEEN WELL SPACING.

Severance-tax incentive filings

Applications the operator filed to have this lease's gas taxed at a reduced state rate. A filing is an application, and this page never calls one a reduction that was granted.

ProgrammeFilingsWith an approval dateDatedDocket
NGPA8none

This says nothing about a royalty. A severance tax is charged to the operator. Whether a reduced rate reaches a royalty owner depends on the wording of the lease instrument, which is a private contract this site does not hold.

What this lease produced, and what it was worth

Oil and condensate are valued on the volume the state records as disposed of; gas and casinghead gas on the volume produced. They are different columns of different files, and the difference is not cosmetic.

StreamBasisVolumeValue
OilDisposition479,232 bbl$18,154,427
Casinghead gasProduction1,896,533 Mcf$5,610,407
Total$23,764,833

607,236 Mcf of this lease's gas, across 48 months, carries no value here. No free Texas wellhead gas price exists before 1997, so those months are left out of the total rather than valued at zero. The total above is therefore a floor, not an estimate.

Wells on this lease (14)

Every wellbore the Railroad Commission records against this lease key, with the depth, the last completion and the plug date exactly as filed. A well with no plug date is not stated to be producing — the state files no such flag.

These wells centre on 31.4733, -103.2011. A lease has no coordinate of its own — that point is the mean of its wells, and they span 0.9 miles.

31.47381, -103.20074 · centre of the wells drawn, derived

What these wells add up to

Every figure below is counted over all of this lease's wells, not over the rows listed above. The Railroad Commission files two facts about a well's state — a plug date and a proration-schedule flag — and a well can carry both, so they are published as separate counts and never merged into a status.

On the schedule
78.6%
11 of 14 wells
With a plug date
71.4%
10 of 14 wells
Median depth
7,009 ft
14 wells filed one
Completion to plug
40.8 years
median over 7 wells

What the state filed about each well

On the RRC proration schedule
1178.6%
A plug date is filed
1071.4%
BothOn the schedule and plugged. Neither fact cancels the other.
1071.4%
NeitherNo plug date, and not on the schedule.
321.4%

A plug date is the date the Commission recorded the wellbore as sealed with cement and abandoned. It is the only end-of-life fact Texas files. There is no "active" flag on a well, so this page does not print one — a well with no plug date is not stated to be producing.

How deep they were drilled

Total depth in feet, 14 of 14 wells. Median 7,009 ft, with the middle half between 6,740 and 7,973 ft; the shallowest is 6,300 ft and the deepest 8,318 ft. The median is published rather than the mean, because a single mis-keyed depth moves a mean and cannot move a median.

When they were last completed

Last completion by decade, 12 of 14 wells, Oct 1967 – Jul 2020. This is the LAST completion filed on each wellbore, not the first — a well recompleted in 2019 counts once, in the 2010s.

Completions filed
Oct 1967 – Jul 2020
12 of 14 wells; 2 filed none
Plug dates filed
Jan 1985 – Jan 2026
10 of 14 wells; 4 filed none

Last completion to plug: a median of 40.8 years across the 7 wells that filed both dates, with the middle half between 40.3 years and 41.0 years. A further 1 well is excluded, because the last completion the Commission holds for it is dated after the plug date. Both dates are the latest of their kind on the wellbore record and they are filed separately, so the two need not run in order. The gap is the distance between two filed dates — it is not a statement of how long the well produced.

14 wells

42-47533766136,902 ftOct 2012Yes
42-47533825146,906 ftJan 2026Yes
42-47531749117,111 ftJul 2020Jan 1985Yes
42-4753100158,300 ftNov 1987Mar 2025Yes
42-47533710126,861 ftMar 1986Yes
42-47531698107,118 ftMar 1978Aug 2018Yes
42-4753169997,200 ftMar 1978
42-4753161188,318 ftOct 1977Aug 2018Yes
42-4753100378,230 ftSep 1977
42-4753100268,297 ftSep 1977Nov 2017Yes
42-4751098926,300 ftAug 1977
42-4753094936,640 ftJan 1977Feb 2018Yes
42-4753095046,661 ftJan 1977Nov 2017Yes
42-4751097516,700 ftOct 1967Dec 2017Yes

The API number is the state's, prefixed 42 for Texas. A well is matched to this lease by the lease key the Commission files on the wellbore record, so a well that has moved between leases appears under each one it was filed against.

Every month this lease reported (401)

Volume × price = value, one row per cycle. The price columns are the same series published on the prices page — nothing here is modelled.

401 months

May 202600106.413.05$0
Apr 20260098.932.87$0
Mar 20260089.753.15$0
Feb 20260063.503.75$0
Jan 20260059.138.00$0
Dec 20250056.664.41$0
Nov 20250058.593.93$0
Oct 20250059.383.30$0
Sep 20250062.743.08$0
Aug 20250063.933.01$0
Jul 20250066.743.32$0
Jun 20250066.483.13$0
May 20250060.553.23$0
Apr 20250062.363.54$0
Mar 20250067.704.27$0
Feb 20250070.884.34$0
Jan 20250074.324.28$0
Dec 20240068.993.12$0
Nov 20240069.052.20$0
Oct 20240071.372.28$0
Sep 20240069.612.36$0
Aug 20240075.632.06$0
Jul 20240079.932.15$0
Jun 20240078.082.63$0
May 20240078.812.20$0
Apr 20240084.451.66$0
Mar 20240080.301.55$0
Feb 20240076.091.78$0
Jan 20240073.023.30$0
Dec 20230071.262.61$0
Nov 20230077.892.81$0
Oct 20230085.443.09$0
Sep 20230089.042.74$0
Aug 20230080.522.67$0
Jul 20230074.852.64$0
Jun 20230068.962.26$0
May 20230070.622.23$0
Apr 20230078.122.24$0
Mar 20230072.852.39$0
Feb 20230075.112.47$0
Jan 20230076.533.39$0
Dec 20220076.415.73$0
Nov 20220085.005.65$0
Oct 20220087.185.86$0
Sep 20220084.888.16$0
Aug 20220094.529.13$0
Jul 202200101.587.54$0
Jun 202200115.097.98$0
May 202200109.378.43$0
Apr 2022012104.226.84$82
Mar 20220129108.885.08$655
Feb 202209891.054.86$476
Jan 202205381.844.54$241
Dec 202124071.323.90$299
Nov 202101377.435.24$68
Oct 20210979.795.71$51
Sep 202101469.865.35$75
Aug 202102266.024.22$93
Jul 202105170.783.98$203
Jun 202108369.493.38$281
May 202106863.483.02$205
Apr 202107260.362.76$199
Mar 202108761.302.72$236
Feb 2021011257.805.55$621
Jan 202132612350.412.81$16,779
Dec 2020013244.642.68$353
Nov 2020018938.772.71$512
Oct 2020029336.972.48$726
Sep 2020018737.091.99$372
Aug 2020019639.982.39$467
Jul 2020013438.371.83$245
Jun 202018567434.901.69$7,596
May 202035054216.921.81$6,906
Apr 20203541,01514.751.80$7,053
Mar 202036466630.341.86$12,280
Feb 202037571949.881.98$20,129
Jan 202034580057.252.09$21,427
Dec 201952020059.012.30$31,146
Nov 201934039555.302.75$19,889
Oct 201967741353.472.42$37,198
Sep 201950448555.052.66$29,034
Aug 201917035153.112.30$9,838
Jul 201966759056.272.46$38,984
Jun 201950689452.782.49$28,934
May 20198341,54158.482.74$52,995
Apr 20195171,40762.632.75$36,250
Mar 20198541,71256.803.06$53,750
Feb 20193351,41250.852.79$20,977
Jan 20198551,62246.033.23$44,592
Dec 20186821,77746.594.19$39,212
Nov 20185041,78652.934.24$34,244
Oct 20186692,00161.443.40$47,903
Sep 20188451,57159.543.11$55,194
Aug 20186681,47359.403.07$44,196
Jul 20188281,89865.142.93$59,501
Jun 20181,0232,06960.183.08$67,930
May 2018060365.382.90$1,749
Apr 2018047363.842.90$1,372
Mar 2018051561.222.79$1,435
Feb 20188001,71961.782.77$54,179
Jan 20186831,53262.874.01$49,082
Dec 20176821,99557.272.92$44,887
Nov 20176682,00155.423.12$43,260
Oct 20175031,75449.292.98$30,026
Sep 20176901,82147.523.09$38,411
Aug 20176771,78745.373.00$36,084
Jul 20175121,95743.873.09$28,503
Jun 20176842,17242.493.09$35,769
May 20171,0282,65545.373.26$55,305
Apr 20175102,16747.933.21$31,404
Mar 20173391,42346.772.98$20,101
Feb 20173601,02950.452.95$21,200
Jan 201768696149.413.42$37,181
Dec 20163241,50348.763.72$21,394
Nov 20166581,61842.492.64$32,237
Oct 20168331,72546.193.09$43,807
Sep 20168342,07141.553.10$41,074
Aug 20169992,35041.442.92$48,271
Jul 20166592,30441.622.92$34,165
Jun 20168212,07345.352.69$42,800
May 20161,0012,02942.521.99$46,602
Apr 20161,0252,55136.561.99$42,553
Mar 20168222,58933.011.79$31,779
Feb 20161,1902,39726.472.06$36,446
Jan 20168352,28927.352.36$28,249
Dec 20151,1822,22432.362.00$42,701
Nov 20159982,21538.792.17$43,513
Oct 20151,2012,33043.552.43$57,957
Sep 20156832,14042.992.76$35,265
Aug 20151,0062,34140.162.87$47,125
Jul 20151,1502,63248.152.95$63,124
Jun 20159942,77656.152.88$63,816
May 20156812,64855.212.96$45,424
Apr 20151,0432,63949.822.71$59,105
Mar 20151,0072,68242.892.93$51,061
Feb 20151,2092,43044.662.98$61,226
Jan 20151,0662,68243.433.10$54,612
Dec 20141,0393,00254.693.59$67,604
Nov 20141,0602,98370.464.25$87,371
Oct 20148763,07978.303.90$80,602
Sep 20141,2122,95886.164.05$116,392
Aug 20141,2113,13189.394.04$120,885
Jul 20146792,94896.564.18$77,886
Jun 20141,0132,49598.164.74$111,255
May 20141,2162,63994.734.73$127,665
Apr 20148812,68295.944.81$97,421
Mar 20141,0322,66395.895.06$112,425
Feb 20148852,53097.406.19$101,865
Jan 20141,2532,78790.404.86$126,818
Dec 20131,1952,76691.824.35$121,769
Nov 20135252,10288.853.74$54,504
Oct 20138652,87497.423.78$95,130
Sep 20138222,849104.113.72$96,170
Aug 20131,0351,274104.253.52$112,387
Jul 20131,3581,732102.523.72$145,661
Jun 20131,0131,13594.403.93$100,092
May 201386273094.834.15$84,772
Apr 20131,0281,57093.964.28$103,315
Mar 20131,0561,42893.623.91$104,450
Feb 20138241,41091.233.42$79,996
Jan 20138351,62991.603.42$82,057
Dec 20121,3583,34086.773.42$129,257
Nov 20121,0082,73486.953.62$97,556
Oct 20121,0122,20489.383.40$97,945
Sep 20121,2751,54294.672.92$125,204
Aug 20127052,14592.662.91$71,563
Jul 20121,3641,53385.133.02$120,748
Jun 20121,05847679.822.52$85,649
May 20126861,42691.612.49$66,393
Apr 20121,0232,311101.652.00$108,603
Mar 20128602,677105.052.22$96,292
Feb 20121,0722,211101.102.57$114,062
Jan 20121,2092,46498.092.73$125,328
Dec 20115342,51896.873.24$59,886
Nov 20118722,29995.723.31$91,080
Oct 20117032,65484.983.65$69,424
Sep 20116982,63483.623.99$68,865
Aug 20111,0392,75383.404.15$98,076
Jul 20115192,71694.144.52$61,127
Jun 20111,0462,80992.904.64$110,207
May 20111,0062,43098.134.40$109,422
Apr 20111,0012,801105.964.33$118,203
Mar 20118642,87796.364.06$94,928
Feb 20113371,75085.644.18$36,176
Jan 20118502,96586.504.59$87,131
Dec 20101,3873,15185.734.35$132,607
Nov 20108712,80480.843.80$81,054
Oct 20108643,09778.103.51$78,345
Sep 20108631,46672.633.98$68,514
Aug 20107232,26173.684.42$63,263
Jul 20101,5292,88772.554.74$124,603
Jun 20101,1982,59470.364.91$97,029
May 20105032,68571.124.24$47,145
Apr 20101,0162,52281.694.12$93,394
Mar 20101,0052,45678.394.39$89,561
Feb 20108892,40073.585.44$78,474
Jan 20108712,51674.365.96$79,773
Dec 20095052,01671.445.48$47,132
Nov 20091,1942,36974.593.75$97,948
Oct 20096722,30172.544.11$58,205
Sep 200984168465.543.06$57,215
Aug 200983951867.423.22$58,233
Jul 200999053461.133.46$62,369
Jun 200982438166.163.90$56,000
May 20098421654.743.93$46,154
Apr 200998525246.773.59$46,973
Mar 20091,19380942.144.06$53,557
Feb 20098131,16532.814.63$32,072
Jan 20096851,15535.865.37$30,768
Dec 20081,2162,96337.105.98$62,824
Nov 20081,1213,97055.496.86$89,440
Oct 20088514,31975.246.92$93,925
Sep 20081,1504,130101.767.88$149,556
Aug 20081,3465,228114.228.48$198,089
Jul 20089874,701131.0811.39$182,918
Jun 20081,4564,844131.3313.03$254,347
May 20089954,741123.1711.57$177,428
Apr 20081,3513,861110.3110.45$189,395
Mar 20081,1513,978101.909.66$155,731
Feb 20081,7034,83292.538.77$199,958
Jan 20081,1884,95790.388.21$148,047
Dec 20071,3475,37988.337.30$158,258
Nov 20071,2874,76091.677.29$152,688
Oct 20071,1594,56882.856.92$127,643
Sep 20079964,23875.846.24$101,999
Aug 20071,1593,83469.066.39$104,532
Jul 20078214,24870.906.39$85,345
Jun 20071,0014,50762.007.55$96,083
May 20071,1604,93958.747.85$106,891
Apr 20071,3375,22959.617.81$120,512
Mar 20071,3265,25556.927.30$113,848
Feb 20077094,31455.108.22$74,510
Jan 20071,6795,37550.306.73$120,611
Dec 20061,3435,37856.656.92$113,288
Nov 20069984,57654.207.62$88,949
Oct 20061,4884,38654.906.01$108,068
Sep 20061,1664,69160.085.04$93,683
Aug 20061,3415,40568.717.34$131,812
Jul 20061,1774,70969.376.34$111,517
Jun 20061,3415,10066.286.38$121,439
May 20061,3355,04166.016.42$120,512
Apr 20061,3604,59364.397.36$121,377
Mar 20061,3574,21456.707.08$106,789
Feb 20061,0092,88457.597.75$80,463
Jan 20061,1533,38060.598.93$100,055
Dec 20051,3363,19854.9413.42$116,302
Nov 20051,1894,70854.6910.59$114,877
Oct 20058374,06858.3413.80$104,952
Sep 20058494,82861.4512.08$110,488
Aug 20051,5255,49861.519.80$147,666
Jul 20051,3445,73055.697.84$119,791
Jun 20051,1606,37452.337.38$107,750
May 20051,4966,82545.226.65$113,043
Apr 20051,1695,34449.207.36$96,849
Mar 20051,5426,51250.377.15$124,263
Feb 20051,6656,08845.226.31$113,718
Jan 20051,3337,13743.166.32$102,654
Dec 20041,8627,37239.866.75$123,988
Nov 20041,2976,49845.286.33$99,863
Oct 20041,6747,19849.706.52$130,093
Sep 20041,3426,90643.245.28$94,519
Aug 20049986,71242.375.55$79,541
Jul 20041,3277,90038.286.08$98,863
Jun 20041,3387,59136.106.43$97,135
May 20041,8477,67837.486.49$119,091
Apr 20041,5146,52134.475.86$90,391
Mar 20041,6787,14434.365.53$97,163
Feb 20041,6746,37332.455.51$89,434
Jan 20041,1865,91432.036.30$75,244
Dec 20031,5476,53330.266.30$87,981
Nov 20031,3376,30628.804.60$67,483
Oct 20031,5386,57728.174.76$74,630
Sep 20031,2015,52526.314.75$57,839
Aug 20031,6993,80829.765.13$70,096
Jul 20031,7007,28729.415.17$87,677
Jun 20032,0367,37628.565.98$102,278
May 20031,2226,64626.595.97$72,187
Apr 20031,6245,97526.675.41$75,621
Mar 20031,7846,85931.146.10$97,367
Feb 20031,2325,30833.487.93$83,318
Jan 20031,9658,90430.315.58$109,262
Dec 20021,7689,03026.914.85$91,406
Nov 20021,5818,20424.664.14$72,927
Oct 20021,9208,53326.464.23$86,890
Sep 20021,3975,80827.443.64$59,447
Aug 20021,3866,46225.963.16$56,427
Jul 20021,3986,96124.583.06$55,676
Jun 20021,5497,80523.733.34$62,813
May 20021,2538,57924.663.58$61,646
Apr 20021,5679,14323.653.51$69,173
Mar 20021,7758,89022.003.10$66,633
Feb 20021,5698,24018.222.38$48,163
Jan 20021,4657,87617.172.38$43,865
Dec 20011,8377,95216.932.36$49,902
Nov 20011,4944,86618.072.41$38,702
Oct 20011,6625,70819.782.53$47,309
Sep 20011,4954,93824.262.25$47,386
Aug 20011,4575,40424.873.05$52,735
Jul 20011,3135,60923.933.20$49,353
Jun 20011,5105,24724.563.82$57,151
May 20011,5084,61125.524.31$58,345
Apr 20011,9076,60324.685.34$82,294
Mar 20011,7166,80424.545.38$78,692
Feb 20011,5335,69827.755.77$75,402
Jan 20011,5326,20427.478.40$94,190
Dec 20001,6826,73726.889.12$106,670
Nov 20001,3125,71032.215.66$74,567
Oct 20001,5746,93831.235.15$84,856
Sep 20001,6236,83131.875.19$87,154
Aug 20001,6727,26029.644.54$82,524
Jul 20001,6447,04628.534.09$75,720
Jun 20001,8388,06529.304.40$89,317
May 20001,6695,41427.263.68$65,419
Apr 20001,7649,93824.513.12$74,202
Mar 20001,6439,61628.422.86$74,193
Feb 20001,6759,26827.622.73$71,533
Jan 20001,6339,94625.272.48$65,937
Dec 19991,7659,64624.282.42$66,233
Nov 19991,77110,00423.192.43$65,419
Oct 19991,86210,30020.982.80$67,943
Sep 19991,7368,15921.752.62$59,125
Aug 19991,9259,49519.262.88$64,379
Jul 19992,0548,42917.892.37$56,743
Jun 19991,8809,18415.942.36$51,661
May 19992,01110,27315.792.32$55,598
Apr 19992,23410,03015.102.21$55,880
Mar 19991,7539,45812.471.84$39,247
Feb 19991,8158,5619.981.82$33,676
Jan 19992,1589,63110.381.90$40,698
Dec 19982,1109,8809.201.77$36,932
Nov 19981,99410,14310.892.19$43,884
Oct 19982,0898,59212.421.97$42,865
Sep 19981,9989,13412.592.08$44,177
Aug 19982,0489,34211.301.91$40,961
Jul 19982,37910,46211.742.24$51,336
Jun 19982,20710,28611.242.24$47,819
May 19981,90910,83512.622.21$47,997
Apr 19982,21813,15813.042.51$61,888
Mar 19982,64514,40712.802.31$67,128
Feb 19982,02211,41913.952.30$54,461
Jan 19982,15713,35214.702.15$60,479
Dec 19972,81711,74016.322.41$74,280
Nov 19972,21212,38918.193.09$78,497
Oct 19972,25011,47519.253.15$79,457
Sep 19972,1229,45217.742.95$65,574
Aug 19972,2598,41317.862.55$61,839
Jul 19972,32312,42717.582.25$68,761
Jun 19972,25710,99917.242.26$63,738
May 19972,52211,54218.972.31$74,487
Apr 19972,1369,39217.882.08$57,753
Mar 19972,65911,32818.951.94$72,355
Feb 19972,40810,18620.492.21$71,809
Jan 19972,34710,44623.483.54$92,083
Dec 19962,63510,71223.32$61,448
Nov 19962,28510,17721.97$50,201
Oct 19962,4469,94323.31$57,016
Sep 19962,43511,11222.22$54,106
Aug 19962,25011,24120.26$45,585
Jul 19962,3709,62119.55$46,334
Jun 19962,4759,74118.73$46,357
May 19962,10610,55519.43$40,920
Apr 19962,58610,47321.51$55,625
Mar 19962,66511,61019.38$51,648
Feb 19962,3309,31316.98$39,563
Jan 19962,33910,06817.07$39,927
Dec 19952,64610,46517.19$45,485
Nov 19952,42310,90016.00$38,768
Oct 19952,52511,62115.43$38,961
Sep 19952,44710,74916.18$39,592
Aug 19952,58011,27515.92$41,074
Jul 19952,53511,52315.24$38,633
Jun 19952,77010,30216.41$45,456
May 19952,78612,25517.56$48,922
Apr 19952,5107,91417.73$44,502
Mar 19952,70911,94816.44$44,536
Feb 19952,81811,17916.58$46,722
Jan 19952,89412,33815.92$46,072
Dec 19943,11912,89015.03$46,879
Nov 19942,87212,86015.90$45,665
Oct 19943,23313,35515.58$50,370
Sep 19942,75113,23615.29$42,063
Aug 19943,24914,25816.13$52,406
Jul 19943,08511,78117.56$54,173
Jun 19942,51311,50617.09$42,947
May 19942,92514,14015.88$46,449
Apr 19942,89813,97014.14$40,978
Mar 19943,11515,69112.46$38,813
Feb 19943,08913,66912.50$38,613
Jan 19943,15715,22612.66$39,968
Dec 19933,12814,31812.33$38,568
Nov 19932,99814,99414.49$43,441
Oct 19933,10916,76615.85$49,278
Sep 19933,13615,41815.03$47,134
Aug 19933,26516,55115.66$51,130
Jul 19933,02414,38415.46$46,751
Jun 19933,18914,48116.79$53,543
May 19933,19514,81417.68$56,488
Apr 19933,33916,42818.05$60,269
Mar 19933,68116,73118.14$66,773
Feb 19933,23515,68317.90$57,907
Jan 19934,04017,05116.93$68,397

How to read this page

The arithmetic is one multiplication per stream per month. Here it is, worked, on a real row from the table above.

Apr 2022 — as filed, then multipliedworked
Oil                    0 bbl  × $104.22 =         $0
Casinghead gas        12 Mcf  × $  6.84 =        $82

────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Month total                                      $82

The volumes are the state's, unchanged

Every barrel and every Mcf on this page is a number the Railroad Commission of Texas published in its monthly production query. Nothing is modelled, estimated or filled in.

The dollars are a multiplication, not a valuation

Volume × a published monthly price. It is not what the operator was paid: it takes no account of a contract, a differential, a transportation deduction, or the share any one owner holds.

Oil and gas are priced differently

Oil is a Texas realisation — the crude oil first purchase price. Gas is a benchmark, because no free Texas wellhead gas series exists at any date. The prices page publishes the difference rather than correcting it away.

A lease is not a well

The state reports oil on lease and gas on well, and this page is the lease grain. 08/O/20702 is the state's own key, not one this site invented.