Texas creating task forces to target Permian Basin oil field thefts
Texas lawmakers passed a suite of bills that officials said are crucial to combat losses in the state’s largest oil field. Full Story
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![A semi-truck waits to turn onto Texas State Highway 158 after disposing of its load at a salt-water disposal site Tuesday, June 25, 2024, south of Midland.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas oil companies face new deadlines to plug inactive wells
Senate Bill 1150, which is on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott, is a rare example of the Texas Legislature regulating the state’s oil and gas industry. Full Story
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![A plugged well on the Scouras’ property in Lee County on July 12, 2021. The Scourases are two of many Lee County residents whose water sources have dried up as a result of Vista Ridge Pipeline Project.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas has thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells. Who is responsible for cleaning them up?
Across Texas, abandoned wells are erupting with chemical-infused liquid and some have created massive lakes of contaminated water. Regulators say they need more money to address the problem. Full Story
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![Men work to pull tubing from an orphan well in a field in Luling, Texas on March 27, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Can Texas clean up fracking water enough to use for farming? One company thinks so.
The Texas Legislature has also invested millions in research to clean the fracking wastewater. Critics say it’s not a viable solution to the state’s water crisis. Full Story
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![Technical Research & Development Manager Adrianne Lopez gives a tour of the Texas Pacific Water Resources’ project site greenhouse on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, outside of Midland.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Bill would stop Texas oil drillers from secretly burying toxic waste on private property
House Bill 4572 would introduce new requirements for pits where drillers bury oil and gas waste. Full Story
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![A home across the street from an entrance to an oilfield waste disposal facility has a sign reading "DON'T DUMP ON NORDHEIM" on Sept. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Texas energy company wins first-of-its-kind permit to suck carbon out of air, store underground
Environmental groups worry direct carbon capture is not the silver bullet to curb climate change many energy companies purport it to be. Full Story
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![A drone view of the Stratos Direct Air Capture Facility (DAC), a joint venture between Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and asset manager BlackRock, is seen in Ector County on July 28, 2024.]()
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Renewable energy companies face little regulation in Texas. A state lawmaker wants to change that.
The legislation would put new requirements on wind and solar companies that oil and gas companies in Texas do not face. Full Story
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![Landon Terry unloads feed from his ranger for the sheep he tends to at the Enel solar farm in Haskell County on Oct. 20, 2023.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
Legislation creating statewide emergency communication system advances in Texas House
The legislation was written after the state’s largest wildfire scorched more than 1 million acres in the Panhandle last year. Full Story
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![The Rolling Pines Fire blazes through Bastrop State Park on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Carole Keeton Strayhorn, first woman to serve as Texas comptroller, dies at 85
She served on the Texas Railroad Commission, and was the first woman elected Austin mayor. Full Story
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![Carol Keeton Strayhorn in 2006.]()
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An abandoned West Texas oil well has created a 200-foot-wide sinkhole
The rapidly-growing sinkhole in Upton County is the latest of many problems caused by old wells in the Permian Basin. Full Story
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![A sinkhole formed by an old oil well on the Kelton Ranch in Upton County, Texas, has grown rapidly in the past year.]()
Credit: Martha Pskowski/Inside Climate News -
A Republican effort to set deadlines to plug orphan wells in Texas hits resistance
The bill would have set deadlines for the oil and gas industry to plug inactive wells, which can pose a danger to the environment. Full Story
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![A pump jack and a gas flare in the Eagle Ford oil patch south of San Antonio.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Why oil and gas companies want state oversight for carbon dioxide injection
Environmentalists are worried the state — known for a lax approach to regulation — is not prepared for the added responsibility of regulating certain carbon capture projects. Full Story
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Once the carbon dioxide is captured, the gas is compressed and transported, usually through pipelines, to a storage location, which is later injected into deep underground rock formations where it can be permanently stored.
Original alt-text:
Petra Nova CCS Facility at NRG Power Plant in Richmond on May 18, 2018.]()
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Texas regulators grapple with a growing problem: old oil wells leaking polluted water
Two years after lawmakers created a $10 million program to address leaking wells in rural counties, none of the money has been distributed. Full Story
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![Hawk Dunlap stands at the site of Lake Boehmer, a brine lake that has leaked out of an old well in Pecos County.]()
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Texas regulators overhaul oilfield waste rule for the first time in four decades
The new rule modernizes some aspects of commercial oilfield waste disposal and recycling. But rules for burying oilfield waste on private property remain limited. Full Story
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![An aerial view of produced water ponds constructed by Martin Water in Lenorah.]()
Credit: Julian Mancha for The Texas Tribune/Inside Climate News -
Recycled oilfield water could aid drought-stricken West Texas
Oilfield wastewater injected underground is causing earthquakes and blowouts. Now, pilot projects are exploring whether this water could be treated and used to grow crops. Full Story
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![Eric Selinger walks on his property near the Pecos River outside Imperial on Oct. 8. He previously farmed shrimp but now hopes that treated produced water could bring the land back to life.]()
Credit: Martha Pskowski/Inside Climate News -
A West Texas lawmaker wants to redirect millions of tax dollars to plug abandoned wells, curb emissions
The proposal comes after the state’s oil and gas regulatory agency said it needs more money to plug wells that are in some instances erupting. Full Story
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![State Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa, listens to Jazmin Cazares as she testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety at the state capitol in Austin on June 23, 2022.]()
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Republican Christi Craddick reelected to Railroad Commission, the state’s oil and gas regulatory agency
The three-member board oversees Texas’ oil and gas industry. The agency has faced criticism over safety concerns linked to fracking, well blowouts and groundwater protection. Full Story
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![Christi Craddick, chair of the Texas Railroad Commission, speaks to delegates at the 2024 Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio on May 25, 2024.]()
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See final results from Texas for the November 2024 election
Texans voted in several races, including for the President, a U.S. Senator, U.S. House members and more. Full Story
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State oil regulator requests $100 million to tackle West Texas well blowouts
Abandoned wells in the Permian Basin are increasingly erupting with briney, polluted water. The Texas Railroad Commission says it needs emergency money to respond. Full Story
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![Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Christi Craddick, then-Chairman Wayne Christian, and Commissioner Jim Wright listen during an RRC hearing in Austin on Nov. 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Dimitri Staszewski for The Texas Tribune -
A West Texas well that exploded has been sealed, cleanup will take months
While residents smelled rotten eggs, the state’s environmental agency said it has not detected any air pollution. Full Story
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![An oil well blowout shooting a mixture of oil, water, and gas over 100 feet in the air west of Toyah on Oct. 4, 2024.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel courtesy of DeSmog