Will Texas Ever Change Railroad Commission Name?
A group of lawmakers is trying – again – to change the Railroad Commission's name to reflect what it does. This time, proponents want to call the agency the Texas Energy Commission. Full Story
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Texas House Approves "Denton Fracking Bill"
UPDATED: The Texas House on Friday approved House Bill 40, which would pre-empt local efforts to regulate a wide variety of oil and gas activities. Full Story
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![State Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, lays out HB 40 that would curb local control over oil and gas activities on April 17, 2015. With a 122-18 vote, the House sent the bill to the Senate.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Former Railroad Commissioner Lands Job at Law Firm
Barry Smitherman, the only person to serve both on the Texas Railroad Commission and the state’s Public Utility Commission, will practice energy law at Vinson and Elkins, the international law firm announced Tuesday. Full Story
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![Chairman Barry Smitherman of the Railroad Commission of Texas in his office, May 31, 2013.]()
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House Committee Passes Compromise on Local Drilling Rules
A House committee on Monday approved legislation that would limit local control over oil and gas activities — a committee substitute for a bill that initially stirred anger in city halls across Texas. Full Story
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![A well pad is flanked by Fort Worth's skyline on Sept. 27, 2013.]()
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Railroad Commissioner Rallies for Natural Gas
Railroad Commissioner David Porter has kicked off an initiative to tout the benefits of natural gas, whose low price has benefited some power generators but bedeviled operators and other energy companies that bet big on it years ago. Full Story
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![Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter.]()
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Senate Committee Advances "Denton Fracking Bill"
A Senate committee has advanced legislation to limit local control over oil and gas activities across Texas. The proposal is among nearly a dozen filed in response to a North Texas town's vote to ban hydraulic fracturing. Full Story
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Denton Fracking Ban Tees Up Local Control Fight
Plenty of lawmakers are siding with the oil industry in response to Denton's vote to ban fracking inside city limits. What's surprising this session is how few are weighing in for local control. Full Story
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Texas Officials Take Aim at Crude Oil Export Ban
With prices stumbling and crude oil backing up in refineries and tank farms across the state, Texas lawmakers are raising a cry for repeal of the 40-year-old ban on most crude oil exports. Full Story
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![An oil refinery is shown in the Houston Ship Channel in 2011.]()
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Despite Low Prices, Texas Oil Group Stays Optimistic
Texas’ oil and gas industry is touting its record-breaking 2014 contributions to state and local government coffers, an effort to stay positive amid 2015's far gloomier revenue outlook. Full Story
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For State's Seismologist, Earthquakes Will Be the Easy Part of the Job
A peripatetic seismologist and son of McCamey has been hired to figure out whether oil and gas drilling is causing earthquakes in Texas. No matter what he says, some people will not believe him. Full Story
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![Each day, dozens of trucks hook up to the Gulf Coast-run fracking fluid disposal well site near Gonzales, Texas.]()
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Texas Justices Renew Royalty Owner's Fraud Case
In a case that highlights the challenges Texas mineral owners face in ensuring oil and gas operators pay what they promise, the Texas Supreme Court has revived the claim of a man who alleges he was shortchanged on royalties. Full Story
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Texas Bearing Brunt of Drop in Oil Drilling
After months of plummeting oil prices, nightmares about idled drilling rigs have become reality, hitting Texas the hardest. See how many rigs the state has lost in recent months. Full Story
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![Pipes used for fracking are shown in front of a Fasken OIl and Ranch drilling rig outside of Midland on Oct. 8, 2013.]()
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In Revising Media Policy, Railroad Commission Stresses Transparency
The Texas Railroad Commission is overhauling its media policy, striking language that mentions punishment for agency employees who relay incorrect information to news outlets. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
A Debate Over Fracking and Local Control
After Denton voters decided to ban fracking, other Texas cities could weigh similar moves. Legislators are expected to look at ways to avoid a city-by-city fight over drilling regulations. This is the fourth video in our eight-part State of Mind series. Full Story
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Rule on Natural Gas Rate Hikes is Fuel for Debate
The Texas Railroad Commission recently endorsed changes to how cities can challenge natural gas utility rate increases. Commissioners say the rule should help cut expenses for ratepayers. But some critics say the rule puts cities at a disadvantage. Full Story
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Amid New Earthquakes, Researchers Head to Irving
UPDATED: Irving has experienced scores of small earthquakes in recent months, and seismologists are headed to town to help figure out what’s behind the shaking. Full Story
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![Lynda Stokes, the mayor of Reno, Texas, testified before the Railroad Commission of Texas on Jan. 21, 2014. She voiced her concern about an increased number of earthquakes around Eagle Mountain Lake.]()
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Raw Gas Fuels Worry for Rural Homeowner
Thousands of rural Texas homes get their natural gas from "farm taps," hooking up to nearby pipelines that carry raw gas on its way from wells to processing plants. One homeowner shut down his furnace when he learned of the risks. Full Story
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![Some rural Texans, including Jon Salis, have been getting untreated natural gas that can freeze up and, in rare cases, pollute homes. Salis poses at the gas line near his Lake Palo Pinto property.]()
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Sitton Leaving Consulting Firm to Avoid Conflicts
Ryan Sitton, the incoming Texas railroad commissioner, says he is following through on a campaign promise to step away from his oil and gas consulting firm and place its assets in a blind trust. Full Story
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![Ryan Sitton, the incoming Texas Railroad Commissioner, speaks at a Texas Tribune event on Oct. 30, 2014.]()
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As Cities Get Testy, Regulators Mull Oversight of Urban Drilling
The Railroad Commission wants to beef up oversight of oil and gas wells in cities, and ease tension between the industry and the growing number of urban Texans living next to well pads, compressor stations and disposal wells. Full Story
![A well pad is flanked by Fort Worth's skyline on Sept. 27, 2013.]()
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Regulators Pan Study on Methane Gas in Wells
No one disputes that high levels of methane have shown up in several Parker County water wells. But the source of the gas has stirred a heated debate involving homeowners, academics, the Railroad Commission and the EPA. Full Story
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![Steve Lipsky shows the methane contamination of his well by igniting the gas with a lighter outside his family's home in Parker County near Weatherford on June 17.]()
Credit: Cooper Neill
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