No state has punched more holes in its bedrock than the Lone Star State. The environmental risks are staggering, and so are the clean up costs, especially in the Permian Basin.
Texas Railroad Commission
Texas energy companies are betting hydrogen can become a cleaner fuel for transportation
Supporters say developing hydrogen as a fuel is critical to slowing climate change. Critics are concerned that producing it with fossil fuels will prop up the oil and gas industry.
Election results: How Texas voted in the 2024 primary
Get The Texas Tribune’s coverage of election results for the 2024 primary races for president, U.S. Senate, U.S. House and the Texas Legislature.
“Nobody really knows what you’re supposed to do”: Leaking, exploding abandoned wells wreak havoc in West Texas
The Texas Railroad Commission is tasked with plugging wells. But the state regulators say their scope is limited.
Midland settles with company to drill wastewater wells near the city’s drinking water supply
The city initially protested Pilot’s applications to drill the wells close to its water supply.
Worried about safety, a small West Texas town challenges planned cross-border pipeline
Critics are calling on federal regulators to increase their scrutiny and oversight of the proposed pipeline, which would send gas from Texas to the Mexican coast for export to other countries.
Midland fights disposal of oilfield wastewater near its drinking supply
As oil and gas companies struggle to dispose of their wastewater in the Permian Basin, the city of Midland is challenging applications for disposal wells near one of its drinking water sources.
Oil and gas companies spill millions of gallons of wastewater in Texas
An exclusive Inside Climate News analysis found that companies have spilled nearly 150 million gallons of toxic, highly saline wastewater in Texas over the last decade.
Oilfield companies helped to craft Texas’ new waste rules for 2 years before the public got to see them
The effort to update the state’s oilfield waste disposal rules was initiated by Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright, one of the state’s top oil and gas regulators who has investments in the industry.
Sarah Stogner announces second campaign for the Texas Railroad Commission
After losing in a Republican runoff last year, Stogner said she plans to challenge incumbent Chair Christi Craddick as a member of the Forward Party.


