Energy News NOVEMBER 2023
From the Field Photo Mitchell County
Photo from Zack Austin
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RRC Expands Collaboration with
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RRC Finalizes Preparations as Weatherization Deadline Approaches
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RRC Attends Important Carbon Management Dialogue Event in Houston
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$3 Billion of Oil & Gas Tax Revenue Deposited into State’s Savings Account
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Commissioners’ Corner
Texas Law Enforcement
Upcoming Events RRC Open Meeting
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
V I E W O P E N M E E T I N G W E B CA S T S4
ENERGY NEWS
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RRC Expands Collaboration with Texas Law Enforcement The Railroad Commission is lending more of its expertise to help bring bad actors to justice. The agency’s legal enforcement investigators have stepped up their outreach and collaboration to help federal, state and local law enforcement in their investigations. The collaboration is invaluable because of a recent troubling trend in Texas: an increase in oilfield theft that is affecting oil and gas operators, especially in the Permian Basin. The RRC has been receiving more calls from industry and law enforcement agencies seeking help investigating their cases. The assistance our investigators provide includes more seminars and conferences around the state explaining what types of RRC records can help investigations, as well as working directly with law enforcement. The RRC has been able to assist an array of counterparts, including, but not limited to, the Texas Department of Public Safety, county sheriffs, the FBI, Department of Justice, and the Texas State Securities Board. “We’re able to lend our expertise and utilize the large amount of oil and gas information housed at the RRC to help law enforcement agencies,” said Megan Neal, RRC Deputy General Counsel. “They want to learn about our permitting and regulation of oil and gas facilities, and we not only help them understand those processes, but we also explain how to query the vast amount of oil and gas records that we have that can be used in their cases.” Sharing resources has also become a beneficial two-way street. RRC’s investigators are given access to certain law enforcement databases, which can be valuable to internal work at the RRC to regulate statewide rules.
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ENERGY NEWS
RRC Finalizes Preparations as
Weatherization Deadline Approaches
The RRC’s extensive efforts implementing weatherization and critical designation rules, and the robust inspection process that followed were clearly helpful in maintaining natural gas supply during weather emergencies in the past 12 months.
ENERGY NEWS
We conducted more than 7,200 weatherization inspections during the winter and summer to help Texans with their electricity and heating needs through two severe winter storms and the excessive summer heat. It all starts over again on December 1.
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CID West Region Director Jarrod Eberly speaks during a weatherization webinar
That’s the deadline for operators to submit attestations summarizing what weatherization methods have been utilized at their facilities. RRC inspections will begin right after that deadline.
The RRC has been in contact with operators as we get ready for the next winter inspection season. That included two webinars in November to walk operators through reporting requirements and the inspection process as the RRC gets ahead of the curve to protect Texans from any harsh weather.
Between last winter and this past summer, the Commission’s Critical Infrastructure Division inspectors conducted more than 7,200 inspections of the natural gas critical infrastructure. 5
ENERGY NEWS
RRC Attends Important Carbon Management Dialogue Event in Houston Carbon management has become a topic at the forefront of the energy and environmental sectors as methods to remove carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere are explored. The RRC plays a key role in the safety regulations of carbon management and storage and travels the state to help communities understand our important role.
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RRC staff attended the Carbon Management Dialogue event in Houston this month that offered a wide array of presentations, panel discussions and workshops designed to inform and engage the public, academic community, industry professionals, and local governments about carbon management in Texas. The event was geared towards the communities around the Houston and Gulf Coast area to offer opportunities to learn about new carbon management technologies. Sessions also provided information on how the public can become involved in project development, along with clarification on regulatory processes for oversight of carbon management projects.
Chief Geologist Leslie Savage representing RRC in a panel discussion.
“The RRC attended this event to educate and listen,” said Michelle Banks, RRC Office of Public Engagement Director. “We informed attendees about the RRC’s request for primacy of Class VI Wells and the steps we have taken to prepare for adding this permit regulation to our jurisdiction. Plus, we listened to the community and their advocates to learn their level of understanding, questions and concerns about Class VI Wells and CO2 pipelines to enhance our outreach once we receive primacy.”
RRC Pipeline Permitting Specialists participated in a panel discussion on pipeline safety, permitting and regulations to help answer community questions. Leslie Savage, Director of Oil and Gas Program Support/ Chief Geologist represented the Commission in a panel discussion on Laws and Regulation and breakout sessions on topics such as the future of carbon management. The event was hosted by Climate Now, in coordination with the City of Houston and Rice University.
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ENERGY NEWS
$3 Billion of Oil & Gas Tax Revenue Deposited into State’s Savings Account Ever since it was created in 1988, the state’s Rainy Day Fund has been a vital component of the state’s budgeting process. Throughout the years lawmakers have used the fund for disaster relief, public education, water projects, economic development, health and human services, and to cover a budget gap to name a few examples of the appropriations that have been made from the fund.
The state’s oil and gas industry is key to all that important funding. That’s because oil and gas production tax is the source of the majority of revenue deposited into the Rainy Day Fund. The Texas Comptroller deposits a calculated portion of the annual production revenue into the fund, and this month the Comptroller made the Fiscal Year 2024 deposit, which was $3.06 billion.
ENERGY NEWS
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Top 5 Oil & Gas Production Tax Revenue Deposits into Rainy Day Fund 1)
Fiscal Year 2023
$3.64 billion
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Fiscal Year 2024
$3.06 billion
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Fiscal Year 2014
$2.51 billion
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Fiscal Year 2009
$2.24 billion
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Fiscal Year 2013
$1.88 billion
That was the second largest deposit into the Rainy Day Fund, second only to last year’s (Fiscal Year 2023), as you see in the table.
Which means that just in the last two years alone, more than $13 billion has been deposited to the Rainy Day Fund and for state transportation needs thanks to the oil and gas industry ($7.28 billion in Fiscal Year 2023 and $6.12 billion in Fiscal Year 2024)!
There’s another important note to make: in November 2014 voters passed a constitutional amendment for the Rainy Day Fund and the State Highway Fund to receive the same amount of production tax revenue each year.
It all points to how important the energy sector continues to be for the state economy and jobs, and for funding the needs of Texans through the state budget.
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ENERGY NEWS
Chairman Craddick CO M M I S S I O N E R S’ CO R N E R
In November, Chairman Craddick visited with industry leaders at the state level and on the international stage. She was honored to visit with Rodolfo Saboia, Director General of the Brazilian National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels. During their meeting, the Chairman and Director General discussed the international energy market and regulatory efforts in both respective countries. Additionally, Chairman Craddick had the opportunity to visit Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service where she took time to visit with the future leaders of Texas.
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Commissioner Christian CO M M I S S I O N E R S’ CO R N E R
In November, Commissioner Christian celebrated a successful victory over textbook publishers that wanted to include anti- oil and gas materials to be taught to Texas students. Following news that the Texas State Board of Education was approving new school materials that would drive a radical environmentalist agenda, the Commissioner authored a letter that drew significant attention to the issue. “Students need to learn about fossil fuels and real-world energy, where it comes from, how it works, and most importantly how it creates a better world,” said Commissioner Wayne Christian. “America’s future generations don’t need a leftist agenda brainwashing them in the classroom to hate oil and natural gas. Our economy needs STEM students that understand the difference between dispatchable, reliable power and intermittent, unreliable power. Fossil fuels help power 80% of global energy, make 96% of consumer items, finance our state and national economies, and feed billions of people all over the world. The Texas State Board of Education did the right thing by rejecting radical environmentalist propaganda on ‘net zero’ and ensuring our students learn the benefits of fossil fuels.”
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Additionally, Commissioner Christian released another episode of his podcast featuring Chairman Steven Pruett of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. LISTEN TO THE COMMISSIONER’S PODCAST Lastly, the Commissioner visited with constituents in Houston about the importance of Texas oil and gas to the state economy and U.S. energy.
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ENERGY NEWS
Commissioner Wright CO M M I S S I O N E R S’ CO R N E R
This month, Commissioner Wright traveled to Midland where he toured Texas Pacific Water Resources’ research facility designed to treat produced water for beneficial reuse on native plant species and non-edible crops. “With the increased prevalence of seismic activity in the Permian, finding alternatives to underground injection is needed now more than ever,” said Commissioner Wright. “I’m excited to see Texas Pacific take the initiative and bring this project from concept to reality as it represents a huge step forward for the industry and the State of Texas.”
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ENERGY NEWS
Oil & Gas Production Statistics
View monthly production totals of crude oil, condensate and total oil; and of gas well gas, casinghead gas, and total natural gas.
V I E W C U R R E N T P RO D U CT I O N S TAT I S T I C S4
Enforcement Actions
The Commission has primary oversight and enforcement of the state’s oil and gas industry and intrastate pipeline safety. View RRC’s Latest Enforcement Actions here.
V I E W LAT E S T E N F O RC E M E N T ACT I O N S4
Public GIS Viewer
The Public GIS Viewer allows users to view oil, gas and pipeline data in a map view.
LA U N C H T H E P U B L I C G I S V I E W E R4
