OIL AND NATURAL GAS

In December, legislators killed a controversial tax abatement program known as Chapter 313, but its effects will last decades.

The Texas Railroad Commission has rejected the proposal twice over water contamination concerns, but locals are dismayed that the commissioners keep giving the developer more chances to alter its application.

Commenting on the EPA’s proposed new rule to reduce methane leaks nationally, environmentalists said Texas regulators are hesitant to address emissions of the climate super-pollutant.

The oil industry pushed hard against the proposal to issue an ozone nonattainment designation, which would have required that companies reduce oilfield emissions.

At a senate committee hearing in Marshall, Texas Republican lawmakers accused investment firms of pulling back on fossil fuels, running afoul of a 2021 law that prohibits the state from contracting with or investing in companies that “boycott” oil, natural gas and coal companies.

The Sea Port Oil Terminal would be 30 miles off the Texas coast and is one of four proposed offshore terminals designed to dramatically expand the U.S. oil export capacity.

The quake was the third largest in Texas history, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. An increase in seismic activity in Texas has been linked to injecting fracking wastewater underground.

Concerns over ecological damage to Corpus Christi Bay have delayed plans to convert sea water to drinking water for years in this booming Gulf Coast city, where environmentalists see water supply as a “chokehold” to block new fossil fuel infrastructure.

A local activist went before a judge, arguing for lower pollution limits on two new liquified natural gas facilities. The judge sided with him, but the state environmental agency sided with the companies.

Stogner, who lost in a Republican primary runoff to incumbent Wayne Christian, said she’s endorsing Luke Warford.

During the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency exempted a proposed oil export terminal off the Texas coast from air pollution requirements. This week it rejected the permit because of pollution concerns.

Oil and gas companies produce 3.8 billion barrels of wastewater per year in the arid Permian Basin. A state consortium is trying to figure out whether it can be reused.

Critics are skeptical about whether the new rules by the Railroad Commission will prevent another catastrophe like the power grid disaster in February 2021.

The federal environment agency says it will continue flyovers of the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico until Aug. 15 using infrared cameras to survey oil and gas operations.

His campaign promise to end fossil fuel development on public lands was thwarted by U.S. courts, high gas prices and Russia’s domination of Western European energy.

Christian beat Sarah Stogner in the Republican primary runoff for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission after she accused him of corruption during the campaign.

Benzene is a known human carcinogen, according to the EPA. The Texas refineries were among a dozen industrial plants in the U.S. that emitted the highest levels of the chemical in 2021.

Utility companies and key oil and gas transportation hubs are on high alert as Russian hackers have been probing energy infrastructure’s digital networks for weak points.

Labor shortages, supply chain issues, hesitant financial backers and a frosty relationship with the Biden administration have limited how much Texas oil and gas companies are ramping up production.

A new law prohibits the state from contracting with or investing in companies that divest from oil, natural gas and coal companies.

After last winter’s near-statewide electric blackouts, Texas lawmakers went after regulators they deemed responsible but tiptoed around the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas. Now voters have a chance, if they want it, to send the state a message.

Kelcy Warren, the Dallas pipeline tycoon and top donor to Gov. Greg Abbott, is suing O’Rourke over his criticism of the windfall profits that Warren’s company made after the 2021 winter storm.

Energy markets responding to the war with higher oil and gas prices also means energy consumers will likely pay more on their utility bills and at the gas pump.

Vistra Corp. asked the Railroad Commission of Texas to prevent Energy Transfer LP from cutting off fuel to five of its power plants on Monday. Vistra said the power supply to at least 400,000 homes and businesses could be impacted.

Energy experts said the production drop during a relatively ordinary cold front could be a bad sign for the grid if the state is struck by extreme winter weather again.

As state regulators and the companies that power the grid take steps to avoid another catastrophe like February’s winter storm, climate experts say this winter will likely be milder.

But Texas oil and gas regulators addressed only part of the problem that led millions of Texans to lose power for days after February’s winter storm, and gas producers likely won’t be required to weatherize until 2023.

A proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule could require oil and gas producers to monitor and reduce emissions of methane in the field.

A report from the state climatologist finds that the state is experiencing hotter days with less relief from high temperatures at night.

Historians long thought the Karankawa people had disappeared. But now a group of descendants is fighting to protect a coastal area — where thousands of Karankawa artifacts were found — from an encroaching oil export facility.

Texas-based ConocoPhillips bought Shell’s Permian Basin assets for $9.5 billion, its second major purchase in the oil-rich area over the last year.

Texas lawmakers passed major bills in response to the winter storm power outages that killed hundreds of Texans in February. But there’s still a lot to do.