The latest Texas Railroad Commission news from The Texas Tribune.
City officials are crossing their fingers that one Republican proposal – what consumer advocates call the session’s most important bill for natural gas utility customers – will pick up steam before time runs out. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/672206dba85da5ec8b247cfbb79c5cb1/BD%20INC%20Keffer%20430%202013)
Four days after the Senate approved landmark legislation that would pre-empt local control over a variety of oil and gas activities, the Texas House advanced another response to Denton's vote to ban hydraulic fracturing. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/12/10/Denton-Fracking.jpg)
The so-called Denton fracking bill is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. The Senate on Monday approved a bill to pre-empt local efforts to regulate a wide variety of oil and gas activities. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/10/17/TxTrib-UrbanDrilling005.jpg)
In the latest chapter of a long-running legal fight, a Fort Worth oil and gas company has received permission from the Texas Supreme Court to pursue defamation damages from a Parker County man. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/06/19/MethaneWell.jpg)
Gas industry activity “most likely” triggered a series of earthquakes that shook two North Texas towns from late 2013 through early 2014, new peer-reviewed research shows. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/01/21/7C2A3668.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/06/21/RRC-Seal.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/04/17/_DSC8883Darbylayout.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/06/12/TxTribLive-Smitherman110.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/10/17/TxTrib-UrbanDrilling014.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/09/08/DavidPorterRRC_copy.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4e1a5e14f114b17e57c1d0c3b884c681/BD%20INC%20Fraser%2003%202013)
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
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Oil-Refinery.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/01/12/OilSunset.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/05/20/TxTrib-DisposalWell008.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/09/17/OilSupremeMoney.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/12/19/TexTrib-Best017.jpg)
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
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/01/21/TT-state-of-mind-gasline.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/NaturalGas-Pipeline.jpg)