After many years of operation on an antiquated system, the Texas Railroad Commission–regulator of the state’s oil and gas industry–is getting new computers. In fact, all new information technology.
By Al Pickett, special contributor
Information technology, or “I.T.” as it is commonly termed, is a way of life today. Seemingly every facet of both our personal and business activities somehow involves the internet and digital record-keeping.
It is no different with the Railroad Commission of Texas, and I.T. changes are coming to the RRC, the agency that governs the state’s oil and industry. Commissioner Christi Craddick calls the changes “exciting,” claiming they will impact not only the state’s oil and gas operators but also the service companies and pipelines as well.
“When I got here—in fact, when I was campaigning—I said our I.T. was behind,” said Craddick, who was elected to a six-year term on the Railroad Commission in November 2012. “One of my initiatives was to upgrade the agency’s information technology.”
Craddick, a native of Midland, is an attorney. Prior to her election, her law practice specialized in agriculture, oil and gas, water, tax issues, electric deregulation, and environmental policy. She said the Railroad Commission began taking steps to upgrade the agency’s I.T. system in December 2012, prior to the beginning of the 83 Legislative session.
“On Dec. 1, 2012, we hired a new I.T. director,” she explained. “In six weeks, he had evaluated the agency, got feedback, and put together a plan of what needed to be done. He gave us budget numbers, too, which is always helpful.”
The Railroad Commission then took the I.T. proposal before the Texas Legislature last spring.
“We are a truth-in-budget agency,” Craddick continued. “We had the money. The legislature allocated $24.7 million total for the project, which includes $16.4 million in the last biennium, to upgrade our website and GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping. The industry backed our plan, and the Legislature understood. It didn’t matter what side of the aisle the legislators were on—they were friendly and helped us.”
On Aug. 1, the RRC began a bid process and hired a company to build seven modules to update the information technology system in every facet of the agency’s operations from pipeline safety to the oil and gas division, Craddick said. The company has developed five of the seven modules, and according to Craddick the final two modules will be developed by the end of April.
The goal, she added, is to then have the entire system designed and online by May or June of 2015. In the meantime, visitors to the RRC’s website can expect to see a new home page this spring.
So what will the changes mean to the state’s oil and gas operators when the system is completed?
“In October of last year, we began requiring operators to file their completions online, for example,” Craddick offered. “But our staff at the Railroad Commission still had to hand-look at each report and keystroke all the information. It was easier on the operator, but not on our staff.”
When the new system is completed, the operator will file his completion report on line. If there is a problem, she said, the system will red-flag the form.
“If there isn’t a problem, it will dump into the system,” Craddick continued. “All of our [regional] offices will be connected and have access to all information. It will free up the amount of data entry our staff has to do and make us more efficient.”
She said the RRC asked for public input when it began designing the system and is continuing to ask for comment from the public.
“We want to be user friendly,” said Craddick, noting that the new system needs to be beneficial not only for the oil and gas operators and the RRC staff but also for landowners or someone who just wants more information about a well being drilled down the road from them.
“A lot of that information has been online,” she admitted, “but it hasn’t been easy to find.”
When an operator calls up a particular form on a well, all the information previously inputted should pop up again, meaning that the inquirer won’t have to re-input the same information again, according to Craddick. She did point out that it won’t fix the issue of well information before 1970 that is on microfilm. Operators will still have to go to the microfilm to obtain that information.
Craddick added that the new system should make it easier for the RRC staff to access needed information from the laptop computers in their trucks while they are out in the field. She acknowledged that the question of what specific forms will be available online is still being debated.
One of the criticisms of the Railroad Commission has been its backlog of completion reports.
“Last year, we were 14,000 completion reports behind, which is about six months behind,” Craddick said. “We are now 11,000 reports behind, which is four months behind. Beginning to file electronically last fall has helped. Under the new system, unless there is an issue, the completion reports will be dumped into the system quickly, almost automatically.”
She said the Railroad Commission will provide public workshops to explain the new system once it is up and running, much as it did with the recent Rule 13 changes.
Craddick says the forms that operators have to fill out won’t change a lot and most of the information required of operators will be the same. But the new system will presumably make it easier and the agency’s operations more efficient.
All of the changes come at a time when the state’s oil and gas industry is flourishing. At a town hall meeting in Abilene earlier this year, Craddick noted that there were 829 rigs in operation in Texas at the close of 2013, with 400 or so operating in the Permian Basin.
Although permits were down last year compared to 2012—8,800 in the Permian Basin compared with 9,600 the year before—completions (statewide completions–not just completions in the Permian Basin) were up from 15,000 to 25,000. Texas produces 1.8 million of the 7.5 million barrels the United States pumps daily, according to Craddick. She also says the oil and gas industry has created 427,000 jobs in Texas with an average salary of $120,000.
She called the oil and gas industry the second-most technological advanced industry in the world. Hopefully, in a year, the Railroad Commission’s information technology system will be updated to handle the industry’s needs in this new age of internet and digital information.
Craddick Tells NAPE “Education is the Key”
Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick on Feb. 5 encouraged attendees at the winter North American Prospect Expo (NAPE) meeting in Houston to proactively work together to educate the public about the importance of the current shale energy revolution. Craddick’s comments were made at the NAPE meeting, which this year has 16,000 investors from energy exploration and production sectors from across the globe.
“The booms and busts of oil and gas production are expected, but the industry’s recent innovations in shale development—the use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling collectively—have immensely changed the conversation,” Craddick said. “We have sustained growth. This technology has catapulted the world into this new age of energy abundance. Although it started in Texas, shale development is now pursued throughout the world.
“The question is not if this energy revolution continues—it must continue,” Craddick said. “It is a question of how to find the proper balance between the needs of public interests, while aiding the continuation of enormous growth in global energy supplies. A big piece to successfully bridging that gap is education.
“With this monumental development comes not only a regulatory responsibility, but the unspoken, unconditional duty of industry, policy makers, and regulators to educate people about what is going on in their communities,” Craddick said. “We have worked hard to spread this message in Texas, but the effort does not stop there. We must all proactively work together to tell the story of the importance of this shale energy revolution to the world. With global awareness of the significance of this new age of energy development, the abundance of our energy resources is more certain.
“The American shale revolution has been driven by energy innovators who had the courage take the leap and invest in pioneering technologies,” Craddick said. “America has blazed the trail for energy innovation; and now, the eyes of Texas, and the world, are upon us to ensure the safe, responsible, continued development of our precious resources.”
RRC Commissioner Porter on EPA Overreach
Texas Railroad Commissioner David Porter testified Feb. 5 in front of Congress on what he termed the egregious overreach of the federal government, specifically the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing entitled “Examining the Science of EPA Overreach: A Case Study in Texas.” The stated purpose of the hearing was to focus on the scientific justification and cumulative impacts of regulations, policies, and practices promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency and their effects on state sovereignty.
“I am grateful to the committee for holding this hearing to discuss this important topic, as the EPA continues to encroach on the regulatory jurisdiction of individual states,” Commissioner Porter said. “Since taking office, it has been one of my biggest goals to keep the feds at bay and to retain state primacy of regulation, especially of the oil and gas industry, which is the biggest economic driver in Texas. If the EPA were to gain control of energy regulation, it would cripple the industry and devastate our economy. We in Texas know best how to achieve a balance of economic vitality and environmental safety, as we responsibly and proudly reign as the top producer in the country.”
Smitherman on Keystone XL Impact Statement
In other news from a very busy month of activities at the Texas Railroad Commission, there came this notice from RRC headquarters:
Railroad Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman issued the following statement on Jan. 31 regarding the U.S. State Department’s environmental impact study on the Keystone XL pipeline:
“This is great news for Americans who would prefer to encourage the production of oil from our neighbors to the north rather than rely on unfriendly nations for oil,” Smitherman said. “The State Department concluded in its final environmental assessment issued today that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would not significantly alter global greenhouse gas emissions, so clearly it is time to move ahead with this important energy infrastructure project.”