Our rundown outlines the main bills that affect(ed) oil and gas in Texas and their status moving forward. Railroad Commission of Texas Sunset HB 1675 Bonnen, Dennis(R) Nichols, Robert(R) Relating to governmental entities subject to the sunset review process. Sunset Safety Net Bill. This is the so-called “Safety Net” bill that provides […]
The 83rd Legislature in Retrospect
Note: At the end of this article, there are Q&A’s with legislators about the legislative session. As the smoke clears on the recently concluded legislative session, Texas’ oil and gas interests can be relieved that nothing too damaging found passage. Still, questions remain and certain issues linger. If there are two things that West Texans […]
News Reviews: Making a Mark
The industry recognizes an innovator; China enters the Wolfcamp; regulators held accountable; and another oil company picks up stakes for the Cline. Mora County in northeastern New Mexico became the first county in the U.S. to pass an ordinance banning hydraulic fracturing. The Los Angeles Times reported that all residents in Mora County depend on […]
What Constitutes Fair Tax Treatment?
contributed by the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants The answer could lie in this–a white paper on legislative proposals to repeal certain tax treatments of domestic oil and gas exploration and development. Introduction The United States is currently experiencing a significant budget deficit with expenditures projected to exceed income by nearly $845 billion for […]
Elevated Perspective
Steve Pruett and his well-placed partners have put together one of the biggest new E&P outfits to hit the Permian in several years. By Al Pickett, special contributor The most important factor in securing equity funding for a start-up energy company is people, according to Steve Pruett. “It is a marriage of people, experience, a […]
News Reviews – May 2013
The Texas Railroad Commission adopted new rules March 26 to encourage Texas operators to continue their efforts to conserve water used in hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas even though hydraulic fracturing and total mining use account for less than one percent of statewide water use. The state’s top three water consumers are irrigation, municipalities, […]
Feeling the Impact
The Cline Shale, still in its infancy as a producing zone, is exerting a profound effect in places like Garden City and the rest of Glasscock County. While the Permian Basin is a busy place for the oil and gas industry these days from one end of the basin to the other, tiny Glasscock County […]
News Reviews – April 2013
Tim Rochford is taking over as chairman, Kelly Hoffman is CEO, and David Fowler is now president of Ring Energy, which is reorganizing its management and relocating its headquarters to Midland from Tulsa. The Tulsa World reported that Ring Energy, which focuses on drilling properties in West Texas and Kansas, last summer acquired Stanford Energy, […]
Toward Tort Reform: February PBPA Luncheon
The co-founder of Texans for Lawsuit Reform carries his cause to West Texas. MIDLAND, TEXAS—Attendees to the February PBPA luncheon heard an appeal from Richard “Dick” Weekley, the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR), a statewide tort reform organization dedicated to bringing fairness and balance back to Texas’ civil justice system. […]
Tools of the Trade 2013
An address on entrepreneurship by Dick Saulsbury highlighted the Burmass Tools of the Trade Expo. First you have to find the thing you believe in. Those were the words of Dick Saulsbury, keynote speaker at the 2013 Burmass “Tools of the Trade” Exposition, held Feb. 28-March 1 at the Horseshoe Arena in Midland. Saulsbury, whose […]