Ben Shepperd,
PBPA President
Members,
The Texas Legislature continues to churn through its 140-day session and with the final month of the legislative session arriving, we are certainly at crunch time. A record number of House and Senate bills were filed but perhaps the greatest challenge of all is that a significant number of these record bills were filed in the final week. This demonstrates the new logistical challenges for the Legislature to consider thousands of bills in just a few weeks, because while there are two months remaining in the session, there is effectively about a month before these bills have to be passed out of committee to then be considered in calendars before the deadline for consideration in the House (May 11th).
This is the real challenge with the legislative process and timing is everything. For that part PBPA has been active and engaged on several items including supporting legislation to ensure that the Produced Water Consortium, an organization that includes oil and gas operators, water management firms, service companies, environmental groups, think tanks and more—housed at Texas Tech University—continues to evaluate methods to utilize produced water for beneficial uses outside of the oil and gas industry.
Additionally, the House and Senate continue to debate the state budget and we have been advocating for continued and increased funding at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as well as the Railroad Commission of Texas. Jointly, these agencies represent the oversight of oil and gas activities and we need these agencies to be funded and effective to ensure that the industry can continue to create jobs and grow.
In addition to those efforts, PBPA is also supporting legislation that would establish a process for innovative carbon technologies and we continue to support efforts to expand transmission build out in the Permian Basin. This is of vital importance for PBPA members as carbon innovation represents continued growth for global energy markets.
Lastly another of the many efforts PBPA is supporting is to reform some of the critical infrastructure changes made by the Legislature last session to ensure that we continue to have a clear understanding of the natural gas-electricity supply chain but one that isn’t unnecessarily onerous to oil and gas operators in the Permian Basin.
The Permian Basin is the greatest oil and gas play, not just because of the geology—though it is the best—but because of those that live, work, and raise their families in our communities. We are so proud to represent each and every one of you and please continue to let us know how we can best advocate for your needs to ensure that the Permian Basin continues to be the greatest opportunity to create jobs and produce prosperity for Texas, New Mexico, the United States, and our allies abroad.