Injection Wells, NM Legislative Matters, and More Railroad Commissioner David Porter attended a town hall meeting in Azle, Texas, January 2nd, to listen to residents’ concerns regarding earthquakes in Parker County. Late last year, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced that it was sending seismic equipment and staff to Parker County to try to determine […]
From the President: Positive Developments
This year’s PBPA annual meeting was a tremendous success, by all accounts. I want to thank all of you for attending and give a special thanks to our sponsors and speakers. As we heard from both our elected officials and our CEO panelists, the Permian Basin is the place to be economically and should remain […]
Mounting Challenges
Permian Basin activity remains strong throughout the Basin and that makes the work we do here at the PBPA all that much more important. The issues keep coming at us and the Board and I are committed to doing what it takes to keep folks drilling and producing for years to come. PBPA continues to […]
Special Session, LPC, and Other Unfinished Business
As summer comes on, activity centers on some lingering issues. The Texas Legislature continues to meet in the second Special Session after the first one ended with a crash. In the first Special, they did pass the redistricting bill but funding for transportation died when the session was consumed over the abortion debate. Hopefully, this […]
In Memoriam: Mark Merritt
Mark Merritt will be fondly and respectfully remembered by the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. It is with a very heavy heart that I write this month’s report. My friend and PBPA chairman Mark Merritt lost his courageous battle with cancer on June 1. He leaves behind his wife of 34 years, Kay, and their children […]
From the President: Getting There
Legislative sessions have their way of creating their own realities. “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.” —Yogi Berra When we began the Legislative session, re-authorizing the Railroad Commission, funding our water and transportation infrastructure needs and improving the state’s response to […]
From the President: Cooperation is the Key
As I write this, the Texas legislature is at its peak of activity and PBPA is right in the middle of it. Before I discuss the latest legislative activities, I want to give credit to a Texas state agency. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), an agency who has had its fair share of […]
Sessions Nearing Their End
In New Mexico and Texas, the stakes have been high, the bills have held surprises, and the full results are near but still unknown. By now, the New Mexico session is all over but the shoutin’. There was quite a bit of oil and gas activity there and I would like to give you a […]
From the President: The Busy Season
The New Mexico legislative session has been a strange one, so far. It may be a result of 35 new members and new leadership in both Houses. House Energy Chairman Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe) has several bills not friendly to oil and gas. HB 136 is a hydraulic fracturing, chemical disclosure bill. Disclosure is fine […]
From the President
November marks the emergence of two issues requiring close scrutiny: Rule 13 and the Lesser Prairie Chicken Late last month, several PBPA board members and I traveled to Austin to testify on the Railroad Commission’s proposed changes to Rule 13, which addresses new casing, cementing and completion requirements. The Rule has not been updated […]