by Luke Dias

Midland Reporter-Telegram

Several government officials met with local groups and organizations at the Petroleum Club of Midland on Tuesday to discuss federal oil and gas regulations.

Headed by U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, the group also consisted of Mayor Lori Blong, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Scott Mason, U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak of North Dakota and key members of several Permian Basin trade organizations.

“Permian Basin now produces almost 50% of the crude oil produced in the United States,” said Stephen Robertson, the executive vice president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. “But we will only be able to continue that because of partnerships at Congress (and) at EPA.”

Many pointed fingers at the Joe Biden administration for putting restrictions on the Permian Basin oil and gas industry, even accusing the past president of shutting oil and gas companies out of discussions pertaining to the environment.

While not elaborating on the specifics of these restrictions, they cited what they believe will earn them more favorable deals under EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. This includes the a bill seeking to repeal an EPA methane fee that was introduced by Pfluger and Sen. Ted Cruz and which Pfluger says has bipartisan support.

by Sierra Burnet

KOSA

MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) -

Congressman August Pfluger brought together Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials and members of the House Energy Commerce Committee to discuss the challenges and opportunities oil, and gas producers are facing today.

Federal energy and environmental policy leaders visited the Permian Basin to see oil and gas operations up close and hear directly from the people shaping the region’s energy future.

Congressman August Pfluger, said, “We’re in a new era; we’re in a new day. We’re in an era of actually appreciating what is going on here in the Permian Basin.”

Today Congressman Pfluger along with other local and federal leaders visited the Diamondback Energy Oil Site.

They had conversations with oil producers around the Permian Basin on how to work together to better the region and the country.

City of Midland Mayor Lori Blong, added, “We want to see as an industry, as a community, we want to see reasonable and prudent regulation that we can depend upon, that’s clear and that we know is going to have some certainty going into the future.”

Last year, the Biden-Harris administration made a final rule to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

Texas legislators have been meeting for just over a month amid the nearly 5,000 bills already filed in both the Texas House and Senate. Oil and gas associations are closely watching a number of pieces of legislation.

“(With) a little over two weeks remaining for bills to continue to be filed, there are many items of interest that PBPA is reviewing,” Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association told the Reporter-Telegram.

First and foremast are Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 1, each chamber’s budget bills. Shepperd said there is a focus on funding several items to ensure the agencies that regulate oil and gas activity and needs are able to efficiently permit items necessary to produce the oil and gas in the Permian Basin.

Shepperd said the PBPA wants funding for new reporting systems, job creation, salary increases and staff retention at the Railroad Commission, the Public Utility Commission and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Ed Longanecker, president of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, told the Reporter-Telegram that TIPRO is currently tracking 150 bills of relevance and expects that number to surpass 200 by the March 14 filing deadline.

Odessa American

by Bob Campbell

From oilfield thefts to electric reliability to managing produced water, the 89th Session of the Texas Legislature in Austin is heavily involved in energy-related issues.

The Permian Basin Petroleum, Texas Oil & Gas and Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners associations say their preparations have been ongoing since the last biennial session in 2023.

PBPA President Ben Shepperd said there is much work to be done in the remaining days of the regular session, which will end on June 2, to ensure that the oil and gas industry in the Permian Basin continues to thrive.

“This session we are focused on tackling oilfield theft and providing greater resources to combat organized criminal activity, efforts that are vital to ensuring a stable supply of natural resources for our prosperity and that of our allies,” Shepperd said. “We are also advancing the implementation of the Permian Basin Reliability Plan, which will for the first time prioritize long-overdue investments in transmission infrastructure to West Texas.

“This will support the region’s continued growth, benefiting residents, education, manufacturing and of course oil and gas operators.”

A recent article from the New Mexico Political Report highlights an important development in climate and energy policy. The new bill introduced in New Mexico is being touted by its supporters as just codifying the governor’s executive order on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions into state law, but the language offered up is greatly different and the bill, if passed, would be greatly detrimental to every sector of the state’s economy. The legislation is being sold as formalizing existing commitments to reduce emissions across various sectors, including oil and gas while advancing renewable energy goals. However, the required emission reduction benchmarks are unachievable without great reductions in economic activity in the state.

This proposal would have significant implications for energy producers operating in New Mexico, as well as those in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and even residential homeowners. As the Permian Basin continues to play a vital role in energy production, PBPA continues to fight back against these types of legislative proposals that would unjustifiably limit oil and gas development in New Mexico.

You can read the full article here: Bill seeks to codify governor’s climate change, greenhouse gas executive order.

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

Among the first acts of his second term, President Donald Trump has lifted a moratorium on new U.S. licenses to export liquefied natural gas.

The move came in an executive order directed at energy and ordered the Energy Department to resume reviewing applications for new permits. The pause began last January when then-President Joe Biden ordered his administration to study the climate, economic and social security implications of increasing LNG exports.

The December release of the DOE’s report that found exports would increase costs to consumers and manufacturers and increase emissions drew immediate pushback from the industry. Likewise, ending the moratorium drew immediate praise from the industry.

“The PBPA is very grateful that President Trump has lifted the ban on exporting LNG,” Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, told the Reporter-Telegraml “This ill-conceived idea never should have taken root. America’s allies and consumers the world over will benefit from this newly available natural gas to warm their homes and run their economies.”

While the Independent Petroleum Association of America did not specifically address the pause in LNG permits, IPAA President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Eshelman said in a statement following Trump’s inauguration: “Misguided, irrational energy policies are done. America’s vast resources will be unleashed responsibly — and smaller oil and natural gas producers — will continue to power our nation forward. The new Administration recognizes the importance of American energy dominance at home and abroad. Through ups and downs, independent oil and gas producers have weathered every difficulty and success. That will never stop.”

NewsWest 9

Video Coverage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAiNSjIhLvM

One day after President Donald Trump was sworn into office, the future of oil and gas remains in the air for some operators.

In 2023, former President Joe Biden announced a final rule for oil and gas companies to pay a federal tax fee if they emit methane above certain levels.

It's all due to the Inflation Reduction Act, where the Environmental Protection Agency implements that law.

"The privately held companies have been getting pressure from those in favor of ESG metrics, environmental stewardship and governance metrics to try to improve environmental impact and standards out in the field," said Stephen Robertson, executive vice president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. "So a lot of those companies have been working for a good while to try to reduce their emissions, not necessarily because it is impactful to greater production, but because it is it looks better to stakeholders and investors."

From the Office of Congressman August Pfluger

CONTACT: Bethany Holden

WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced legislation to alleviate a tax burden President Biden put on hardworking Texans and Americans across the country. The Natural Gas Tax Repeal Act will strike the natural gas tax imposed by President Biden in the Inflation 'Expansion' Act, and will ultimately lower costs for customers.

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

Dennis Johnson grew up surrounded by large Permian Basin oilfields.

A native of Sundown in Hockley County, “My dad worked for Jones & Laughlin Supply in Sundown. I was playing in his pump shop since I was three years old,” he recalled.

That exposure to the Permian Basin’s oil and gas industry put him on a career path that began when he earned a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University. But it’s not only his only qualification for being designated the Permian Basin Petroleum Association’s Top Hand.

Realizing Summit Petroleum, which he founded with son Matt in 2007 after leaving Henry Petroleum, needed an office building, they chose to also benefit the community. Instead of just an office building, they have built the Summit Center at 3200 Mockingbird Lane, a 20-acre site that will include a 4-acre park, retail shops and restaurants as well as office space. Already several restaurants have opened their doors, and the Johnson family recently hosted a soft opening for its pickleball pavilion. As Matt explained in the decision to build beyond an office building, “The answer lies in our desire to lift up our community and try to increase the quality of life for our friends and neighbors.”

Yourbasin.com

by Chris Talley

MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – The Permian Basin Petroleum Association held their November membership luncheon Monday.

The PBPA hosted Commissioner Lori Cobos of the Texas Public Utility Commission as their featured speaker to highlight a new plan to grow the need for energy in West Texas.

ABC Big 2’s Chris Talley was there and spoke with the commissioner about what this could mean for energy consumers in 2025.

“Electricity is top of mind,” said Commissioner Cobos. As the Permian Basin continues to grow exponentially, the need for reliable energy is the goal.

“The [PUC], ERCOT, and the stakeholders are very much engaged in these very important issues. How do we meet electricity demand in the future? Growing electricity demand. How do we ensure that we have the infrastructure that is needed,” explained Commissioner Cobos.

That’s what the Texas PUC Commissioner Lori Cobos said as she thinks of the future for West Texans.

“According to ERCOT Statistics, the region is expected to nearly 26 thousand megawatts of electricity demand by 2038,” explained Cobos.

But what exactly does that look like, Cobos puts that into perspective.

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

Final pieces of the Permian Electric Reliability Plan are being developed, according to Public Utility Commission Commissioner Lori Cobos.

Discussing the plan with members of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association on Monday, Cobos said one of the final pieces is deciding the size of the transmission lines that will be built to import electricity from elsewhere in Texas to the Permian Basin.

The PUC will receive a report by the end of the year from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas on whether or not to use standard transmission lines or high-voltage lines, which are not currently in use in Texas, to bring higher-volumes of electricity to the region. Cobos said a decision by the PUC is expected by mid-2025, Cobos said.

“Either way you cut it, you will have imports from the rest of the state to meet that projected 26,000 megawatts of new demand by 2038,” she said.

In addition to new import paths, the plan includes new and upgraded local transmission projects to strengthen the area’s transmission service…

Official Story

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

Local industry leaders greeted with dismay a new final rule that implements a federal methane fee issued this week by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Formally known as the Waste Emission Charge, excess methane emissions could result in a fee of $900 per ton, with fees rising to $1,200 per ton in 2025 and $1,500 per ton by 2026. The EPA estimates the rule will result in cumulative emissions reductions of 1.2 million metric tons of methane (34 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent) through 2035. That figure is similar to clean-air gains from taking nearly 8 million gas-powered cars off the road for a year, the EPA said in announcing the final rule.

“We are disappointed but not surprised with the latest EPA attack on the oil and gas industry,” Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, told the Reporter-Telegram. “We are looking forward to working with the new administration to promote common sense energy policy that allows the responsible development of our natural resources while providing enormous economic benefits for our state, our nation and our allies.”

Pushing the submittal and payment of the fee to September 2025 is a slight win, giving the industry time to evaluate the rule and for Congress to act, Grant Swartzwelder, president of OTA Environmental Solutions, told the Reporter-Telegram. “However, greenhouse gas reports have to be filed by March 31, 2025, for calendar year 2024, and these filings are what the WEC will be based on, so folks need to really plan things out soon.”

Santa Fe New Mexican

By Missi Currier, Jim Winchester, and Ben Shepperd

The Oil Conservation Commission will consider changes to PFAS rules in New Mexico related to oil and gas use. This rulemaking request was made by WildEarth Guardians and New Energy Economy.

The New Mexico oil and gas trade associations and these environmental nonprofits (eNGOs) agree — PFAS should not be utilized in oil and gas production. However, we differ on what we see as fearmongering tactics that utilize half-truths and purposely ignore the best available science and PFAS facts. A common tactic used by eNGOs is playing on people’s fears in the pursuit of a much more sinister agenda — to shut down one of the most valuable industries in our beloved state.

PFAS are everywhere and are safely used in your everyday life. PFAS are a diverse class of thousands of fluorinated substances that have been used extensively in industrial, commercial and consumer applications, including electronics, gaskets and seals, friction reducers, outdoor gear and clothing, and nonstick coatings for household products.

PFAS are not intentionally used in fracking in New Mexico. Some PFAS are ubiquitous in the environment and come from sources such as municipal water, surface water and private well water. So, while your municipal water may have PFAS, so might the water used in fracking — and because of that, opponents of oil and natural gas claim fracking uses PFAS. This is a half-truth that conveniently leaves out the scientific research on PFAS in water sources.

Odessa American

by Bob Campbell

Congressman August Pfluger has broad support among West Texas oil and gas groups as well as in Washington in his effort to ferret out the U.S. Department of Energy’s real reasons for backing President Biden’s year-long ban of new liquefied natural export terminals.

The Permian Basin Petroleum, Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners and Texas Oil & Gas associations say the situation stinks of politics.

“Liquified natural gas is an incredible asset needed for American energy security,” PBPA President Ben Shepperd said. “Further as the second-largest natural gas-producing region in the United States, the Permian Basin’s oil and gas industry benefits from global markets for our products, which means the states of Texas and New Mexico also benefit from LNG having access to these markets.

“We greatly support Congressman Pfluger’s efforts seeking a transparent understanding of why the Department of Energy continues to hamper exports of LNG to our nation’s allies,” Shepperd said. “If this is more than just a political action, then the DOE should be able to provide answers to Congress’s questions.”

TIPRO President Ed Longanecker said the Biden administration’s delay of reasoning for the pause is causing a negative domino effect affecting not only the U.S. economy but also the nation’s commitment to its global allies that rely on the U.S. for energy during geopolitical uncertainties.

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

From Austin west to Santa Fe and northeast to Washington, D.C., the Permian Basin Petroleum Association is monitoring a number of regulatory issues.

“Issues are coming at us in such rapid-fire succession,” commented Ben Shepperd, president of the PBPA.

PBPA members are watching the fate of the bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Act, introduced by Sens. Joe Manchin, I-West Virginia, and John Barrasso, R-Wyoming. Shepperd said permitting and National Environmental Policy Act reform are critically important to the industry.

“It’s not across the finish line,” Shepperd said in a telephone interview. “There is some bipartisan support. I’m optimistic the next Congress will see a reform effort again. We are strongly in support of reform efforts and hopeful. We’re talking to Democrats and Republicans, making a bipartisan effort to garner support.”

He theorized Congress is reluctant to address serious issues — which extend beyond oil and gas issues – in part because of a lack of consensus among members of the House and Senate.

“We know, no matter who has the majority, the majority will be slim with not a lot of wiggle room. That’s why we work hard on both sides of the aisle.”

The CW39 Houston

by Rachel Estrada

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) today took a critical step in ensuring the long-term energy reliability and economic prosperity of Texas with the approval of the Permian Basin Reliability Plan. This comprehensive plan addresses growing concerns over insufficient transmission access in the Permian Basin, one of the most important energy-producing regions in the United States.

The Permian Basin has long been a driving force behind Texas’ status as a leader in energy production, contributing significantly to the state, nation, and globe. However, infrastructure has not kept pace with the rapid growth in the region’s energy demand, necessitating a bold approach to ensure that the electric grid is equipped to meet current and future needs.

Following the PUC’s approval of the plan, the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA), Permian Basin Petroleum Association (PBPA) and the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers (TAEP) issued the following joint statement:

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

Taxes will top a to-do list for Texas legislators when they convene in Austin this coming January.

Lowering property taxes heads a list that includes school choice, raises for teachers, strengthening the electric grid and addressing the delta-8 loophole, according to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

He was in Midland Wednesday to discuss taxes with G. Brint Ryan, chairman and chief executive officer of Ryan LLC, at a luncheon sponsored by the Permian Basin Petroleum Association and Texas Taxpayers & Research Association.

“As the oil and gas industry goes, so goes Texas,” he said. “As legislators we have to do all we can to support the industry and keep it robust.”

Patrick pointed out that severance taxes paid by the industry funds the $22 billion Economic Stabilization Fund, also known as the Rainy Day Fund.

The state needs to continue reducing property taxes and “do all we can to ease the tax burden on businesses so they can continue to grow and create jobs. We cut the franchise tax and we will cut it more,” he said.

Texas in 2024 had a record $32.7 billion surplus, of which $18 billion was used to lower property taxes.

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

Environmental concerns were the focus of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association’s Kick-Off Breakfast at its annual meeting.

“The transformation and explosion of human energy over the last three generations has been unbelievable,” said Chris Wright, founder and chief executive officer of Liberty Energy. He added that “the arrival of human liberty coincided with the arrival of energy.”

But today, only 1 billion people live with plentiful energy, consuming 13 barrels of oil per person per year. Approximately 7 billion people don’t have access to plentiful energy, consuming only 3 barrels per person per year. An estimated 3 million people annually die from the health impacts of burning renewable biomass — wood or peat — indoors for cooking, heat or light.

To drive the world towards zero hydrocarbon use “is, A., immoral — you can’t tell 7 billion people they can’t get energy, and, B., it won’t happen,” Wright said. A far superior goal would be “Zero Energy Poverty by 2050,” he said.

James Kenney, cabinet secretary, New Mexico Environment Department, cautioned the audience to expect federal ozone and methane regulations to come into effect, though they will offer operators a lot of optionality in how they monitor for emissions.

NewsWest 9

by Hunter Alcocer

MIDLAND, Texas —

At the Petroleum Meeting on Thursday, there were various speakers and even a panel featuring state lawmakers Tom Craddick, Brooks Landgraf and Kevin Sparks.

According to Permian Basin Petroleum Association Executive Vice President, Stephen Robertson, the main issue on the industry's mind in the Permian Basin is access to electricity.

“If you look at West Texas, we are greatly underserved by the ERCOT grid with electricity delivery and where that impacts greatly is not just prices for people buying electricity for homes and for businesses, but specifically out in the oil and gas industry," Robertson said. "So, one of the projects that we've been focused on as an association is trying to increase electric delivery to operations out in the Permian Basin.”

It’s become such an important issue that last year Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 5066 so the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and ERCOT can investigate the issue further.

“So, the legislature last session basically demanded that the PUC come out and actually do its own study on the electric needs, both infrastructure and the amount of electricity that's needed for the for the Permian Basin," Texas Senator for District 31 Kevin Sparks said. "So, they understand how critical our industry is to not just the state but our whole country.”

phys.org

by Steve Koppes, Purdue University

Biologists originally classified the lesser and greater prairie chickens of the Great Plains as two different species. Difficult to distinguish by their physical appearance alone, some scientists have wondered for decades if these grouse consist of only one species.

An accurate understanding of prairie chicken speciation gained new urgency in 2022, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the lesser prairie chicken as endangered in the southern portion of its range.

Now, a rigorous genomics study of prairie chickens in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas led by Purdue University scientists has found evidence of hybridization between species with no clear indication of genetic problems such as inbreeding.

The scientists published their findings in PNAS Nexus.

Odessa American

MIDLAND The Permian Basin continues to grow rapidly, reflecting the region’s importance as an economic powerhouse for Texas, New Mexico and the country. This year’s Economic Report from the Permian Strategic Partnership (PSP) highlights the region’s essential role in supporting critical government functions such as road improvements, public schools and teachers, police and fire departments, community hospitals and universities.

The report also emphasizes the area’s status as the second lowest producer of CO2 emissions per barrel of oil equivalent among the major onshore producing basins worldwide. As a world leader in oil production, the Permian Basin is projected to produce around $350 billion in gross product and provide around 1,200,000 jobs for the nation’s economy by 2050.

“The Permian Basin provides indispensable resources to energy security, making significant contributions to our nation’s robust economy every year,” said Don Evans, Permian Strategic Partnership Chairman. “As the world’s largest secure energy supply, our region is fundamental to our national, economic, and energy security. Texas and New Mexico can promote further growth and support the American economy in collaboration with the energy industry through investment and expansion of our region’s infrastructure.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued the following statement after introducing legislation that would reverse a final rule issued by the Fish & Wildlife Service’s listing the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard under the Endangered Species Act. In Texas, this final rule will undermine the utilization of land for oil and gas production in the Permian Basin and increase energy costs for American consumers.

Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas-11) previously introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

Upon introduction, Sen. Cruz said, “The Biden administration has used the federal government to suppress American energy production at the exact time when the country and indeed the world needs access to affordable American energy. This disastrous rule threatens American jobs and undermines the production of energy in the Permian Basin. I call on the Senate to expeditiously take up and pass my legislation to reverse it.”

Rep. Pfluger said, “Listing the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species is another effort by the Biden Administration to shut down drilling in the Permian Basin. Our Congressional Review Act is President Biden’s attempt to use a lizard as a weapon against the oil & gas industry. We will not allow the President to take control of private property and kill energy jobs in the Permian Basin.”

By Associated Press

The state’s main electric grid operator has sharply increased its prediction for how much power demand will increase in coming years. If it’s accurate, the state would need to be able to provide nearly double the amount of power within six years.

Two factors led to the higher forecast: A new law allows officials to count companies’ requests for grid connections before they are finalized. And there has been a significant rise in requests from large users such as data centers, hydrogen production facilities and oil and gas companies that are electrifying their operations.

On top of that, the state’s population continues growing, Electric Reliability Council of Texas President and Chief Executive Officer Pablo Vegas told state lawmakers in a Senate Business and Commerce Committee hearing last week, repeating information he shared with the ERCOT board in April.

Odessa American

by Bob Campbell

Things are looking up for Permian Basin natural gas producers with a big new pipeline to the Gulf Coast about to go online and construction of another one about to start.

Leaders of the Permian Basin Petroleum, Texas Producers & Royalty Owners and Texas Pipeline associations say the 42-inch Matterhorn Express and DeLa Express pipelines will be greatly beneficial to stabilize the price of gas and get power to consumers.

Laid by 3,000 men, providing 50 permanent jobs and owned by Devon Energy, EnLink Midstream, Marathon Petroleum and WhiteWater Midstream, the 580-mile-long Matterhorn Express is being completed this month to go into service in the third quarter from the Waha Hub near Coyanosa 64 miles southwest of Odessa across 19 counties to Katy west of Houston.

Scheduled to start pumping in July 2028, the 690-mile DeLa Express Pipeline will run from the Waha to Port Arthur and Cameron Parish, La. It’s being laid by Moss Lake Partners of Houston.

PBPA President Ben Shepperd said both projects will help the Basin tremendously.

“The Permian is now a major producer in natural gas and increasing the takeaway capacity and sending the gas to other markets should help stabilize prices and reduce pricing differentials,” Shepperd said. “The important thing that also needs to happen is that President Biden should rescind his liquefied natural gas export ban executive order so that we can get these products to our allies who desperately need them.”

cruz.senate.gov

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced legislation to repeal the Natural Gas Tax included in the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, which would others raise costs for energy customers and create a new burden for American families struggling with historic inflation. Sen. Cruz’s bill specifically eliminates a new methane emissions fee created by the law.

Upon introduction, Sen. Cruz said, “Joe Biden and Biden officials have proven time and time again that they care more about their radical climate agenda the needs of the American people. They have driven up inflation and jeopardized American jobs and energy security, all of which would be made significantly worse by the methane emissions fee in the Inflation Reduction Act. This fee will particularly harm Texas by undermining producers in the Permian Basin and across the state.”

Sen. Hyde-Smith said, “President Biden’s assault on the U.S. oil and gas sector continues to worsen for the economy and for consumers. Since he took office energy prices have risen by more than 40 percent and the Inflation Reduction Act taxes on producers will only make it worse. When Democrats forced their climate change bill through Congress, I told everyone then that hard-working, middle-class families would end up paying the price for the tax increases on energy producers. That’s still true and the reason we need to pass this Natural Gas Tax Repeal Act.”

Marfa Public Radio

For decades, environmentalists and researchers have rallied for the federal government to protect the dunes sagebrush lizard, the small reptile that makes its home across West Texas and Eastern New Mexico. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is declaring the lizard an endangered species, a process that will provide the tiny creature with protections under the Endangered Species Act.

“This lizard is getting closer and closer to extinction,” said Michael Robinson, a spokesperson for the Center For Biological Diversity, a group that has long advocated for listing the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species.

Increased drilling in the Permian Basin over the past 15 years, along with the advent of sand mining, are the factors Robinson says are driving the lizard’s disappearance.

Odessa American

by Bob Campbell

The Permian Basin’s energy industry is a very complex equation, but the region shows every sign of being well able to manage it.

That’s part of what speakers at Wednesday’s Texas Tribune forum on “West Texas: The State of Oil” in the Zant Community Room at the Saulsbury Campus Center at Odessa College where 40 people heard three experts on the subject.

Moderated by the Tribune’s Basin correspondent, Carlos Nogueras Ramos, the noon luncheon featured Permian Basin Petroleum Association Executive Vice President Stephen Robertson, Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce CEO Savannah Morales and John Wood Group Director of Decarbonization Katherine Zimmerman of Houston.

Robertson began by noting that the Basin last year produced 42 percent of America’s oil and 20 percent of its natural gas, meaning that if Texas were a nation it would be the fourth-largest oil nation in the world.

“Twenty years ago in this region, the joke was who will be the last to shut off the lights?” Robertson said, adding that the development of technology spawned the turnaround. “People thought we were at the end of our life.

“We’ve been producing oil and gas here for over 100 years and this is just a continuation of where we came from.”

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

Upstream oil and natural gas jobs in Texas have continued to regain the losses seen beginning in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.

Citing Texas Workforce Commission data, the Texas Oil & Gas Association reports employment in the upstream sector of the state’s oil and gas industry grew by 4,500 jobs in March, the highest single month growth in upstream jobs since June of 2011.

“The latest employment numbers show what we all know here in the Permian, that America and the world run on energy and the Permian Basin will continue to provide it. These energy needs will continue to provide good paying jobs for thousands for many years to come,” Ben Shepperd, president, Permian Basin Petroleum Association, commented to the Reporter-Telegram by email.

“March’s historic increase in jobs in the Texas oil and natural gas industry’s upstream sector is a result of this industry’s commitment to ensuring that American energy leadership’s homebase continues to be here in the Lone Star State,” said Todd Staples, TXOGA president, in a statement. “These job gains mean economic growth for Texas communities and families, energy security for the United States, and much-needed stability for our trading partners around the globe.”

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

A varied combination of regulators and industry representatives will gather next week for Midland College’s Permian Basin Environmental Regulatory Seminar.

The annual event will be held May 9 at the Bush Convention Center, with registration opening at 7:30 a.m.

“It’s a good balance of regulators and industry,” said Chelsy Gann, director of workforce continuing education at Midland College.

Speakers will address a wide variety of topics, from induced seismicity to ‘forever chemicals’ to methane.

Gann said she believes Kaylin McDermett’s presentation on “PFAS in Oil and Gas — Understanding the Facts, Breaking Down the Myths and Protecting Your Operations” will be a hot topic. McDermett is with Geosyntec Consultants.

Another presentation she believes will be popular focuses on drones in the oilpatch. Dann Schantz with Venture Robotics will present “Drones and Their Operational Impacts in the Petroleum Industry.”

Drones, observed Gann “are up and coming, especially in the oil and gas industry.”

New technological developments will include a presentation from Ernie Miller and John Doyle with Verde Clean Fuels, who will close out the seminar. Verde and Diamondback Energy have teamed up to build a natural gas-to-gasoline facility on a Diamondback facility in Martin County. Miller and Doyle will give a presentation on “Waste to Gasoline: How to Decarbonize Transportation Fuels and Green the Oil Field.”

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman August Pfluger joined Congressman Jodey Arrington (TX-19) and Tracey Mann (KS-01) in introducing a Congressional Review Act to overturn the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) efforts to further regulate oil and gas producers.

“One of the only promises President Biden has followed through on is his campaign vow to ‘end fossil fuels,’” said Rep. Pfluger. “This Methane Rule imposes excessive and costly restrictions on energy producers in regions like the Permian Basin that I represent and others around the Nation. It will drive costs up even higher for all Americans already suffering under record-breaking inflation driven mostly by energy costs. The President should be promoting energy independence to lower costs and strengthen our national security.”

“Since his first day in office, Biden has unleashed a whole-of-government assault on domestic energy production, the lifeblood of our economy and cornerstone of our national security,” said Rep. Arrington. “The overly broad and burdensome Methane Rule is yet another example of President Biden weaponizing the regulatory state to appease climate activists at the expense of the American people. If enacted, this rule will increase energy prices, threaten good-paying jobs in West Texas and throughout the country, and embolden our adversaries like Russia and China by hamstringing American energy production. I am proud to lead the fight to reverse Biden’s Methane Rule and strengthen American energy production, not burden producers with unnecessary and costly regulations.”

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

New Mexico’s legislative session ended last month, and there were a number of bills that could have affected the region’s oil and gas industry.

Luckily, many of those bills fell by the wayside during the 30-day session, reported New Mexico State Sen. Greg Nibert.

Nibert, who had served in the state House of Representatives since 2016, was appointed to the State Senate by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham just before the session started in January. He succeeded Sen. Stuart Ingle, who retired.

“Six months ago, I was minority leader in the House,” Nibert told members of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association at their membership luncheon Thursday.” Since then, my life has been a whirlwind.”

He told the gathering that 583 bills were introduced to be the session and only 66 passed both houses. Among the agenda items set forth by Gov. Grisham was reworking the state’s Oil and Gas Law that had been enacted in the 1930s. While the industry agrees the law needs to be updated, Nibert said the version under consideration “would not have been friendly to you. It would have made it more difficult for you to do business in New Mexico.”

Odessa American

by Bob Campbell

Oilfield thefts have become a pressing problem and the Permian Basin Petroleum, Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners and Texas Oil & Gas associations say it is a plague that requires a multi-faceted cure.

“Individual crimes of convenience where someone comes across a tool left out in the open or an unlocked, unmonitored vehicle are one thing,” said PBPA President Ben Shepperd. “However, what members of the oil and gas industry have been experiencing more recently in the field has been described as organized crime.

“Traditional targets of copper, tools or other heavy equipment that might be relatively easy to move are not the only targets. Full tanker truck loads of produced oil have been removed from private locations throughout the Permian Basin.”

Shepperd said loads of tubing and even an entire pumpjack, have also been stolen.

“These illegal activities require organization and communication before, during and after the commission of the crime by multiple involved parties,” he said. “When it comes to oil this type of theft also requires the knowledge of a willing end-buyer who doesn’t question the origins of the oil.”

The Journal Record

by Kathryn McNutt

Conservation efforts to preserve the lesser prairie chicken – ongoing for more than two decades – have intensified with the grassland bird’s listing under the Endangered Species Act one year ago.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the bird as “endangered” in part of its current five-state range and “threatened” in the rest effective March 27.

The lesser prairie chicken’s range covers a portion of the oil-rich Permian Basin along the New Mexico-Texas state line – where they are listed as endangered – and extends into parts of Colorado, Kansas and northwest Oklahoma.

Environmentalists have long sought stronger federal protections for the bird, noting it is severely at risk due to oil and gas development, livestock grazing and farming, and the construction of roads and power lines.

Opponents of the listing are “beating the drum of federal overreach,” Wayne Walker, president of Common Ground Capital, said last week while in Oklahoma City to meet with oil industry consultants and executives about the firm’s LPC Conservation land bank program.

“The listing has created a new reality, and as long as it’s around, it will extend that reality,” Walker said.

Odessa American

by Bob Campbell

Environmentalist groups are pressuring banks and insurance companies not to finance or insure oil and natural gas company projects and they have done some damage.

The Permian Basin Petroleum, Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners and Texas Oil & Gas associations say the battle has been joined and the outcome is uncertain.

“Those opposed to the oil and gas industry have utilized a number of different weapons to try and harm the industry,” PBPA President Ben Shepherd said. “Included in this arsenal have been a variety of attempts to increase the costs of oil and gas operations.

“The end game here appears to be to make other energy sources economically competitive, not by decreasing the real world costs of those energy sources, which to be fair has also been attempted through government subsidies, but by increasing the cost of oil and gas energy development.”

Shepherd said regulatory burdens have traditionally been the preferred tool to manipulate the free market and increase the costs on energy operations, but there have also been attempts to increase costs by limiting access to capital or insurance.

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

New Mexico’s annual legislative session recently ended in mid-February and oil and gas producers are now grading its impact.

“As with so many legislative sessions, New Mexico’s session has to be viewed through the scope of we don’t get the opportunity to accomplish a lot of positive things but what negative things you can prevent. That’s the way we approach the sessions in New Mexico,” Stephen Robertson, executive vice president, Permian Basin Petroleum Association, told Grant Swartzwelder, president of OTA Environmental Solutions, during his Oilfield Strong webinar.

Chris Mitton, government affairs advisor with Civitas Resources, noted this is the company’s first experience with New Mexico legislative sessions and he appreciated working with PBPA, New Mexico Oil and Gas Association and others. It was an adjustment from his experience with Colorado legislative sessions and he said he appreciated the opportunity to talk about how Civitas operates, its focus on being a good partner to local communities and the state and its long-term plans for its operations in New Mexico.

“There were a lot of interesting pieces of legislation, some good, some bad,” Mitton observed. “The resolution of the session was positive for the industry and I hope to work with our partners for a successful 2025 as well.”

News West 9

ODESSA, Texas — The Environmental Protection Agency is cracking down on the oil and gas industry by issuing a new rule that will soon be posted in the Federal Register.

According to an e-mail sent to members of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, the Texas Railroad Commission is asking the Texas Attorney General to consider suing the EPA over the new rule.

A climate review is expected to be published next Friday, March 8, 2024, that will outline how methane emissions can be reduced by oil and gas operators. Some of the key points mentioned by the EPA include a new rule that would reduce 58 million tons of methane emissions from 2024 to 2028.

Heightened methane detection technology would be implemented, along with changes to equipment in an effort that would recover enough natural gas to heat nearly 8 million homes.

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

The Permian Basin Petroleum Association hosted Railroad Commission Chair Christi Craddick at its February membership luncheon.

Her presentation focused on the rising number of challenges the agency faces from the federal government, from seeking primacy from the Environmental Protection Agency to permit Class VI wells for carbon dioxide injection to uncertainty around the federal dollars to be used for plugging wells under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Craddick told the audience one of the biggest concerns is proposed methane emission rules that have been finalized but not yet published in the Federal Register. She said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been asked to file a lawsuit against the rules once they are published.

Official Article

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

Federal regulatory initiatives are challenging the Railroad Commission as never before in its century-old history.

Railroad Commission Chairman Christi Craddick decried initiatives from tailpipe emission standards she said are designed to force consumers to buy electric vehicles to methane emissions rules she said are crippling the state’s oil and gas industry.

Addressing the monthly membership luncheon of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, she said once the Environmental Protection Agency’s finalized methane rules are published, the Texas Attorney General has been asked to file a lawsuit.

Craddick also expressed frustration waiting for the Environmental Protection Agency to make a decision on the state’s application for primacy over permitting Class VI wells for carbon dioxide injection. She is also frustrated with a lack of guidance from the government on how to use the $79 million the commission has been given to plug abandoned wells.

World Oil

(WO) – On Friday, the Independent Petroleum Association (IPAA) and 25 other state, regional and national oil and gas associations wrote to congressional leadership urging action on methane regulations that could have a detrimental impact on our nation's energy supply.

In their letter, the groups express "serious concerns regarding the impact of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new methane emissions regulations (Subparts OOOOb and OOOOc) and the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (Methane Tax) on oil and gas marginal well owners. Both actions threaten marginal wells continued operations by creating unfair, unworkable, and uneconomic regulations. These small business energy producers need assistance to find a regulatory or legislative solution to mitigate these threats."

The letter provides definitions and information on the impact to producers in the following areas:

• Regulatory Applicability to Marginal Wells
• Subparts OOOOb and OOOOc
• The Methane Tax

"Collectively, the Subpart OOOOc regulations and the Methane Tax pose serious and direct threats to hundreds of thousands of marginal wells," said the energy producer associations in the letter. "These threats have not been remotely addressed in the current regulatory actions completed or pending at EPA. Congress needs to step up and step in to prevent irresponsible agency actions that would savage the nation’s marginal oil and gas wells."

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

In a testament to the technological and efficiency gains seen in the Permian Basin, the region saw oil production surge despite a decline in drilling activity.

East Daley Analytics estimates Permian Basin production ended 2023 at a record 6.115 million barrels of oil a day. The analytics firm puts that growth at 500,000 barrels a day, up 8.8% in December 2023 from production of 5.62 million barrels a day at the end of 2022. Analysts said growth was stronger in the second half of the year as new natural gas processing infrastructure and natural gas pipeline expansions entered service, allowing producers to bring more wells online.

“The Permian Basin continues to defy all expectations,” Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, told the Reporter-Telegram by email. “The hard-working men and women in the industry deserve a word of thanks from every American for producing the products our country, and the world, depend on. Unfortunately, the relentless legislative and regulatory attacks on our industry threaten the very industry which supplies so much.”

East Daley found drilling activity declined throughout 2023, falling 49 rigs or 14% for the year. The Permian Basin rig count, which includes West Texas and southeast New Mexico, ended 2023 at 302 rigs, down from 351 at the end of 2022. Company analysts say that is the lowest rig count since January 2022, when the region was producing 4.977 million barrels a day.

Odessa American

by Bob Campbell

Attendees walk through the outdoor displays at the Permian Basin International Oil Show on its opening day Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021, at the Ector County Coliseum. (OA File Photo)

The energy industry was quick to join the technological revolution in the 1980s and before and it has applied its brainpower and resources to more than keep pace since then.

The Apache Corp. and the Permian Basin Petroleum and Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners associations say the United States and the world have benefited as a result.

“At Apache, we focus on delivering top operational performance,” an Apache spokeswoman said from Houston. “Over the last three years we have made significant strides to more efficiently and responsibly extract hydrocarbons including the elimination of routine flaring across U.S. onshore operations.

“We achieved our lowest total recordable incident rate in 18 years, increased our safety observation rate and actions by 10 percent, reduced methane emissions across U.S. onshore operations by converting more than 2,000 pneumatic devices to instrument air or through valve retrofit and utilized at least 50 percent recycled produced water.”

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

US crude oil and natural gas production are expected to across the nation’s Lower 48 shale basis in February, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Except for the mighty Permian Basin, that is.

According to the EIA’s latest Drilling Productivity Report, oil output from the Permian Basin is expected to rise 5,000 barrels per day from January to February. Output will be led by production from new wells – 418,000 barrels per day. That gain will offset a decline in production from legacy wells, which is forecast to fall 413,000 barrels a day. The EIA forecasts the Permian Basin will produce 5,974,000 barrels per day in February.

Permian Basin natural gas production is predicted to rise 11,000 cubic feet per day. Output from new wells is expected to rise 777,000 cubic feet, offsetting the 655,000 cubic feet decline in output from legacy wells. According to the EIA, the Permian will produce 24,393,000 cubic feet per day in February.

“It is no surprise to our members and those living, working, raising families, and creating jobs here that the Permian Basin is America’s oilfield and is increasingly becoming the most important operating region in the free world,” commented Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. According to the EIA, about 6 million barrels of oil and nearly 25 billion cubic feet of natural gas is produced each day in the Permian Basin alone, he wrote in an email to the Reporter-Telegram.

NewsWest 9

by Hunter Alcocer

The recent cold in the Permian Basin has had an affect on oil production.

However, it’s not always the cold itself that will be an issue.

“Weather of all types can have impact on operations out in the field," Stephen Robertson, executive vice president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, said. "One of the biggest concerns when it comes to cold temperatures is not always so much the cold but it’s the wind that can come along with it, the disruption in powerlines. If you knock down powerlines and you can’t get electricity out into the field that’s when you can have some issues with the cold.”

While the temperatures and winds can slow things down, as long as power is getting out to operations in the field, everything will still run as long as its energized. Robertson said the grid did well this time around.

“During this winter storm event that we had in January, the peak power surge for the entire state was over 78,000 megawatts," Robertson said. "Yet the system held in there this time and largely and fortunately that had to do with us not having near as much precipitation and prolonged precipitation as we had in that last winter storm in 2021.”

Odessa American

by Bob Campbell

Winter Storm Heather put Texas’ power grid to the test and the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, State Rep. Brooks Landgraf and the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners and Texas Pipeline associations are gratified that it passed.

Rated the third coldest onslaught in recent state history behind Winter Storms Uri in February 2021 and Elliott in December 2022, Heather’s peak power surge of 78,138 megawatts surpassed Uri’s 69,812 when outages caused 246 deaths in Texas and left hundreds of thousands shivering in the dark.

“There is no question that efforts to ensure reliable electric supply are vital for Texans,” PBPA President Ben Shepperd said. “There is also no question that PBPA members are committed to doing our part to ensure robust natural gas production.

“To that end, natural gas was the largest percentage of the grid mix throughout this winter storm and that is surely because of the efforts that operators had undertaken to staff field assets in incredibly difficult times. PBPA members worked tirelessly in frigid temperatures so Texans across the state could be warm in their homes.”

Shepperd said all that work didn’t completely nullify the difficulties of the storm, which was extremely cold and windy with temperatures well below freezing, but thankfully absent Uri’s heavy snow and ice.

Odessa American

by Bob Campbell

The 2024 presidential election is important to Texas’ energy industry, but the global need for oil and natural gas and the industry’s high dollar innovations to protect the environment will be more telling in the long run.

That’s according to the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, State Rep. Brooks Landgraf and the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners and Texas Oil & Gas associations, who say the next president will need more sophistication about the issue.

“Elections have consequences and this year is no exception,” PBPA President Ben Shepperd said Tuesday. “The president controls who runs the government agencies that regulate us on a daily basis and this administration has been more hostile to the oil and gas industry than any in history.

“While that might sound like hyperbole, what other president ever made a public declaration to end fossil fuels?”

Shepperd said there have been dozens of federal administrative actions since Biden took office three years ago that were aimed at increasing regulatory burdens and costs with the ultimate goal of completely removing hydrocarbons or fossil fuels from the energy mix.

Midland Reporter-Telegram

By Mella McEwen

Leaders of the Permian Basin oil and gas industry will gather Thursday, January 18 at the Petroleum Club to honor Dick Sivalls as the Permian Basin Petroleum Association’s Top Hand.

“Dick Sivalls is a fantastic man who exemplifies all of the best traits of a PBPA Top Hand. His leadership in the industry, the PBPA and the communities in the Permian Basin, especially Odessa,” Ben Shepperd, president of the PBPA, told the Reporter-Telegram by email.

He added, “Dick is a legendary engineer who has trained many engineers in industry today. He has also served as a distinguished PBPA chairman helping us develop into the organization we are today.”

Sivalls himself figures his family has been in the energy business for 123 years. “I think I figured out my grandfather started in Ohio in 1900,” he told the Reporter-Telegram in a telephone interview.

His grandfather’s company — Black, Sivalls and Bryson — was similar to Sivalls Industries, making oilfield equipment.

“There was no good way to move the products he built other than a team of mules and a wagon,” he recalled. “They needed a facility close to where the product was being used.”

by Mella McEwen

Midland Reporter-Telegram

An arctic blast is headed to the Permian Basin, and warnings are being issued to prepare for temperatures to fall into the teens, with wind chills possibly falling below zero.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas Wednesday issued a “weather watch” beginning January 15 through January 17, an advance notification of expected significant weather and higher electrical demand and the potential for lower reserves.

Wind chill values by Monday morning could be below zero in the Panhandle and across West Texas. For Central Texas, North Texas, West Central Texas, wind chill values will be in the single digits.

The Railroad Commission Thursday issued a notice to operators ahead of the expected frigid temperatures. The agency urges residents and oil and gas producers alike to watch weather forecasts and safety alerts during the cold weather.

In its notice to oil and gas and pipeline operators, the RRC urged:

• Monitor local, state and national weather reports for updates on potential severe weather impacts;
• Heed all watches, warnings, and orders issued by local emergency officials;
• Secure all personnel, equipment, and facilities to prevent injury or damage; and,
• Monitor and prepare operations for potential impacts, as safety permits.

Odessa American

By Bob Campbell

Pioneer Odessa industrialist C. Richard “Dick” Sivalls will receive his second major award in three months when he is designated the Permian Basin Petroleum Association’s “Top Hand” at a Jan. 18 reception and banquet at the Petroleum Club in Midland.

In October Sivalls was named the Permian Basin International Oil Show’s Honoree.

“The Top Hand Award is the highest award bestowed by PBPA members and one of the highest honors given to an energy professional in the Permian Basin,” a PBPA spokesman said. “Being a Top Hand means you exemplify all the best qualities of professional and community service.”

Sivalls is president and CEO of Sivalls Inc., where he’s worked since 1958, and he remains...

Read More

by Mella McEwen

Midland Reporter-Telegram

Government policies, markets and a macro environment are all ingredients in what Jeffrey Tillery, chief operating officer of Veriten, an energy-focused knowledge platform, called “this soup” that is an energy outlook.

Serving as the luncheon keynote speaker at the Permian Basin Petroleum Association’s Annual Meeting, Tillery offered a 10-year outlook, which he described as a typical corporate planning horizon. But he also offered a forecast for just three years from now.

In 2026, he said, natural gas will continue to...

Read Full Article

by Mella McEwen

Midland Reporter-Telegram

Producing oil and natural gas has moved far beyond drilling holes in the ground.

A range of innovations in the industry was the focus of a panel discussion at the Permian Basin Petroleum Association’s Annual Meeting at the Petroleum Club.

Sustainability is part of the industry’s future and “we need to find ways to embrace it,” said Chris Davis, senior vice president, Milestone Carbon. His company just announced plans for a carbon capture and sequestration hub on about 10,000 acres that straddle Midland and Upton counties and is evaluating a larger site for a Delaware Basin hub.

What he’s learned after working 20 years in the upstream space is the importance of energy and the need to pursue sustainability.

“We need to pursue an economic, practical pathway to help the industry sustainably manage waste and emissions,” he said.

Progress is being made in sustainably managing....

Read Full Article

On August 14, 2023, the PBPA submitted a request for an extension of the public comment period before the final submission of our more extensive comments. In response, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released this press release on August 29, 2023.

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is extending the public comment period seeking public input on a proposal to list the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The public comment period will now be open for 90 days, closing October 2, 2023.

The Service is committed to having a robust public engagement process as it considers a proposal to list the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered. The extension gives all interested parties additional time to provide comments. In addition to this extension, on July 31, 2023, the Service held a virtual Public Information Session and Public Hearing where it accepted verbal comments for the record.

The dunes sagebrush lizard is a rare species found only in the shinnery oak sand dune ecosystems in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. Primary threats to the lizard include loss of habitat associated with oil and gas development, sand mining, and changing climate.

MRT.com/Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

The following on oil and natural gas production inside the Permian Basin and severance taxes from the Permian Basin were taken from a recent Midland-Odessa Transportation Alliance (MOTRAN) newsletter.

• According to the Energy Information Administration, the Permian Basin produces 72% of Texas’ crude oil. That’s 40% of US oil.
• The Permian Basin reached a record high natural gas production of 21 billion cubic feet daily in 2022, 14% more than the 2021 average. That increase continues in 2023 with an increase of 60 million cubic feet per day in the first four months of the year compared to the same period of 2022. The Permian Basin is now the nation’s second-largest natural gas-producing basin, accounting for 24% of US gas production.
• In just the Texas Department of Transportation’s 12-county Odessa District, oil production rose more than 72.8 million barrels from 2021 to 2022, led by Midland County’s 21.1-million-barrel increase and Martin County’s 20.1-million-barrel increase. Reeves and Loving counties saw...

Forbes.com

by David Blackmon

As part of a massive, pre-holiday weekend document dump by the Biden administration on June 30, the domestic oil and gas industry received an unwelcome gift from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), one that shifts Mr. Biden’s continuing war on oil and gas to the Permian Basin. In a notice published in the Federal Register, USFWS said it has determined a need to list the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard, long a topic of concern and controversy, as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act.

Though a day past deadline, the notice of proposed listing will presumably satisfy a court order requiring the agency to issue a decision no later than June 29. It also upends the conduct of a longstanding conservation plan related to the Lizard, agreed-to in the midst of the...

Read More

The day before Americans begin the weekend celebration of our independence, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it would be proposing the listing of the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Not only does this continue what has become a tradition of this administration announcing major regulatory action on the eve of national holidays, but it is once again an attack by this administration against American independence and the most prolific energy producing region in the United States, the Permian Basin.

Energy production in the Permian Basin, which is a national leader not just in oil and natural gas production, but also in wind and solar energy production, provides energy independence to our nation. The listing of the dunes sagebrush lizard under the Endangered Species Act, when there has been such a tremendous state and private conservation initiative to protect the species and its habitat, is a slap in the face to not just state and private conservationists, but to all those around the world who rely on the energy produced in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas to provide a better quality of life.

As of December 31, 2022, through state and private conservation efforts in New Mexico alone, 1,905,120 acres have been enrolled in a Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA) and Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) by the ranching community and 2,230,066 acres have been enrolled in the CCA and CCAA by the oil and gas industry to protect the dunes sagebrush lizard. These enrollments have resulted in a net acreage conservation gain for the species’ habitat and the associated financial contributions have helped fund dozens of reclamation and conservation programs to support the species while still affording for the development of natural resources and human existence in the region. A listing of the dunes sagebrush lizard under the ESA is an incredible threat to the production of oil, natural gas, wind and solar energy developed in the Permian Basin, and is an incredible threat to our nation’s energy independence and national security.

Midland Reporter-Telegram

by Mella McEwen

“This industry is the most important tool we have in our national security arsenal,” said Rep. August Pfluger.

The San Angelo Republican, who represents District 11, which includes Midland and Odessa, addressed energy issues Tuesday with the Permian Basin Petroleum Association at the Petroleum Club.

He told the gathering he was elected to the House of Representatives to highlight the national security implications of the oil and natural gas industry. The Permian Basin, he said, is the epicenter of a shale revolution that has lifted a billion people out of poverty and changed the geopolitical equation, giving the...

Read More

by Julie Anderson

If the Regular Session of the 88th Texas Legislature were to be summarized in bullet points, here’s how it might read:

• Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar projects a $32.7 billion surplus, giving lawmakers a spending cushion prior to the 140-day session.
• On Jan. 10, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson convenes the 88th Texas Legislative Session on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives.
• On Feb. 13, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announces his top 30.......

Read More

As seen in the Oil & Gas Journal

The Permian Basin Petroleum Association, five ranchers’ associations, and Texas have sued the Biden administration over the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) listing of the northern population of the lesser prairie-chicken as threatened and the southern population of the same species as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

The species, a kind of grouse scattered across five states, is found in oil and gas drilling areas and cattle grazing areas in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. The FWS, a part of the Interior Department, published its determinations Nov. 25.

The final rule violated Interior’s own policies for application of the Endangered Species Act, and violated the Administrative Procedure Act with arbitrary and unsubstantiated conclusions arbitrary population segments, according to the lawsuit by the petroleum association and the ranchers.

The suit by Texas listed similar problems and added that the FWS violated the National Environmental Policy Act by coming up with what is called a 4(d) rule under the Endangered Species Act without conducting an environmental analysis of the decision’s impacts.

The Permian to Putin: The Oil Industry Reacts | A One Question/Basin PBS Live Town Hall. Hosted by Becky Ferguson. Hear from local experts in the field on the effects of the was on the Permian Basin oil. Underwritten by Diamondback Energy. Sponsored by The Permian Basin Area Foundation.

Kay Bailey Hutchison is a household name for multiple generations of Texans. Between her 20-year tenure as a U.S. senator from Texas and her time as U.S. ambassador to NATO, just about everyone knows of her.

And while Hutchison has seen a lot in her career, she’s keeping a close eye on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. What’s her take on the war there, the future of NATO, and the United States’ place in it all?

Hear her speak on all this and more when you join The Texas Tribune at 4 p.m. Central on Wednesday, April 6, for a timely conversation with former NATO ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison.