Controversial at times and sometimes excoriated by critics, the three seats of the Railroad Commission of Texas are hot on some days and blistering on others.
Commissioners Christi Craddick, Jim Wright and Wayne Christian regulate the state’s multi-billion-dollar oil and natural gas industry and they levy millions of dollars in fines for violations of their regulations. Serving six-year terms, they rotate the chairmanship and Craddick is the current presiding officer.
Odessa oilman Kirk Edwards and Waco economist Ray Perryman say it’s a global responsibility and one that the commissioners take with stone seriousness.
“The Railroad Commission of Texas has been and will continue to be an incredibly important and powerful agency in the State of Texas,” Edwards said. “From its early beginnings in the 1900s when it was given oversight of pipelines and then proration of the new East Texas oilfields, the RRC has always been very important for not only Texas but all the United States on how the oil and gas industry should be regulated and monitored.
“With the advent of horizontal drilling and the boom it has caused in production of both oil and natural gas, the agency has taken on even more critical and frankly technical aspects that no one could have even dreamed of in the last decade,” he said. “Now with water issues, seismicity and natural gas flaring, the RRC is busier than ever trying to figure out the best way to handle these new complex issues ahead.”
Edwards said the current three commissioners are technically the savviest that the Lone Star State has ever had serving at the same time.
“Thankfully they have the ability and smarts to attack and solve the many issues coming their way daily,” he said. “Lord knows we need them fully engaged today as our many industry problems continue to change each week.
“Having them at the helm to solve these in a positive way is what Texas and this country need. But industry must keep evolving too in an ever more diligent role ahead on new technology to address our problems as they emerge.”
Perryman said the RRC oversees the state’s leading export sector, which encompasses the most important regions in the world.
“In addition to drilling, the commission regulates pipelines, natural gas utilities and transportation, among many other aspects of the energy sector,” he said. “Because many of the activities related to the industry by their very nature involve potential safety and environmental hazards, the commission’s role in rules and their enforcement is crucial.
“The statement, ‘The commissioners and employees will fiercely defend the public’s interests,’ is front and center on the agency’s website and that mission statement permeates its operations.”
Perryman said companies that fail to comply with regulations are subject to penalties and the commission staff does not hesitate to impose them if warranted.
“Another aspect of the commission’s role is permitting wells and other aspects of administration of the oil and gas industry,” he said. “Stewardship of the state’s vast oil and natural gas reserves is another role of the commission.”
Perryman said the commissioners’ primary role is oversight and direction.
“Quantitative analysis, daily operations, enforcement and many other daily tasks fall to the agency’s staff,” he said. “Adding more commissioners would not in my opinion enhance the commission’s effectiveness, although increasing employment in the agency as needed to deal with workloads and expectations certainly could.”
The RRC presently has 1,025 employees.
“I have known most of the commissioners well over the past 40 years or so and have worked with their agency on a number of major issues, most recently the securitization of costs associated with Winter Storm Uri,” Perryman said.
“My general impression overwhelmingly has been that the commission functions well and represents the interests of both the people of Texas and the world beyond which is impacted by its decisions.”
