HB 1501 has been filed to keep cities from banning new gas hookups, which over 50 cities have done, most in California.
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Delaware River Basin Authority has banned fracing in the Basin. That is a huge area. Citing water quality problems. Wasn’t aware that fracing had overtaken all the chemical plants in New Jersey and Delaware as a source of water quality problems.
Forbes article about methane releases in the Delaware Basin. Cites statistics from the Environmental defense Fund study, but not any from the studies that have criticized their methodology. Good read on number of unlit or incompletely lit flares though.
TIPRO’s letter to head of Energy Resources Committee which has statistics about how different forms of electricity generation performed during the cold snap.
Energy_Resources_Committee_Letter_-_TIPRO_21.02.24.pdf (117.7 KB)
Pro-royalty owner bills have been filed in the Texas Legislature that would require operators to:
- Provide a copy of the as-drilled plat and allocation formula used with division orders on allocation wells;
- Provide a copy of leases, units, and pooling agreements that an owner is being asked to ratify;
- Clarify that an NPRI owner is a Payee under the Natural Resources Code; and
- Require a written notice be sent to an owner if their interest gets put in suspense, along with an explanation why.
Let’s get behind these bills!
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The Dept. of Energy announces a $75 million funding for carbon capture research at natural gas plants.
SB 1259 was reported out of committee today with a substitute negotiated with NARO, TLMA and others that would limit the preemption of claims under the division order statute only to contract claims and only if the lease does not contain contrary provisions. This is in response to a Texas Supreme Court case questioning whether you could sue both under the statute and for breach of contract.
So in other words, if you want more stringent requirements to be put in suspense than are in the division order statute you need to put them in your lease, if this passes.
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Spoke too soon about California. Governor Newsome, who is facing a recall vote, seems to be trying to shore up his bona fides with the environmental crowd by issuing an executive order directing the California Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management to look at regulations to end issuing drilling permits that allow fracing by 2024 and to end oil extraction by 2045. This is on the heels of the California Legislature apparent refusal to advance (but not completely dead yet) a bill that would ban fracing.
This is a huge issue. California is a major oil producing state, the economic impact on our country as a whole would be large, and it would embolden other states to try to follow suit.
TEXAS MINERAL AND ROYALTY OWNERS:
THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION!!! We have been working with members of the Texas House and Senate to pass three bills that will help you get the information you need make sure you are being paid correctly:
HB 2882 / SB 1031 (click link for more bill info)
Will require operators to provide you with an “as-drilled plat” for horizontal wells that cross multiple tracts and provide an explanation of how royalties from each tract are calculated.
HB 2883 / SB 1032 (click link for more bill info)
If an operator asks you to ratify a lease or other document, this bill will require operators to provide you with a copy of the lease or document they are asking you to ratify. You should not be required to ratify a document you have never seen in order to get paid!
HB 2884 / SB 1033 (click link for more bill info)
Will require operators to send you written notice when you royalties are placed in suspense.
There are identical versions of these bills sitting in House and Senate committees. However, they will not move forward until they get a hearing. Industry is happy keeping you in the dark about how you are getting paid. Right now, industry lobbyists are telling the House and Senate committee members to let these bills die in committee. That is precisely what will happen UNLESS WE SPEAK UP!!
We need the House and Senate committee members to hear our voices so they know these issues are important to Texas royalty owners!!
So, please do not delay! Call and email the following people TODAY!!
Texas House Energy Resources Committee:
Committee Clerk
Amanda Robertson
Tel: 512-463-0774
Committee Chair
Rep. Craig Goldman
Tel: 512-463-0608
Texas Senate Committee on Natural Resources & Economic Development:
Committee Clerk
Clinton Harned
Tel: 512-463-0390
Committee Chair
Sen. Brian Birdwell
Tel: 512-463-0122
Tell the Clerk and Chair of each committee that:
You are a Texas oil and gas royalty owner;
You support HB 2882 (if calling the House committee) / SB 1031 (if calling the Senate committee), HB 2883 / SB 1032 , and HB 2884 / SB 1033 , and that these bills are very important to you; and
You want these bills to be set for a committee hearing as soon as possible!
If you can contact every committee member, that would help tremendously. But please AT LEAST contact each Committee Clerk and Chair!!
Here are the Senators on Natural Resources:
| SENATORS | Phone | Seniority among all 31 senators | Home District Office | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22, Repub | Chairman Sen. Brian Birdwell | 521-463-0122 | brian.birdwell@senate.texas.gov | No. 10 | 254-772-225 | Granbury | ||
| Asst. Clinton.harned_sc@senate.texas.gov | Clint - 512-463-0390 | |||||||
| 21, Dem | Vice-Chair Sen. Judith Zaffirini | 512-463-0121 | judith.zaffirini@senate.texas.gov | No. 2 | 956-422-2293 | Laredo | ||
| Asst. Krista.kyle@senate.texas.gov | ||||||||
| 6, Dem. | Sen. Carol Alvarado | 512-463-0106 | carol.alvarado@senate.texas.gov | No. 24 | 713-926-6257 | Houston | ||
| 9, Repub | Sen. Kelly Hancock | 512-463-0109 | kelly.hancock@senate.texas.gov | No. 12 | 817-514-3804 | Tarrant, Dallas | ||
| 20, Dem | Sen. Juan Hinojosa | 512-463-0120 | juan.hinojosa@senate.texas.gov | No. 6 | 956-318-0725 | Mc Allen | ||
| Asst. dariel.ramirez@senate.texas.gov | ||||||||
| 1, Repub | Sen. Brian Hughes | 512-463-0101 | brian.hughes@senate.texas.gov | No. 23 | 903-581-1776,903-923-0404 | Tyler, Mineola, Marshall | ||
| 18, Repub | Sen. Lois Kolkhorst | 512-463-0118 | lois.kolkhorst@senate.texas.gov | No. 17 | 979-251-7888,361-573-7300 | Brenham, Victoria, Katy | ||
| 27, Dem | Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr | 512-463-0127 | eddie lucio@senate.texas.gov | No. 3 | 956-548-0227 | Harlingen | ||
| Asst. Joel Chavez | Joel.chavez@senate.texas.gov | Christopher.livaudais@senate.texas.gov | ||||||
| 31, Rep. | Sen. Kel Seliger | 512-463-0131 | kel.seliger@senate.texas.gov | No. 7 | 806-378-8994,432-620-0436 | Amarillo, Midland, Odessa |
Texas Legislature looking at bill directing its state pension funds to divest in companies that have refused to invest in oil and gas companies. So now we are boycotting companies that are boycotting companies.
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Recap 2021 Texas Legislature-
SB 367, where Tom Craddick was trying to hijack an unrelated bill and tack on an amendment that would have given support to the argument that allocation wells were legal in all cases, died at the last minute.
The three NARO sponsored bills could not get the traction to get out of committee. Industry pressure on the “burden” of having to do things like let you know they were putting you in suspense kept them bottled up. We will have to start earlier and work harder next time.
A “first purchaser” bill was passed and signed which should close the loophole that royalty owners may not be considered secured creditors in some Delaware bankruptcies.
Eminent domain reform passed.
The RRC was fully funded for its well plugging program.
Overall, a pretty quiet session for mineral and royalty owners, although Rep. Craddick kept things interesting, as he usually does.
The Senate passed the infrastructure bill today, 69-30. The full 129 page summary is in the link below.
$4.7 billion to plug wells. Maybe Texas will finally get caught up on this, and will be interesting to see what strings get attached to get the funds.
Sen. Manchin’s press release mentions a program for $8 million of free firewood for low income people. I kid you not.
Much, much, much more on the energy front in this bill.
Catching up on some other news here, some a little old by now. Governor Newsom issued an Executive Order in May directing his Energy Management Division to start the regulatory process to ban all hydraulic fracturing permits by 2024 and phase out oil extraction by 2045. California, once a major oil producing state, is rapidly trying to snuff out its oil businesses.
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New York denied permits to build two natural gas fired generating plants in NY state. Makes one wonder what will happen to the interconnected grids when one state starts consistently falling short of generating its share of electricity for the grid. Will the energy “export” states be content with providing the shortfall? Paywall on article.