Texas Oil Regulator Now Has More Than 83 Million Records Online

In a statement posted on its website recently, the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) said it now has 83.4 million oil and gas records that can be searched and viewed online from anywhere in the world.

The RRC revealed in the statement that more than 15 million records were digitized in the past year alone. Digitization efforts were described by the organization as “part of the RRC’s ongoing success increasing transparency and making the vast trove of information held at the agency easily available to the public”. 

“As the oldest regulatory agency in Texas, the RRC has oil and gas records dating back to the 1930s on paper in district offices and on microfilm,” the RRC noted in the statement.

“The agency has been digitizing those records and placing the images online for several years, allowing anyone with internet access to view them,” it added.

In the statement, the RRC highlighted that documents that have been digitized include oil and gas production records and well completion records that contain information such as well depths and producing fields of a well.

These records are used often by researchers, landowners, royalty owners, energy companies and public information requesters, the RRC noted in the statement.

RRC Deputy Executive Director Danny Sorrells said in the statement, “putting millions and millions of oil and gas records online is a win-win for the public and the agency”.

“Not only does it give the public easy access to historical information dating back almost 100 years, but our staff can now devote the time they would have spent tracking those records for the public for other tasks at the agency,” he added.

In a statement posted on its site back in July, the RRC said it launched a “major technology project streamlining oil and gas filings”.

“The agency has launched State Tracking and Reporting (LoneSTAR), a project that further improves efficiencies at the agency to save time and resources for oil and gas operators as well as RRC staff,” the RRC noted in that statement.

“The first LoneSTAR release allows operators to make online filings for Form P-5, which are required to become, or renew as, an oil or gas operator or pipeline operator. P-5s are required in order to operate in Texas,” it added.

The RRC highlighted in the statement that other forms associated with the P-5 process can also be filed online through LoneSTAR and said the project gives operators the ability to monitor the P-5 approval process online, fix any compliance issues related to filings in real-time, and view records online.

“The project not only reduces the extensive paperwork that operators were once required to send, it also streamlines the day to day review process by RRC staff,” the RRC noted. 

In the statement, RRC Chairman Christi Craddick said, “overhauling the IT system at the Railroad Commission has been a top priority for me since I was first elected”.

“The LoneSTAR launch marks a significant advancement to the way the agency interacts with operators and will improve the agency’s ability to prioritize health and safety for all Texans and the environment, while ensuring the state’s economic powerhouse can continue to thrive,” Craddick added.

RRC Commissioner Wayne Christian said in the statement, “LoneSTAR modernizes the agency’s information technology to ensure producers spend less time filling out bureaucratic forms and more time drilling for the reliable energy our state, nation, and world need”.

“The Commission is widely recognized as a global leader in energy regulation, and as Commissioner I want to make sure it retains that reputation by minimizing the regulatory burden on producers and building a 21st century agency that’s the envy of the world,” he added.

“I want to congratulate and thank all the RRC staff that worked so hard on this project,” he continued.

RRC Commissioner Jim Wright said in the statement, “innovation spurred the shale revolution, but it was efficient operations that ultimately resulted in America becoming the leading energy producer in the world”.

“The launch of LoneSTAR will not only serve to improve our effectiveness here at the Railroad Commission but will also reduce the paperwork burden for our Texas energy producers, allowing for greater efficiency in their day to day operations,” he added.

In a statement posted on its site last month, the RRC said it will be launching the RRC Mapping Automation Portal (RRC MAP) “later this year”.

This new portal allows oil and gas and pipeline operators to identify and confirm facilities that are a part of the natural gas supply chain for power generation in Texas, the RRC noted in the statement, adding that the portal will help the RRC maintain the most up to date critical infrastructure information during a weather emergency.

“RRC MAP is an information gathering portal that links facilities in the natural gas supply chain from upstream production and disposal to the end point – power plants,” the RRC said in the statement.

“Data collected via the system is shared with the Texas Public Utilities Commission to be added to the Texas Electricity Supply Chain Map,” it added.

The RRC, which was established in 1891, describes itself as the state agency with primary regulatory jurisdiction over the oil and natural gas industry, pipeline transporters, natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline industry, natural gas utilities, the LP-gas industry, critical natural gas infrastructure, and coal and uranium surface mining operations.

The Commission exists under provisions of the Texas Constitution and exercises its statutory responsibilities under state and federal laws for regulation and enforcement of the state’s energy industries, the site adds, noting that the commission also has regulatory and enforcement responsibilities under federal law including the Surface Coal Mining Control and Reclamation Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Pipeline Safety Acts, Resource Conservation Recovery Act, and Clean Water Act.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com