If you dispose of produced water you are no-doubt aware of the intensive earthquakes being observed across the Midland and Delaware Basins. In West Texas Earthquake Observations, Implications for the Oil and Gas Industry, Scott Pinsonnault and John Shepherd of Ankura Consulting summarize the evolving situation and the Texas Railroad Commission’s response. They also
Is the Oil and Gas Industry Worth Defending?
Of course it is. (Apologies for the clickbait.) If further reading would damage you, I recommend a subscription to the Guardian. Otherwise, consider these points of view when conversing with those in need of enlightenment. Counter-arguments abound, but they are not the purpose of this post.
The industry is subject to ad hominem attacks
Texas Supreme Court to Review Approval of Injection Well Permit
Co-author Brittany Blakey
The Texas Supreme Court has granted petition for review of a 2019 decision in Dyer et al v. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality . At issue is whether rescission of a Railroad Commission no-harm letter before the TCEQ granted an injection-well permit rendered the permit void.
The Injection Well Act (Chapter 27 of the Texas Water Code) governs the permitting process for underground injection wells in Texas. The Act aims to maintain the quality of fresh water for the public and existing industries while trying to prevent injections that may pollute fresh water. Under the Act, a company seeking to construct and operate an injection well must apply to the TCEQ for a permit. The applicant must also provide a “no-harm” letter from the RRC stating that the injection well will not damage an existing oil or gas reservoir.
I’m an oil and gas guy. Why does this order concern me?
This case is about injection wells for industrial and municipal waste, not for oil and gas waste. But the court’s treatment of the Administrative Procedures Act and the effect of (dueling?) orders of state agencies could inform future actions and orders of both agencies.
The long and complicated timeline
Continue Reading Texas Supreme Court to Review Approval of Injection Well Permit
Are There Other Ways to Look at the IPCC 6th Assessment?
I prepared this post before Ida. It might now be perceived as cynical, or unsympathetic to the plight of those affected in South Louisiana and the Northeast. Is the intensity of hurricanes exacerbated by global warming? Some say it is; some say it isn’t. Regardless, what to know and do about climate change
Is There a Problem With Nuclear Energy?
From the “Not-my-circus-not-my-monkeys” department, after the 10th anniversary of the Fukishima disaster last March my curiosity ventured into the nuclear energy debate. See these observations from those who actually know something about the issue (read the articles themselves for the full story). Opinions vary widely:
Continue Reading Is There a Problem With Nuclear Energy?
Climate Change for Landmen and Lawyers – Part 5
In the fifth and final installment on the climate change debate, Gray Reed energy partner Paul Yale considers (and responds to) another criticism of Bjorn Lomborg’s False Alarm: How Climate Panic Costs Us Billions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet.
Joseph Stiglitz in the New York Times negatively reviewed False Alarm
A Big Decision on Texas PSA and Allocation Wells? Not so Fast.
In Opiela v. Railroad Commission of Texas and Magnolia Oil and Gas Operating, LLC, an Austin district court determined that the Commission’s Final Order granting a permit for a Production Sharing Agreement well in Karnes County did not comply with the Administrative Procedure Act. Here is the Commission’s hearing examiners’ recommendation. It is
Climate Change for Energy Professionals – Part 4
The fourth installment on the climate change debate by Gray Reed energy partner Paul Yale looks at criticisms of Bjorn Lomborg’s False Alarm: How Climate Panic Costs Us Billions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet. These short summaries can’t do justice to Paul’s articles, or the books themselves for that matter.
Climate Change for Energy Professionals – Part 3
In his third installment on the climate change debate, Gray Reed energy partner Paul Yale discusses the assertions of Bjorn Lomborg in his book False Alarm:
- Lomborg relies on two major sources: Reports from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the US Government’s National Climate Assessment.
- He says their forecasts about
Climate Change for Energy Professionals – Part 2
This is the second in a series of Gray Reed energy lawyer Paul Yale‘s examination of three books that raise questions such as:
Can we save the polar bears and the whales, … Are they in need of saving?
Will we 
drown by 2100? (Not “we” as in you and me, but you know