Since then, the agency has evolved from its original purpose to overseeing the state’s oil and natural gas industry, pipeline transporters, natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline industry, natural gas utilities, the LP-gas industry, and coal and uranium surface mining operations, according to the agency’s website.
Today, the RRC describes its mission as serving the state “by our stewardship of natural resources and the environment, our concern for personal and community safety, and our support of enhanced development and economic vitality for the benefit of Texans.”
Below are a few of the agency’s goals listed in its 2023-2027 strategic plan:
- Improve business processes by operationalizing LoneSTAR.
- Issue drilling permits for oil and gas wells across the state.
- Identify oil and gas monthly production totals from industry-submitted reports.
- Use GIS location data for oil and gas wells to analyze, interpret and leverage location data to inform decisions affecting oil and gas production.
- Review applications for underground hydrocarbon storage and the operations of brine mining facilities.
- Work to secure EPA primacy for a Class VI Underground Injection Control program to oversee the long-term underground storage of captured carbon.
Also of note is the agency’s plans to modernize its computer systems and move away from its current mainframe system. According to the RRC’s website, the Legislature allocated $21.5 million in House Bill 2 for the agency’s Mainframe Transformation Phase 2. The project will “move several permitting processes off the current mainframe system into a more robust cloud-based platform, which further improves efficiencies at the agency and makes more data readily available to the public.”
Agency Facts:
Budget: Estimated at $124 million overall, with a $4.7 million IT budget, according to Industry Navigator.*
Leadership: Wayne Christian is the commissioner of the RRC. Brandon Harris is the agency’s chief information officer.
Staff: There are approximately 501-1,000 employees, according to the RRC’s LinkedIn page.
*Industry Navigator is a product of e.Republic, which also produces Industry Insider — Texas.
