Railroad Commission Continues to Infuse Tech Into Vast Operations

The agency overseeing the state’s oil and natural gas industry wants to continue streamlining operations and increase public transparency through information technology and data, evidenced in both its strategic planning and budget requests for the coming years.

The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) has asked for more than $27 million in exceptional items for technology improvements, data management and tools to support its functions. These range from environmental protection, oil and gas distribution, mineral rights and preventing waste, among others.

In short, the RRC is tasked with regulating the Texas oil and gas industry, where 42 percent of the nation’s oil was produced in 2023, according to a Texas Tribune report.

Here are exceptional IT-related items from the 2026-27 legislative appropriations requests:

• $7.7 million for a produced water and injection data system. Oil production produces water that could be recycled instead of being injected into geologic strata, and a system to collect data about these practices will help turn that wastewater into a resource. Two full-time employees (FTEs) are requested.
• $7.7 million for data center services adjustment for rising costs as forecasted by the Department of Information Resources, which provides the services.
• $6.3 million for oversight and safety regulatory filing and permitting systems that make reporting easier for natural gas utilities and make auditing easier for the RRC.
• $2.7 million for an oil and gas authorized pit registration system allowing operators to report storage and management information and make data publicly available. Two FTEs are requested.
• $2.1 million for a GIS cloud upgrade that would stand up a faster, more detailed system with additional tools. GIS data is publicly available.
• $907,496 for a microfilm digitization project to take place next year, bringing district records online and making them readily available across the organization and to the public.

Exceptional items also include a new Kilgore District office building and two FTEs to “review complex cleanup projects and respond to public information requests.”

The baseline budget request for the entire agency is $466.6 million from general revenue, federal funds and other sources.

Of this, there is $40.8 million in capital budget requests. They are:

• $21.5 million for phase IV of its mainframe transformation project, which includes moving more well-management features to the cloud.
• $15.3 million for data center services, which will migrate mainframe systems and reduce overall costs.
• $3 million for phase V of the inspection/enforcement tracking and reporting system project, which involves the Texas Damage Reporting Form for pipeline damages.
• $1.1 million for a PC refresh.

The RRC takes a deep dive into how technology and systems infuse its operations in its 2025-29 Strategic Plan.