80 articles
Texas has significantly expanded its review of data-center development since Governor Greg Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in August to audit projects advancing through ERCOT’s interconnection process. That review has now expanded into state permitting and water use, ERCOT began formal project-level information […]
New Mexico oil and gas companies now have two major financial assurance changes, plus a complete regulatory overhaul, to navigate and implement at the same time. Oil Conservation Division (NM OCD): $150K Per Well If Ineligible for $250K Active Well Blanket Bond Discount The Oil Conservation Commission’s (OCC) Case No. 24683 amendments to the Oil […]
Interior Adopts a Ten-Year Framework and Two Years of Operating Rules — The Allocation Question Remains Unresolved Across the Basin Water has become a gating item for development across the American West. On August 21, 2026, the Secretary of the Interior signed a Record of Decision that sets federal operating boundaries for the Colorado River […]
A recent North Dakota district court decision may have significant implications for operators, nonoperators, and parties acquiring interests in pooled spacing units. In Dorchester Minerals Operating LP, et al. v. Iron Oil Operating, LLC, the court held that costs and a risk penalty associated with a non-consent well could be recovered from production attributable to […]
Texas has heightened scrutiny of data centers seeking to connect to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid. For developers, the question is increasingly not just whether a project can connect, but how much grid power it will need. On August 3, Governor Greg Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and […]
On July 30, 2026, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) convened a joint meeting of the Gas Pipeline and Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committees. The committees discussed a pending rulemaking (the Notice) that would narrow PHMSA’s authority to condition special permits. Having handled special permits as a PHMSA regulator, as in-house counsel, and in […]
Oil and gas companies and others who handle methane will face new requirements if the state adopts a rule proposed by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). The proposal builds on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for methane super-emitter events and for process controllers but goes further. While the proposal primarily targets the oil […]
The U.S. Supreme Court recently accepted a settlement ending the 13-year Rio Grande dispute involving New Mexico, Texas, and the federal government. The conflict followed a series of droughts and lawsuits over the division of Rio Grande water. In 2013, Texas brought the dispute to the U.S. Supreme Court, alleging that New Mexico’s groundwater pumping […]
H.R. 9338, the Pipeline Safety Authorization Act of 2026, advanced out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee with bipartisan support. Among its enforcement provisions, the bill would require the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to provide formal hearings in certain enforcement proceedings and establish protocols for making those hearings public. The public […]
Operators who attended the Railroad Commission of Texas’ session In the Field: Ensuring Compliance for Inactive Wells at this year’s Regulatory Conference walked away with something rare: a clear picture of what inspectors actually evaluate in the field. RRC staff walked through the criteria in detail and flagged the violations they see most often, all […]