Happy Thursday!
We went to the Greater Houston Port Bureau’s (GHPB) Commerce
Club Luncheon at the Houston Marriot South at Hobby Airport today.
The speaker was Christi Craddick,
Commissioner, Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC). Commissioner
Craddick was elected to office in 2012 and is the former Chairman of the
Railroad Commission. She is currently
running for Texas Comptroller.
Commissioner Craddick spoke on
several topics. She spoke the importance
of oil and gas to Texas and how Texas takes the lead and doesn’t wait for the
federal government to keep the oil and gas projects moving forward by working
hard and governing smart. Texas has
clear rules and regulations for the oil and gas industry and we permit
quickly. Drilling permitting use to take
90 days, now it takes around forty-eight hours.
The RRC modernized and upgraded their Information Technology to speed up
permitting and inspections, Geographic Information System, and made it easier for
the public access to their data.
Texas Railroad Commission works
closely with other state agencies to keep Texas oil and gas industry
moving. RRC works with Texas Ports
and Texas Department of Transportation to keep things moving because we need
reliable infrastructure and Texas ports move 60% of the energy of the U.S. Some of their jurisdiction overlaps with the Texas
General Land Office (GLO) and they work closely with them to protect Texans. Texas State waters go five miles off the
coast which is more than the other states. Currently, the two agencies are
working on a coastal project plugging abandoned wells in Trinity Bay and it is
costing Texans around $1 million a well. The RRC works with the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for things like hydrogen pipelines because they
each have policy which governs different parts depending on if it is behind the
fence or meter or somewhere else.
One of Texas Railroad Commission’s
responsibilities is to plug abandoned wells.
They have 50 rigs which plug wells.
The RRC went to the Texas Legislature this year and requested
more money and they were allocated $100 million for the cause, and they have
received money from the federal government to help, too.
Com. Craddick spoke on some of the
other responsibilities of the RRC.
They are involved with the Hydrogen Hub which is being developed in
Texas, and she said it will be the largest in the country. This week the RRC was given the
authority from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to permit Class VI Wells
for carbon capture and sequestration projects (See our Blog yesterday for details). The RRC knows water in important not
only for the oil and gas industry but to Texas communities and they are working
to protect this important resource by encouraging recycling not injecting it
underground. They have encouraged companies
to cut emissions instead of regulating the industry they allowed them to take the
lead and this has caused emissions to reduce by 75% since 2011.
The RRC has a couple
challenges. One is they need to find
and keep qualified people. Two is water,
and how we need to use it wisely no matter if it is produced or potable and how
it may be causing seismic activity.
Thank you, Commissioner Christi
Craddick! You are an interesting and
informative speaker, and we wish you and RRC continued success keeping the
energy industry moving forward and Texas communities safe. We wish you luck in
the Republican Primary for Texas Comptroller.
As you see the speakers at the GHPB’s
Commerce Club Luncheons bring an informative talk to all that
attend. The next Commerce Club
Luncheon and Annual Meeting is January 8, 2026, at 11 a.m. The guest speaker at the next luncheon is Scott
Sonenshein, Professor at Rice University.
He should give us a good talk on how we can help our organization and
its people. Please check out the
website, if you would like to learn more.
January 2026 GHPB Commerce Club Luncheon - Greater Houston Port Bureau.
Reminder: You still have time to register to attend the GHPB's Women in Maritime Happy Hour on Monday, November 17, 2025, please click the link: Women in Maritime Happy Hour - - Greater Houston Port Bureau.
If you would like help in
figuring out how to get your product moving with less of a carbon footprint,
contact us via the email on the Blog or give us a call: 281-901-5554. Check out our ESC website!