Reporting and commentary on the Texas energy industry and innovations shaping its future
In announcing an ambitious renewable-energy push this week, the Biden administration highlighted a vessel under construction in Brownsville as proof of the economic opportunities of going green.
The lieutenant governor wants to require state pension and education funds to divest from financial giants that are trimming their investments in oil and gas—but he hasn’t thought through the potential consequences.
Public Utility Commission chairman Arthur D’Andrea apologized to investors last week for the “uncertainty” around its profits.
The bankruptcies and staggering electricity charges are beginning to arrive. Could it go from bad to worse?…
State leaders have pointed fingers at everything from windmills to the bureaucrats at ERCOT. But the real issue is the electric grid’s reliance on a lightly regulated natural gas production industry.
There’s plenty that needs fixing to avoid another electricity disaster, but our isolated grid isn’t the problem.
Our governor and lawmakers want to blame everyone but themselves for the February blackouts, the latest crisis of their own making.
The West Texas city was spared the worst effects of this week’s storms, thanks to its preparations in the wake of a devastating 2011 deep freeze.
Those in charge of Texas’s deregulated power sector were warned again and again that the electric grid was vulnerable.
An energy expert explains why some four million Texans suffered a barrage of winter storms without heat in their homes.
Texans on social media have kept warm by burning the fuel of white-hot rage.
But when will the overseers of our so-called Electric “Reliability” Council learn?…
The new president’s energy-related executive actions have stirred opposition in Texas and other oil-producing states. But Biden’s moves are dwarfed by the larger forces that have battered, and will transform, the industry.
As CEO of Occidental Petroleum, Vicki Hollub made the biggest deal the oil business had seen in years. Will it also go down as the biggest failure?…
As other major oil companies have invested in renewable energy, the Irving-based producer has stubbornly stayed the course.
Local petrochemical facilities pump out essential plastic goods—for gloves, masks, gowns, and more—as well as harmful pollutants.
Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield has been through more ups and downs than just about anyone in the business. This bust, he says, will change everything—forever.
After the oil bust, wind and solar energy might be the Permian Basin’s best hope.
Christian Wallace talks to some familiar faces from the Boomtown series in an attempt to understand what happened on April 20, 2020—when oil prices went negative for the first time in history.
On a special edition of ‘The National Podcast of Texas,’ the West Texas native and former roughneck explains this week’s record-setting price plunge and weighs its long-term impact on the state’s once-thriving energy business.
Producers, who failed to anticipate how quickly storage would fill up this month, are now scrambling to turn off the taps—at least those who can.
The ultra-conservative financier wants the government out of the pandemic business, but is open to a bailout of the oil industry.
And they've been dangerously slow to respond to the coronavirus.
One energy company allegedly working with the drag star is based in Texas.
Surprising statements by oil industry leaders have grabbed headlines. But the bigger change is underway more quietly, among young Republicans.
Historically, the Lege has met shortfalls with tax increases or spending cuts. Whether Dems or the GOP are in power makes all the difference.
Get those $400 fajitas while you can, because Houston's boom is over.
Record-breaking oil production in the Permian Basin has brought the boom to the Big Bend’s doorstep for the first time. Is it too late to save this pristine landscape?…
No oil and gas baron since John D. Rockefeller has made more of an impact on society than George P. Mitchell. But this son of poor Greek immigrants who died a billionaire wanted to leave a legacy beyond oil and gas.
Christian talks with renowned business writer Bethany McLean about how the finances of fracking aren't what they're cracked up to be.
The uneasy alliance between ranchers and the oil industry goes all the way back to the early wildcatting days in West Texas. But today, that relationship is more fraught than ever.
During booms, the Permian Basin sees a rise in prostitution charges. But misperceptions and stereotypes about sex work have led to policies that may actually harm the women involved.
We explore a different kind of boom in the Permian Basin. Meet the women working at a lingerie coffee shop, a “breastaurant,” and two area strip clubs.
Working in the oil patch is incredibly dangerous. But March 10, 2015, brought unimaginable tragedy for one Andrews family.
A devastating bust transforms the Permian from the promised land into a wasteland.
The Santa Rita oil well, named after the patron saint of impossible dreams, launched the first Permian Basin boom and has been fueling the dreams of West Texas wildcatters ever since.
In the first episode of our new podcast series, host Christian Wallace takes us back to his hometown in the Permian Basin, which is nearly unrecognizable to him today. We meet a few of the people whose lives have been upended by the biggest oil boom in U.S. history.
Our new 11-part series takes you inside the rugged Permian Basin of West Texas, where roughnecks and billionaire wildcatters are fueling a boom so big it’s reshaping our climate, our economy, and our geopolitics.
When his Houston-based company was on the ropes, George Mitchell pushed his engineers to resuscitate a declining North Texas gas field. The solution they came up with transformed the world.
On this week’s National Podcast of Texas, the author of ’Superpower’ outlines the state’s pioneering role in America’s transition toward fossil fuels alternatives.
’Wall Street Journal’ reporter Russell Gold’s new book, ’Superpower,’ crafts an engaging narrative of one man’s quest to modernize the American energy business.
The state’s biggest industry finds itself in an unusual position: facing landowner-friendly reforms at the Texas Legislature.
Welcome to the Permian Basin, home of the hottest oil play in the world.
In her new book, Bethany McLean explores the unstable financial future of fracking.
During a summer with record heat and record power usage, supply is keeping up with demand.
The current head of the Department of Energy gave his alma mater a $2.5 billion gig, and they beat out rival UT’s bid.
"We need more women to tackle the energy transition and tackle the biggest challenges we face: climate change, energy poverty, and good infrastructure."…
"As a woman, you can’t put yourself in a bad position. One day, a foreman asked me to ride down with him to where they were drilling a deep gas well, about 45 miles away. I didn’t any more want to go than a man in the moon, and I…
The energy secretary outlined the Trump administration’s new direction at an oil and gas conference in Houston.
