Russell Gold, Contributor at Texas Monthly

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Senior editor Russell Gold was born somewhere east of the Sabine River, but has lived in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio since 1996. He has spent most of that time writing about energy in its many forms. He has dodged polar bears on Alaska’s North Slope, climbed a wind turbine in Oklahoma, and spent time on frac pads from Carrizo Springs to Fort Worth and Odessa to Carthage. He worked at the San Antonio Express-News before joining the Wall Street Journal, where he worked from 2000 to 2021. Gold has won multiple business-writing awards and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his coverage of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the electric line–caused Camp Fire in California. His 2014 book, The Boom, was long-listed for the FT Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year prize. His 2019 book, Superpower, wasn’t—but it is even better. It profiles Houstonian Michael Skelly’s attempt to build a very, very long extension cord. Gold joined Texas Monthly in 2021 to write about the business of Texas. He lives with his wife in Austin.

Featured Articles

The West Texas Rancher Exposing Big Oil’s Buried Secrets

After an abandoned well began spewing toxic, salty water onto her Permian Basin land, Ashley Watt would stop at nothing to determine the cause—and to hold Chevron accountable.

By

helios bitcoin mine energy

Bitcoin Miners Could Save the Texas Grid—or Sink It

Our state struggles to serve Texans’ needs on the hottest and coldest days. So why are we welcoming the energy-hogging cryptocurrency industry?

By

Railroad commissioner race Wayne Christian

Politics & Policy

One Candidate Shows Her Breasts. Another Dies Tragically. A Third Is Accused of Graft.

The campaign for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, usually a low-profile affair, is getting more attention—and that’s a good thing.

By

freeport-lng-texas-natural-gas-ship-europe

How Texas Is Rescuing Europe From the Russians

An energy crisis on the Continent has it desperate for help from the Permian natural gas it had earlier spurned.

By

West Texas Geyser

The Mystery of the West Texas Geyser Deepens

Turns out the Permian Basin well that's been blowing briny water 100 feet high isn't the well the Railroad Commission thought it was.

By

texas blackout freeze

The Texas Electric Grid Failure Was a Warm-up

One year after the deadly blackout, Texas officials have done little to prevent the next one—which could be far worse.

By

50 Articles

Oxy Deal Could Yield Billions For Tim Dunn’s Political Efforts

December 1, 2023

Oxy Deal Could Yield Billions for Tim Dunn’s Political Efforts

If Occidental Petroleum acquires CrownRock, the right-wing Midland oilman could become an even bigger power broker—in Texas and perhaps nationally.

By

Significant Event: Electricity deregulation

October 18, 2023

The Year the Texas Legislature Changed the Energy Game Forever

In 1999 lawmakers radically altered the electricity marketplace. We can all breathe easier—literally—because of it.

By

ken paxton social media influencer propaganda

Politics & Policy|

September 8, 2023

My Brief Career as a Paid Pro-Paxton Propagandist

As the attorney general’s impeachment trial takes place, a shadowy group has mobilized an army of political influencers to support his acquittal. Our ethics laws aren’t keeping up.

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A brown pelican perches on an abandoned well in Trinity Bay on June 16, 2023.

September 5, 2023

Hundreds of Abandoned Oil Wells Are Rotting Away in Texas Bays

Defunct companies have left behind energy facilities that leak toxins into fragile coastal ecosystems. And guess who has to clean them up?

By

Trump’s Digital Guru Is Back, This Time with a Powerful New Texas Ally

September 1, 2023

Trump’s Digital Guru Is Back, This Time With a Powerful New Texas Ally

Brad Parscale is all in on artificial intelligence, and the right-wing billionaire Tim Dunn is now his biggest benefactor.

By

sweetwater wind turbine blades

August 24, 2023

Thousands of Old Wind Turbine Blades Pile Up in West Texas

Officials in Sweetwater say an out-of-state company has made their town a dump for the seldom-seen trash created by renewable energy.

By

Water rights battle on South Llano River

Politics & Policy|

August 16, 2023

Dam It?

An oil executive wants to block the South Llano River for private recreational purposes. Hill Country residents are outraged.

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texas is number one for energy

August 14, 2023

We’re Number One in Renewable Energy and Nonrenewable Energy

Why Texas is the past, present, and future when it comes to fueling the world.

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Permian Resources energy

July 11, 2023

In the Aging Oil Business, These Young CEOs Stand Out

Many millennial and Gen Z workers have turned away from careers in fossil fuels—making Midland-based Permian Resources an anomaly.

By

Solar Power Is Invaluable During the Heat Wave

June 29, 2023

Without Solar Power, This Texas Heat Wave Would Burn Much Worse

Thank goodness the state GOP's war on renewables has, so far, failed.

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John Goodenough's legacy

News & Politics|

June 27, 2023

The Texan Who Never, Ever Ran Out of Energy

Remembering John Goodenough, who was well into his fifties when he developed a battery that changed the world.

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Craddick follow up

May 22, 2023

How a Powerful Texas Lawmaker and His Family Made Half a Million for a Few Phone Calls

Depositions in a recent lawsuit reveal that state rep Tom Craddick, his wife and son, and his daughter, Christi, who leads Texas’s oil and gas regulating agency, profit from industry deals not available to just anyone.

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Texas-Renewable-Energy-GOP-Attack_feat

May 8, 2023

The Texas GOP’s War on Renewable Energy

What’s behind the Legislature’s relentless campaign against wind and solar power, which are saving Texans billions?

By

Craddick gushers

Politics & Policy|

March 14, 2023

The Craddicks’ Gushers of Cash: How a Powerful Texas Lawmaker and a Key Regulator Profit From the Industry They Oversee

Former House Speaker Tom Craddick and his family—including his daughter, Railroad Commission chairman Christi Craddick—earned about $10 million last year from oil and gas rights.

By

elon musk texas energy

March 13, 2023

Elon Musk Came to Texas to End the Oil Age

It took him a while to get here, but now he’s out to transform our state with new technologies—if our leaders’ hostility toward renewable energy (and his Twitter misadventures) don’t get in the way.

By

Frozen power lines are seen hanging near a sidewalk on February 01, 2023 in Austin, Texas. A winter storm is sweeping across portions of Texas, causing massive power outages and disruptions of highways and roads.

February 3, 2023

Why Can’t Texas Just Bury Its Electrical Lines?

Let’s crunch the numbers on what it would cost to avoid another “oakpocalypse.”

By

Mary Kay Ash, president of Mary Kay Cosmetics, is seen in her Dallas office in January 1982.

January 17, 2023

Sixteen of the Most Influential Texas Business Icons of the Past 50 Years

The names have changed over the decades, but through it all, Texas remains a place where money gets made—and spent.

By , , , and Texas Monthly

Oil-Man-texas-rigs-crude-pumpjacks-feat

January 17, 2023

Whatever Happened to the Old-fashioned Texas Oilmen?

They washed the crude off their hands and put on suits and ties. Or sensible blazer-and-skirt combos.

By

Texas Power Plants Swore They Were Ready for the Next Big Freeze. Many Weren’t.

January 16, 2023

Texas Power Plants Swore They Were Ready for the Next Big Freeze. Many Weren’t.

The state avoided a disaster during the recent Arctic blast, but a sizable number of electricity generators still struggled in the cold.

By

Bruno the Oil Rig Dog

January 12, 2023

Drilling in the Permian Is Lonely Work. A Rig Dog Can Help.

When Bruno went missing, Alex Reyna lost a key member of his oil-field crew.

By

Every Texan Gets $925! And Other Ideas for Spending the State’s Massive Surplus

Politics & Policy|

December 28, 2022

Every Texan Gets $900! And Other Ideas for Spending the State’s Massive Surplus

What should we do with our $27 billion windfall? We asked a variety of Texans for their brightest ideas.

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Shops at Redbird

November 7, 2022

The Rebirth of Red Bird Mall

Peter Brodsky could have retired on the wealth he built taking over billion-dollar companies. So why has he bet millions on a shopping center in southern Dallas?

By

Mike Shellman Oil Man

October 28, 2022

After a Lifetime of Drilling, This Texas Oilman Digs One Final Well

On a farm near Flatonia, Mike Shellman closes the chapter on nearly sixty years in the business.

By

Dan Patrick BlackRock Investments

Politics & Policy|

September 8, 2022

Dan Patrick Demanded That Texas Retirement Funds Divest From BlackRock. But He Kept His Shares in the Firm.

The lieutenant governor said the company was “discriminating against the oil and gas industry." He didn’t mention his own holdings in the firm.

By and

Texas Renewables Shut Out

August 18, 2022

Texas Leaders Shut Renewables Out in Planning the Power Grid’s Future

On a state advisory committee, only one member has experience developing wind or solar power. And he’s voiced some eyebrow-raising ideas.

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Exxon reports record profits

July 29, 2022

ExxonMobil Makes Godlike Profits, but Mortal Challenges Remain

The oil giant this week announced quarterly earnings that set an all-time record for any Texas business. That’s both good and bad news for the state.

By

helios bitcoin mine energy

July 11, 2022

Bitcoin Miners Could Save the Texas Grid—or Sink It

Our state struggles to serve Texans’ needs on the hottest and coldest days. So why are we welcoming the energy-hogging cryptocurrency industry?

By

gulf offshore oil

June 29, 2022

An Oil Well Off Padre Island Leaked for Months Before It Was Plugged

Patching it cost the state $1.6 million. Many others are similarly falling into disrepair, and the agencies charged with their oversight are doing nothing about them.

By

June 15, 2022

The West Texas Rancher Exposing Big Oil’s Buried Secrets

After an abandoned well began spewing toxic, salty water onto her Permian Basin land, Ashley Watt would stop at nothing to determine the cause—and to hold Chevron accountable.

By

May 31, 2022

How Texas Monthly Chronicled the Eighties Oil Bust Via a Beloved Houston Clothier

Bobby Sakowitz dressed Houston’s most stylish through the seventies and eighties boom years. Then things went bust.

By

May 23, 2022

How a Texas Monthly Editor Got Inside a Billion-Dollar Wall Street Power Play

Joe Nocera’s pitched profile of then-little-known T. Boone Pickens got him unprecedented access to Pickens’s 1982 attempt to take over Cities Service.

By

Samsung Austin Facility's environmental practices

May 20, 2022

Samsung Spills Toxic Water, Wins Texas Environmental Prize

As TCEQ investigates its Austin plant, the company was praised for “protecting our state’s natural resources.”

By

A New Texas Oil Boom Is Coming, Finally

April 26, 2022

A New Texas Oil Boom Is Coming, Finally

That is, whenever the industry can sort out supply-chain issues and labor shortages.

By

The Dead Sea of West Texas Just Got Deadlier

Politics & Policy|

April 11, 2022

The Dead Sea of West Texas Just Got Deadlier

Dangerous gas leaking from an abandoned well has become an issue in the colorful Railroad Commission runoff election.

By

behind the story exxon archives

April 4, 2022

How a Writer in the Seventies Documented the Essence of Exxon

Former staff writer Nicholas Lemann remembers how Exxon refused to cooperate with his story—and why that made all the difference.

By

texas not drilling for oil russia ban

March 11, 2022

$100 Oil Is Back! Why Isn’t Texas Drilling?

Russia’s war on Ukraine has made it practically patriotic to pump oil, but the Permian hasn’t ramped up production. Don’t blame Washington. Blame Wall Street.

By

exxon ends ties with russia

March 2, 2022

Exxon’s Russian Exit Ends a Messy, Prosperous Friendship

After Putin met Tillerson, billions were made, but at what cost?

By

Railroad commissioner race Wayne Christian

Politics & Policy|

February 17, 2022

One Candidate Shows Her Breasts. Another Dies Tragically. A Third Is Accused of Graft.

The campaign for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, usually a low-profile affair, is getting more attention—and that’s a good thing.

By

freeport-lng-texas-natural-gas-ship-europe

February 14, 2022

How Texas Is Rescuing Europe From the Russians

An energy crisis on the Continent has it desperate for help from the Permian natural gas it had earlier spurned.

By

February 1, 2022

It’s February. A Freeze Is Coming. Will the Texas Grid Fail Again?

State leaders did little to prevent future blackouts, but ERCOT should have the electric supply to meet skyrocketing demand this week—so long as there are no major system failures.

By

West Texas Geyser

January 20, 2022

The Mystery of the West Texas Geyser Deepens

Turns out the Permian Basin well that's been blowing briny water 100 feet high isn't the well the Railroad Commission thought it was.

By

iron ox robotic greenhouse lockhart

January 19, 2022

This Lockhart Greenhouse Wants to Grow Your Salad Using Robots

Iron Ox, a San Francisco–area company with a Texas-bred CEO, builds greenhouses that use data to yield pretty produce.

By

texas blackout freeze

January 18, 2022

The Texas Electric Grid Failure Was a Warm-up

One year after the deadly blackout, Texas officials have done little to prevent the next one—which could be far worse.

By

West Texas geyser

January 12, 2022

A Forgotten Oil Well Births a 100-Foot Geyser in West Texas

The salty water spewing high on a Crane County ranch could be a sign of a “whack-a-mole” future in the Permian Basin.

By

News & Politics|

December 8, 2021

The Dead Sea of West Texas

A Pecos County well has leaked noxious salt water for almost two decades. No one is taking responsibility for getting it cleaned up.

By

In Praise of Enron?

November 16, 2021

In Praise of . . . Enron?

Twenty years have passed since the notoriously corrupt energy-trading company collapsed. Maybe it’s time to acknowledge that it wasn’t all bad for Texas.

By

elon musk tesla move headquartes to Austin

October 8, 2021

Why Tesla Is Moving to Texas

Elon Musk’s company aims to transform the energy business. So, of course, it’s relocating to the energy capital.

By

Hydraulic-fracturing-clean-energy-fracking-technology

September 12, 2021

Fracking Has a Bad Rep, but Its Tech Is Powering a Clean Energy Shift

Texas start-ups are harnessing know-how born of the shale boom in pursuit of a greener future.

By

Who Is Bud Brigham, the Man Behind UT’s “Liberty Institute”?

September 2, 2021

Who Is Bud Brigham, the Man Behind UT’s “Liberty Institute”?

With taxpayer money now committed to the project, alongside private pledges, the oil billionaire’s push to create a conservative think tank on the Austin campus nears the goal line.

By

Elon Musk Wants to Sell Texans Electricity

August 26, 2021

Elon Musk Wants to Sell Texans Electricity

Tesla has filed to become a Texas power retailer in a move that could shake up an already fast-changing market.

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