Energy
April 17, 2024
Permian Producers Will Pay You to Haul Their Natural Gas Away
Assuming you own a pipeline, that is. The region is wrestling with a glut of the fuel.
Natural Gas
Business
January 24, 2024
In Amarillo, the Nation’s Helium Stockpile Goes on Sale
An auction this week will privatize the federal supply of the strategically important gas.
Energy
January 4, 2024
German Activists Take Aim at Texas Natural Gas
An overseas nonprofit brought journalists to Port Arthur to expose their homeland to the environmental effects of our state’s fossil fuel exports.
Energy
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.
Energy
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.
Energy
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.
Energy
January 6, 2022
This Gas-Burning Power Plant Near Galveston Bay Could Change the Future of Clean Energy
NET Power says it can deliver zero-emission electricity to the Texas grid, but is its sustainable-energy business sustainable?
Energy
September 24, 2021
Natural Gas Prices Are Surging. Why Aren’t Texas Drillers Taking Advantage?
The state’s shale fields are quiet, keeping supply tight and energy bills higher.
Energy
June 15, 2021
Did Lawmakers Fix Texas’s Electric Grid?
Governor Greg Abbott said the Lege has done everything necessary to prevent future blackouts. We ask four experts whether that’s true.
Politics & Policy
April 2, 2021
Natural Gas Producers Are Getting a Pass From the Lege After the Blackouts
Many industries bear a portion of the blame for the failure of Texas’s electric grid. But one seems to be escaping strict requirements to better prepare for future storms.
Energy
March 3, 2021
The Great Texas Blackout Was Caused by a Failure to Ensure Supplies of Natural Gas
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.
Energy
November 22, 2017
So Much Natural Gas—But Where to Put It?
There are not enough pipelines to take away the natural gas being produced in the Permian Basin.
The Culture
March 11, 2013
The Bust of Times
Can Texas’s oil and natural gas boom keep going forever?
January 21, 2013
Mexican Pipeline Expansion To Be Fueled With Texas Gas
The new $8 billion project will be fed in part with natural gas from the South Texas and Eagle Ford Shale fields.
Energy
January 21, 2013
Exxon Plans Expansion at Houston-Area Plants
Exxon Mobil announced plans to expand its hulking Baytown petrochemical plant and refinery Thursday.
January 21, 2013
Texas Business Report: Appeals Court Sides with Texas over EPA
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott scored a victory over the EPA this week over when a federal appeals court ordered the federal agency to take more time to consider Texas's pollution control measures.
Energy
September 30, 2012
Fracked Into a Corner?
Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have given us a natural gas boom—and a whole lot of questions.
Energy
September 30, 2011
Here’s the Drill
As hydraulic fracturing (a.k.a. fracking) has unlocked untold reserves of natural gas, it has also unleashed a wave of concerns about pollution and, for one family in the Barnett Shale, a long nightmare.
Business
August 31, 1996
Business • Richard Rainwater
The last tycoon.
Energy
October 1, 1995
Reversal of Fortune
Boone Pickens and his protégé, David Batchelder, built Mesa Petroleum into an energy giant. Now Pickens’ empire is crumbling and his former aide is leading the charge against him.
Reporter
April 1, 1995
Bad Air Days
Pollution from Mexico is already plaguing West Texas—and it's only going to get worse.
Energy
April 30, 1975
Power Politics
How Coastal State Gas pulled the plug on the Texas consumer.