Energy
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 Russell Gold![Russell Gold's Profile Photo]()
Oil
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.
By Russell Gold![Russell Gold's Profile Photo]()
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 Russell Gold![Russell Gold's Profile Photo]()
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.
By Russell Gold![Russell Gold's Profile Photo]()
Energy
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 Russell Gold![Russell Gold's Profile Photo]()
Texas History
April 11, 2023
The Oil Boom That Went Bust
In the eighties, petroleum prices went through the roof, and Texans, flush with cash, went a little crazy—before it all came crashing down. Will we ever learn?
By Mimi Swartz![Mimi Swartz's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
February 1, 2023
Florida Politicians Would Love to See More Drilling in Texas. Florida? Not So Much.
Drill, baby, drill! But, uh, over there.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Texas Icons
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 Russell Gold![Russell Gold's Profile Photo]()
Energy
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 Russell Gold![Russell Gold's Profile Photo]()
Energy
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 Russell Gold![Russell Gold's Profile Photo]()
Energy
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 Russell Gold![Russell Gold's Profile Photo]()
Energy
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 Russell Gold![Russell Gold's Profile Photo]()
Energy
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 Russell Gold![Russell Gold's Profile Photo]()
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 Russell Gold![Russell Gold's Profile Photo]()
Health
December 6, 2021
It’s Hard Out Here—Way, Way, Way Out Here—for a Medic
Oil-field medics face long hours, grisly accidents, desolation, and low pay. So why do they do it?
Sports
October 22, 2021
The Great Burkburnett Football Field Feud of 1972
Decades after the Wichita County town saved its stadium from an oilman’s plan to drill at midfield, the structure has been condemned—after pipes once donated by oil companies rusted out.
Energy
January 28, 2021
Can Biden Really Be Any Worse for the Oil Patch Than Trump?
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.
Energy
January 19, 2021
How the Most Hyped U.S. Oil Merger in a Decade Went Bust
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?
By Mimi Swartz![Mimi Swartz's Profile Photo]()
Business
November 10, 2020
ExxonMobil’s Failure to Go Green Could Worsen Its Financial Future
As other major oil companies have invested in renewable energy, the Irving-based producer has stubbornly stayed the course.
Politics & Policy
August 21, 2020
Why One Expert Predicts a Major Hurricane Hitting Houston Would Be “America’s Chernobyl”
Terence O'Rourke has spent a decade warning officials that a storm making landfall directly in Galveston Bay could be much worse than even Harvey.
By Peter Holley![Peter Holley's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
May 20, 2020
Can the ‘Texas Miracle’ Survive?
With a virus-infected economy and an oil bust to boot, the Texas model is facing an unprecedented crisis.
Energy
April 23, 2020
For a While This Week, Oil Was Cheaper Than Dirt. Should We Be Worried?
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.
Energy
March 10, 2020
Houston Is Not Prepared for the Oil Bust
Get those $400 fajitas while you can, because Houston's boom is over.
Boomtown
December 10, 2019
Listen to the First Episode of Boomtown: “Highway to Hell”
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.
Energy
December 3, 2019
Boomtown
A 10-part podcast series from Texas Monthly and Imperative Entertainment.
Energy
December 3, 2019
Announcing ‘Boomtown,’ a New Podcast on the Greatest Oil Boom in 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.
Business
September 12, 2019
T. Boone Pickens Was a Helluva Storyteller—and That’s Why We Couldn’t Resist Him
In his plainspoken, hilariously vivid vernacular, the Texas oilman constantly spun tales about good times and bad.
Energy
May 29, 2019
The Permian Basin Is Booming With Oil. But at What Cost to West Texans?
Though some will reap serious profits, the region’s dealing with skyrocketing rents, overcrowded schools, and potholes as big as VW Beetles.
Energy
May 6, 2019
A New Pipeline Through the Hill Country Is Pitting the Oil Industry Against Landowners
The state’s biggest industry finds itself in an unusual position: facing landowner-friendly reforms at the Texas Legislature.
Film & TV
May 4, 2018
Watch a Clip From ‘The Iron Orchard’ Before Its Premiere
The film debuts at the Dallas International Film Festival this weekend.
Business
April 17, 2018
A Farewell to Dairy Queens
A recent spate of closures of the iconic restaurant chain has left many communities in the lurch.
Energy
March 7, 2018
Rick Perry Delivers the Gospel of ‘Energy Realism’
The energy secretary outlined the Trump administration’s new direction at an oil and gas conference in Houston.
Energy
July 27, 2017
The Number Of Oil Spills in Texas Dropped 26 Percent in 2016
The number of spills in 2016 was the lowest Texas had seen since 2012.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Energy
July 20, 2017
Oil Theft is Increasing in West Texas
Marfa Public Radio reports on the down side of the boom.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Energy
June 16, 2017
Gas Prices Are at a Twelve-Year Low Throughout Texas, But Don’t Count on it to Last
Start your summer vacations early, if you can.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
The Daily Post
October 1, 2015
Houston’s Real Estate Market Feeling The Effects Of Oil’s Price Drop
Don’t be fooled by claims of economic diversification—the city still runs on oil.
Burka Blog
August 25, 2015
Oil Price Anxiety Forecast: Mild Consternation
Let’s not overreact, but let’s not underreact either.
Energy
March 4, 2015
Learning to Roughneck
Growing up in the Permian Basin, I thought I had a sense of what it was like working the oilfields. Turns out I didn’t know a damn thing.
Politics & Policy
December 22, 2014
Three Reasons Not to Panic About Oil Prices
Texas is much less vulnerable to an oil bust than it once was, or than one might think.
Energy
December 2, 2014
What Other Texas Municipalities Are Considering New Fracking Laws?
Denton's fracking ban is facing constitutional challenges, but other parts of the state are keen to enforce laws of their own against fracking.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Energy
October 21, 2013
“Y’all Smell That? That’s the Smell of Money.”
A son of the oil patch chases the new boom in South Texas.
The Culture
March 11, 2013
The Bust of Times
Can Texas’s oil and natural gas boom keep going forever?
January 21, 2013
Midland: The Second-Richest City in America
Residents in the more upscale half of the Permian Basin make more money per capita than people in New York, San Francisco, Dallas, and Houston.
January 21, 2013
Texas Business Report: How Taxpayers Subsidized Construction of Cowboys Stadium
Taxpayers, who footed a large chunk of the bill for the new $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium, got a raw deal, according to a new story in Bloomberg Businessweek.
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
What the Frack is Up With ‘Dallas’?
Is TNT's reboot of the classic soap opera also a mirror of the country's changing relationship with fossil fuels?
Energy
January 21, 2013
Is It Time to Call the Texas Railroad Commission What It Actually Is?
The powerful state agency is tasked with regulating oil, gas and other energy—not trains. Its own commissioners favor a new name: the Texas Energy Resources Commission.
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.
Business
January 21, 2013
The Week in Business: Profits, Losses, and Everything in Between
Apple nearly nudges Exxon out of the top spot for most valuable company, JC Penney unveils a new logo, and H-E-B tries to buy its .xxx domain name.
Book Review
January 21, 2013
Exxposé
What lies beneath the hood of ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company?