Austin News

AUSTIN – The Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) is celebrating 100 years of advocacy for oil and natural gas producers in the state.

Since its foundation in 1919, TXOGA witnessed key moments in U.S. energy-production history. It oversaw the production of the first oil well in the Permian Basin in June 1920 and the first horizontal oil drill designed by Texon in 1929. Most recently, TXOGA was involved when the first U.S. crude oil export shipment in more than 40 years left the Port of Corpus Christi in December 2015.

With more than 5,000 members, at one point including late U.S. President George H.W. Bush, TXOGA represents at least 90 percent of Texas oil and natural gas production, as well as more than 80 percent of refining capacity in the state.

TXOGA President Todd Staples discussed the company’s success in the last century with Houston Chronicle’s ‘Texas Inc.’ and how it plans on moving forward.

“The technological advancement that has either been created or perfected in Texas has led to longer lives not only for our citizens, but for people around the globe,” Staples said. “But this technological advancement is what has led us to better air quality both domestically and worldwide by the advancement of natural gas and exporting LNG across the globe. It’s displaced fuels with worse emissions.”

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, TXOGA organized events in San Antonio, Austin, Arlington, and the Rio Grande Valley to share its achievements and determine solutions to pressing issues such as improved water quality.

TXOGA also pledged its promise for a healthier environment to Texas Inc., having established an environmental partnership to reduce methane emissions that has expanded across 60 companies. It also has collaborated with seismologists, geologists and reservoir engineers from the TexNet Seismic Monitoring Program to determine possible earthquake prevention solutions.

Staples also highlighted the advancements technology has made in safety features for oil drill employees, with a personal story of his grandfather dying on an oil rig in the 1940s as a reason to use the best technology for safety.

“Precision and efficiency has reduced the environmental footprint, drill-bit technology, perfected fracking methods, 3D seismic imaging, enhanced oil recovery, walking oil rigs that drill several wells on one pad side with minimal environmental impact,” Staples said. “All of those are advancements that were probably not even envisioned a decade or two ago.”

Staples is confident TXOGA will continue to proudly serve Texas as long as oil and natural gas continue to make a large impact on people’s lives.

“The next 100 years are bright,” Staples said. “The technological advancements that are being made are remarkable…as we think about our future, oil and gas is committed to a cleaner, stronger energy future. We know that the components that we use, 96 percent that we use in our homes and in our hospitals and in our schools, come from oil and gas. It’s simply irreplaceable.”