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Local Politicians Say Texan Oil Industry Is Over-regulated
Texas is known for oil, but a local state representative said the state’s over-regulation is preventing the industry from reaching its full potential.
To help combat this, Rep. Van Taylor (R-Plano) has introduced H.B. 100, also known as the Oil and Gas Majority Rights Protection Act. The bill, if passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry, will positively affect all Texans, not just those that own oil and gas mineral rights, Taylor said.
“The bill would bring Texas into the 20th century in terms of property rights for oil field owners,” Taylor said. “Every other state allows the majority of the owners [of an oil field] to come together and decide what the future of the field will be. … There are billions of barrels of oil that will never come out of the ground without this legislation.”
The problem, Taylor said, is that currently all mineral rights owners must agree before any course of action can be taken on a field. As oil fields get older, mineral rights are passed down to more and more people, so getting unanimous approval is getting increasingly difficult, he said. If H.B. 100 becomes law, then it would only require a majority of the mineral rights owners to agree to increase oil flow, an easier standard to meet, Taylor said. READMOREHERE
