MIDLAND, Texas — At the Petroleum Meeting on Thursday, several speakers and a panel of state lawmakers, including Tom Craddick, Brooks Landgraf, and Kevin Sparks, discussed key industry issues.
Stephen Robertson, the Executive Vice President of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, highlighted that access to electricity is the biggest concern for the oil and gas industry in the Permian Basin.
“If you look at West Texas, the ERCOT grid is not providing enough electricity,” Robertson said. “This affects not just the prices for homes and businesses but also the oil and gas industry. We are working to improve electricity delivery to operations in the Permian Basin.”
This issue has gained so much attention that Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 5066 last year. This bill allows the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and ERCOT to study the electricity needs in the region.
Senator Kevin Sparks explained, “The legislature directed the PUC to conduct a study on the infrastructure and electricity needs in the Permian Basin. This industry is critical not only to Texas but the entire country.”
Sparks also noted that other industries, like data mining and Bitcoin mining, are starting to compete for electricity in the area.
“We’re seeing new industries come here, like data mining and AI, which require huge amounts of electricity,” Sparks said. “These companies can quickly connect to the grid and use up the electricity that was planned for oil and gas operations.”
Next, lawmakers will review the results of the study and find a free-market solution to deal with federal subsidies that are impacting the state’s electricity market.