Business

AUSTIN—As temperatures rise and drought intensification appears inevitable for much of Texas this summer, a new report released by the Center for Public Finance at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, in partnership with Texas 2036, calculates the price Texas might soon pay for worsening droughts.

AUSTIN—Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar’s recently-released tax collections data reveals that Texas oil and natural gas producers are paying record amounts in production taxes to the state of Texas. According to the comptroller’s data, in April, Texas oil producers paid a record $666 million to the state in oil production taxes, the highest amount in history.

Texas RRC releases March 2022 oil and gas production stats AUSTIN—Crude oil and natural gas production reported to the Texas Railroad Commission in March 2022 came from 162,387 oil wells and 87,163 gas wells. Based on RRC reports from April 2021 to March 2022, total Texas production was 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil and 10.7 trillion cubic feet of total gas.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has approved LPC Conservation LLC’s habitat conservation plan (HCP) and associated incidental take permit. The HCP is designed to allow for the responsible development of oil and gas in the Great Plains while also contributing to the conservation of the lesser prairie-chicken.

Texas RRC reports May 2022 drilling permit and completion statistics AUSTIN—The Texas Railroad Commission issued a total of 963 original drilling permits in May 2022 compared to 631 in May 2021. The May 2022 total includes 849 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, nine to re-enter plugged wellbores, and 93 for recompletions of existing wellbores.

Farmers, ranchers, master naturalists, agency personnel, educators, and the interested public are invited to attend a Playa Field Day presented by Ogallala Commons (www.ogallalacommons.org) on Wednesday, June 22, from 9:30 am-1:30 pm in Borger.

Edward Ernest Stephenson, 89, of Eufaula, Oklahoma, (formerly of Canadian) passed away on June 2, 2022, in Bethany, Oklahoma. Graveside services will be held at 10 am on Saturday, June 25 at Edith Ford Cemetery in Canadian with a memorial service following at 11 am at the First Christian Church in Canadian with Andy Taylor, pastor of Trinity Fellowship in Sayre, Oklahoma, officiating. Services are under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Home.

COLLEGE STATION—The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will allow Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants who are in the final year of their CRP contract to request voluntary termination of their CRP contract following the end of the primary nesting season for fiscal year 2022.

NGWA urges well owners to test water levels and have wells inspected to better handle extreme drought conditions The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) is urging all private well owners impacted by drought to have their systems inspected and water levels tested as we enter the summer months. Drought impacts both the productivity of a water well and its water quality.

The Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) has launched a webpage to inform stakeholders and highlight issues with legislative efforts meant to improve transparency and profitability in the cattle marketplace. The webpage provides extensive analysis regarding the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act (CPDTA), which would impose an onerous federal mandate on the cattle market.