Texas Oil Regulator Shifts Stance as Gas Flaring Hits Record
- In unusual move, commission chairman dissents in permit vote
- Texas Railroad Commission’s Christian ‘concerned’ over flaring
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An unusual split vote by Texas regulators over the flaring of natural gas shows that the days of giving a free pass to the controversial practice in the Lone Star state may be numbered.
The chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees the oil and gas industry in the state, dissented during a recent hearing over a flaring permit. Wayne Christian said there’s too much gas being burned off out of convenience rather than necessity, and he’s concerned about the “frequency and ease” with which companies are being allowed to continue with the practice.