KINGSVILLE (November 1, 2019) — Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick was the keynote speaker for the Annual Economic Forum held by the Texas A&M University-Kingsville College of Business Administration and sponsored by Kleberg Bank. She talked about the duties of the Texas Railroad Commission and the importance of the state’s oil and gas industry.
At 100 years old, the Railroad Commission is the oldest oil and gas regulatory body in the world. Not only do they regulate oil and gas, but they also regulate pipeline and pipeline safety of 460,000 miles of pipelines. “We are the biggest pipe state by 6,” Craddick said.
She said Texas produces about a third of the country’s oil at 3.8 million barrels a day and a fourth of the country’s natural gas at 25 BCF a day, but added that there is still much to be retrieved from the earth. She described the oil and gas yet to be discovered as a table with a pitcher of water on a table.
“If you put a water pitcher in the center of the table we are all sitting at and the table was the state of Texas. That water pitcher is what we have developed so far as oil and natural gas resources in the entire state and we still have the rest of the table to go,” she said.
“Oil and gas is important. Where we have challenges, frankly, is education and workforce in this industry. Today, we have, I think, long-term opportunity to grow in this industry, but we can’t do it without people,” Craddick said.
“We have to train the next generation to be in this industry long term. And that means not just an engineer, a business person, a lawyer, a communicator, but it also means people like plumbers, welders and electricians,” she said.
“Texas has done a great job and continues to do a good job and our goal is to have the best practices and the highest standards in the entire country,” Craddick concluded. “We are excited about what the future holds, not just for our agency, but, frankly, for the oil and gas industry. I see a bright future.”
-TAMUK-
