Railroad Commission of Texas, Oil and Gas Division:

An Inventory of Oil and Gas Division Correspondence and Reports at the Texas State Archives, 1890-1943, bulk 1919-1935

Agency History

The Railroad Commission of Texas regulates the exploration, production, and transportation of oil and natural gas in Texas. Its statutory role is to prevent waste of the state's natural resources, to protect the correlative rights of different interest owners, to prevent pollution, and to provide safety in matters such as hydrogen sulfide. It oversees hazardous materials pipelines and natural gas pipelines and distribution systems as well as propane, butane, compressed natural gas, and liquefied natural gas. It works to make sure a continuous, safe supply of natural gas is available to Texas consumers at the lowest reasonable price. Additionally, the Commission regulates surface mining for coal, uranium, and iron ore gravel, and conducts a program for reclaiming lands that were mined and abandoned before 1975.

The Railroad Commission of Texas had its origin in the demands of the shipping public in the late 1880s that insisted that railroads be subject to regulation based on public interest. An advocate for governmental regulation, Attorney General James Stephen Hogg ran for Governor in 1890 with the issue of railroad regulation as the focal point of the campaign. Hogg was elected Governor in the general election and the voters also approved an amendment to Article X, Section 2 of the Texas Constitution that empowered the Legislature to enact statutes creating regulatory agencies. These elections paved the way for the Legislature to enact on April 3, 1891 "An Act to Establish a Railroad Commission of the State of Texas," that later was placed in the Texas Revised Civil Statutes under article 6444 et seq. (House Bills 1, 3, and 58, 22nd Texas Legislature, Regular Session).

The Commission originally consisted of three members appointed by the Governor for three-year terms. Governor Hogg appointed the first three Commissioners in 1891 including John H. Reagan, who resigned as U.S. Senator from Texas to serve as the first Chairman. The Texas Constitution, Article XIX, Section 30 was amended in 1894 to provide for elective six-year overlapping terms for the Commissioners. That same year John H. Reagan was elected and served until his retirement in 1903.

The Texas Railroad Commission was the first regulatory agency created in the State of Texas and originally had jurisdiction over the rates and operations of railroads, terminals, wharves and express companies. The legal focus was on intrastate passenger and freight activities. Interstate jurisdiction fell under the U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission. For the first twenty-five years of its existence, the Railroad Commission was largely concerned with regulating railroads, setting rates, receiving complaints, and making investigations. As other controversies arose where the Legislature deemed that the public interest could best be served by regulation, additional duties were assigned to the Railroad Commission.

The Railroad Commission's authority was broadened beginning in 1917 with the passage of the Pipeline Petroleum Law (Senate Bill 68, 35th Legislature, Regular Session) that declared pipelines to be common carriers like railroads and placed them under the Commission's jurisdiction. This was the first act to designate the Railroad Commission as the agency to administer conservation laws relating to oil and gas. The Commission's regulatory and enforcement powers in oil and gas were increased by the Oil and Gas Conservation Law (Senate Bill 350 of the 36th Legislature, Regular Session), effective June 18, 1919. This act gave the Railroad Commission jurisdiction to regulate the production of oil and gas. Acting upon this legislation, the Commission adopted in 1919 the first statewide rules regulating the oil and gas industry to promote conservation and safety, including Rule 37. This rule requires minimum distances between wells at drilling sites in order to protect field pressure and correlative rights.

The Oil and Gas Division works to prevent the waste of oil, gas, and geothermal resources and to prevent the pollution of fresh water from oil and gas operations. The division holds statewide hearings on market demand and provides for equitable production among operators by establishing monthly production allowables. It issues drilling permits, reviews and approves oil and gas well completions, collects data on oil and gas operations, and promotes public safety. It also protects underground drinking water through regulation of the underground injection of fluids in oil field operations, a program approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act. It oversees well plugging operations, site remediation, underground hydrocarbon storage, hazardous waste management, and maintains a large amount of data on wells - their location, production, etc. The division also investigates complaints and conducts other investigations. This division maintains 10 district offices where field enforcement and support personnel monitor oil and gas operations. The commission does not have the authority to set oil and gas prices at the wellhead. The departments within the Oil and Gas Division are: Administration, Technical Permitting, Field Operations, Administrative Compliance, and the Oil Field Cleanup Program, which includes Site Remediation and Well Plugging.

(Sources: Guide to Texas State Agencies, various editions; general laws and statutes; the Railroad Commission website (http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/about/index.php), accessed on February 9, 2009; and the records themselves.)

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Scope and Contents of the Records

The Railroad Commission, through its Oil and Gas Division, regulates the exploration, production, and transportation of oil and natural gas in Texas. This series contains correspondence and reports of the Oil and Gas Division, covering the years 1890-1943, bulk 1919-1938. A small amount of materials from the Motor Transportation Division and the Gas Utilities Division of the Railroad Commission is present as well as correspondence and photos re: railroads.

Incoming letters are from a variety of sources including the general public, oil and gas companies, pipeline carriers, other private businesses, as well as internal correspondence from the Division's Conservation Agents in the field. Outgoing letters from the Division headquarters in Austin are generally brief acknowledgments on the arrival of forms and responses to requests for information. Telegrams, maps, contracts, photos, and reports on standardized forms are also present.

Reports and correspondence from the Division's field conservation agents date from 1919 when the Oil and Gas Division was formed and record the first attempts at on-site supervision. The field conservation agents were responsible for inspecting wells, preventing fires, stopping waste, and otherwise enforcing the State's conservation laws. Agents filed "Daily reports" for each of the wells they visited. These listed place, date, operator, address, well number, miles from the nearest town, miles traveled that day, and remarks about wells. Such remarks could include the depth of the well and any problems such as salt water in the well and whether or not it was dry.

There is also routine internal correspondence between the field agents and the Division headquarters in Austin dealing with requests for forms, stamps, repairs of old cars, purchase of new cars, invoices of supplies, inventory of office equipment, and newspaper subscriptions. Other correspondence of a more personal nature for the agents included living expenses in boom towns, their salary, and the hiring and firing of the agents.

These files give great insight into the everyday work, the working conditions, the policy making, and the environment around the field agent. Much of the personality of each agent is revealed as they struggle to enforce the conservation laws in the early oil fields. Such boom towns as Desdemona, Burkburnett, and Ranger were the initial assignments for the agents. Later, new fields in the Panhandle and East Texas required more agents. The bulk of the agent correspondence runs from 1919 to 1933.

Letters from oil and gas companies and pipeline carriers are either routine requests for information and forms from the Railroad Commission or cover letters sending the completed forms back to the Commission. Reports that the Commission required on each well included notifications of intention to drill, deepen, plug, or shoot a well; statements of condition before and after; the drilling record on each well; certificate showing compliance with conservation laws and rules; and application for pipeline severance or connection. Rarely, however, are the actual forms found in these records. Only the correspondence is present in the Archives and not the actual reports.

Much of this series is routine requests from the general public for brochures, forms, and general information from the Division on its procedures and the conservation laws it was empowered to regulate. The public concern over the implementation of the new conservation laws generated much of this correspondence. The Division's primary legislative mandate was for the conservation of natural resources and the prevention of waste. Public requests for contract analysis, dispute settlement of oil and gas leases, or lengthy research projects were considered to be outside its responsibility. Consequently, much of the outgoing correspondence to the public is either replies to the routine requests for information or refusals on subjects beyond the Division's parameters. Other public correspondence includes files on job seekers who submitted references and letters of recommendation in addition to the application form.

An inventory of the records was conducted to provide a brief description of the contents of each box including the dates and types of materials and a notation of any filing arrangement that may be present.

This finding aid describes one series of the Railroad Commission of Texas records. See Railroad Commission of Texas: An Overview of Records for more records series.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Materials housed in the State Archives do not circulate, but may be used in the State Archives search room. Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by staff members.

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).

Technical Requirements

Researchers are required to wear gloves provided by the Archives when reviewing photographic materials.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item), Oil and Gas Division correspondence and reports, Railroad Commission of Texas. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession number: unknown

These records may have been transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Railroad Commission of Texas with other records (accessions 1961/046 and 1962/218) or on unknown dates.

Processing Information

Described by Paul B. Beck, October 1985

DACS compliance by Laura K. Saegert, February 2009

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Detailed Description of the Records

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