Railroad Commission of Texas, Oil and Gas Division:

An Inventory of Oil and Gas Division Special Permits and Rule 37 Case Files at the Texas State Archives, 1926-2000, bulk 1926-1936

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. Records present include permits for drilling, applications to drill, correspondence, memos, telegrams, transcripts from hearings and other legal documents, plats, maps, charts, graphs, and photographs. Dates covered are 1926-2000, the bulk dating 1926-1936. These are special permits issued by the Oil and Gas Division of the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) as exceptions to the Division's drilling rules. The permits were intended usually for individual wells rather than an entire field or reservoir. Examples include drilling with compressed air and drilling to offset drainage by neighboring wells.

The majority of the records are hearing files concerning Rule 37, a rule that requires minimum distances between wells at drilling sites in order to protect field pressure and correlative rights. Rule 37 hearings are not regular hearings and they have their own unique docketing system. The files are individual applications by fee owners, leaseholders, and oil and gas companies for permits to drill on parcels of land too small to meet Rule 37's minimum distance requirements. An application to drill includes the following types of data - date, name of company or operator, name of lease, location of lease, field name, number of acres in lease, distance to nearest lease, depth of well, spacing pattern, density pattern, etc. The application to drill also notes if Rule 37 is involved, and if so, then the names and addresses of all offsetting operators or unleased mineral interest owners of each adjacent tract are provided, along with a plat. The correspondence is from the applicant to the RRC explaining why the exception should be granted. There can be waivers from adjacent property/lease holders of oil, gas or mineral rights, letters of objection from oil and gas companies, neighbors, etc. When there are serious objections, a hearing is held. Hearing transcripts may be present, along with permits to drill issued by the Railroad Commission.

Records include a numerical list to the special permits and Rule 37 case files, produced by the Railroad Commission for cases # 1 to #8,999, listing the applicant, case number, well number, lease, county, and disposition of the request. Also present is an index on microfiche to the microfilmed Rule 37 cases or dockets, giving the docket number, microfilm reel, and frame on the reel where the docket appears. The first entry is case or docket # 8163, through # 247,949, with a few scattered cases listed after that.

In addition to the special permit and Rule 37 case files for 1926-1936 (file numbers 2980-16,348), the Archives also holds the oversize exhibits from the Rule 37 hearings, which include maps, photographs, graphs, charts, etc., dating 1935-2000 (file numbers 8163-223,980). Most of the Rule 37 case files, from 1921 until about 2000 are on microfilm at the Railroad Commission. Cases from 2000 onward are still in their original paper format at the Railroad Commission. The Rule 37 oversize exhibits were not filmed. Not all of the Rule 37 cases or dockets had oversize exhibits, so files are not present for all case numbers.

Hearing schedules are posted on the RRC site, see http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/meetings/hearings/index.php

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.

To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.

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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

Many of the materials in the Rule 37 exhibit files are oversize maps and other large format records and cannot be photocopied.

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

An index on microfiche to the Rule 37 case files is available. A microfiche reader is available in the Archives and Library building, ask staff for the location of the reader.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item), Oil and Gas Division special permits and Rule 37 case files, Railroad Commission of Texas. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession number: 1982/328, 1982/358, 1983/055, 1983/108, 2002/008

These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Railroad Commission of Texas on June 23, August 9, and November 17, 1982; February 17, 1983; and September 18, 2001.

Processing Information

Processed by Paul Beck, April 1987

Rule 37 exhibits added by Laura K. Saegert, September 2003

DACS compliance by Laura K. Saegert, February 2009

Appraisal Information

These records were appraised as archival on March 16, 2001 as part of an agency wide appraisal of the Railroad Commission of Texas. This is one of 72 series appraised as archival. A copy of the report can be found online at http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/appraisal/rrc1.html, a paper copy is also available in the State Archives search room.

Other Formats for the Records

Microfilm of the special permit and Rule 37 case files exists at the Railroad Commission, including film for some years of original papers records held by the Archives.

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Detailed Description of the Records

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