Texas Regulator Closes Draft Gas-Winterization Loophole

Texas’s top oil and gas regulator voted Tuesday to more clearly define who’ll be at the top of the list to keep receiving electricity during severe winter weather, closing an earlier draft loophole that critics said would’ve let any operator pay just $150 to opt-out of expensive upgrades.

The Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry with what critics often contend is a light touch, unanimously voted to adopt rules breaking the state’s 131,000 leases that produce 28.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day into three categories. The strictest designation—dubbed “supercritical”—means that facility won’t be allowed to opt out of coming winterization requirements. That label is expected to apply to an assortment of pipelines, processing plants, storage terminals and more than 19,000 leases that produce more than 23 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, Commissioner Jim Wright said.