Newsroom

Stay tuned for the most up-to-date information concerning breaking news on all new legislation, regulations, and events affecting the industry and the Permian Basin.

For additional industry news, check out PBPA's official publication, the Permian Basin Oil & Gas magazine.

PBPA joined a coalition of seven energy associations in a letter to Congressional leaders urging them to support the bipartisan agreement to raise the debt ceiling that includes some permitting reforms

May 30, 2023

Dear Speaker McCarthy, Senator Schumer, Representative Jeffries, and Senator McConnell:

We, the undersigned oil and natural gas trade associations, represent the hardworking men and women who produce 70% of our nation’s energy supply. We recognize America’s economic strength comes from a combination of our abundant natural resources and the innovators who convert them into the substantial energy that powers our modern lives. Thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and the willingness of our members to take enormous risks, our nation and others around the world benefit from life-sustaining energy that keeps people warm in the winter, gets them to work and school to better their lives, and puts food on the table. We are living longer thanks to the domestic oil and natural gas that provide the feedstock for thousands of products used every day, from anything with a computer chip to medicines that save millions of lives on a global scale.

Recognizing the human, economic, and strategic value of harnessing our nation’s energy, Congress has played a key role in creating the...

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PBPA Joins 42 Energy Trade Groups and Associations in Opposing NHTSA Administrator Nominee

May 3, 2023

The Honorable Maria Cantwell Chair

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

254 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Ted Cruz Ranking Member

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

512 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

Re: Opposition to the Nomination of Ann Carlson as Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Dear Chairwoman Cantwell and Ranking Member Cruz:

We are 43 associations representing millions of workers all across the country. We provide 70% of the nation’s energy that supports life-sustaining functions such as keeping Americans warm in the winter, getting them to work and school to better their lives, powering ICUs and medical devices, and delivering food to the dinner table. Oil and natural gas provide the feedstock for thousands of products used every day, from anything with a computer chip to fertilizer to feed the world. American oil and natural gas are developed under strict environmental controls...

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Industry, Texas sue over lesser prairie-chicken species rule

March 23, 2023

As seen in the Oil & Gas Journal

The Permian Basin Petroleum Association, five ranchers’ associations, and Texas have sued the Biden administration over the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) listing of the northern population of the lesser prairie-chicken as threatened and the southern population of the same species as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

The species, a kind of grouse scattered across five states, is found in oil and gas drilling areas and cattle grazing areas in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. The FWS, a part of the Interior Department, published its determinations Nov. 25.

The final rule violated Interior’s own policies for application of the Endangered Species Act, and violated the Administrative Procedure Act with arbitrary and unsubstantiated conclusions arbitrary population segments, according to the lawsuit by the petroleum...

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The Permian to Putin: The Oil Industry Reacts

April 4, 2022

The Permian to Putin: The Oil Industry Reacts | A One Question/Basin PBS Live Town Hall. Hosted by Becky Ferguson. Hear from local experts in the field on the effects of the was on the Permian Basin oil. Underwritten by Diamondback Energy. Sponsored by The Permian Basin Area Foundation.

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A Conversation with Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison, Sponsored by PBPA

April 6, 2022

Kay Bailey Hutchison is a household name for multiple generations of Texans. Between her 20-year tenure as a U.S. senator from Texas and her time as U.S. ambassador to NATO, just about everyone knows of her.

And while Hutchison has seen a lot in her career, she’s keeping a close eye on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. What’s her take on the war there, the future of NATO, and the United States’ place in it all?

Hear her speak on all this and more when you join The Texas Tribune at 4 p.m. Central on Wednesday, April 6, for a timely conversation with former NATO ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison.

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Shepperd: Permian Basin produces Global Security

September 22, 2019

As featured in the September 22, 2019 edition of the Midland Reporter-Telegram

As the entire world continues to seek answers for the coordinated terrorist attacks on Saudi oil facilities over the weekend, one thing is clearer than ever, and it is just how important the Permian Basin is during these times.

While not new, these terrorist attacks continue to threaten America and her allies around the globe. But this time, record production of domestic oil and natural gas, especially in our region, serve as a counterbalance to what would normally be a cause of great concern for our nation.

Today, because of the success of petroleum producers in the Permian Basin, there is not worldwide panic, there is not an immediate need to tap strategic reserves, and there is no threat of gasoline shortages for Americans preparing for their workdays.

At this time, it’s anticipated that this 5 million-barrel a day strike from production will have serious and lasting...

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Energy Security and Environmental Stewardship are not Mutually Exclusive

August 1, 2019

As featured in The Permian Basin Petroleum Association's official magazine, The Permian Basin Oil and Gas Magazine. (August 2019)

For too long, too many people have accepted the assumption that we have to choose between domestic energy production and environmental stewardship. While the Permian Basin Petroleum Association has never accepted this false dilemma, politicians and policy makers have chosen to act as though these were the only paths moving forward.

Thankfully today, more and more Americans are realizing this is not the case.

With record breaking oil and gas production in the Permian Basin, we are still anticipating a decrease in carbon emissions in the United States in 2019 and 2020 as we have seen in a historical trend since at least the year 2000. The abundance of oil and natural gas being produced in the Permian Basin and across the nation has encouraged the transition of energy generation to cleaner burning natural gas and we are now a net exporter of crude oil.

These impacts cannot be understated. With the...

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PBPA Effort Yields Results

August 28, 2018

Sunset Commission Unanimously Rejects DPS Proposal to Close License Offices

Austin, Texas-Today, the Texas Sunset Commission met in Austin and responsibly pushed back against a DPS proposal that would eliminate up to 87 Driver’s License offices across rural Texas, including the booming Permian Basin.

“Today, the Members of the Sunset Commission from across the state unanimously rejected the DPS proposal to close the offices in our region and across the state and I am very proud of the Legislature for listening to our concerns and the concerns of all Texans.” said PBPA President, Ben Shepperd.

This rejection will offer the Legislature guidance on how to proceed on this issue when the Texas Legislature convenes in January 2019.

He also added, “We are hopeful that our efforts, and the efforts of the public at large, to increase efficiency in other areas at DPS will continue and are thankful for the leadership of Chairman Birdwell, Vice-Chairman Paddie and Senators Buckingham, Hall, Nichols, and Watson as well as Representatives Flynn,...

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PBPA Opposes DPS Office Closures

August 24, 2018

Midland, Texas - Today, The Permian Basin Petroleum Association (PBPA) stated their opposition to a recommendation by the Texas Sunset Commission to close drivers license offices in the Permian Basin and across much of rural West Texas.

“We oppose the potential closing of drivers license offices in the Permian Basin because of the rapid growth of the oil and gas industry and the need for our member companies to be licensed as required by state law. The Permian Basin is the most prolific source of energy production in the United States and we cannot remove resources that are vital to the economic growth of the region and the state.”

PBPA works to effectively advocate for the growth, prosperity, and best interests of the Permian Basin petroleum industry,

“The hundreds of member companies and thousands of individuals that make up our association are also joined in these efforts by Permian leaders like Senator Charles Perry, Senator Kel Seliger, Representative Tom Craddick, Representative Drew Darby, and Representative Brooks Landgraf and we...

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PBPA v. DOI Decision

September 2, 2015

U.S. District Court Finds for PBPA, Vacates Lesser Prairie Chicken Listing

(MIDLAND, TEXAS) Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas granted summary judgment in favor of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association and vacated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) rule listing the Lesser Prairie Chicken (LPC) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In PBPA et al. v. Department of Interior et al, Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Junell concluded that the decision to list the LPC was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and that the agency failed to properly apply its Policy for Evaluation of Conservation Efforts When Making Listing Decisions (PECE Policy) to conservation efforts already undertaken on millions of acres across five states to improve habitat for and diminish threats to the LPC.

In response to the ruling, PBPA President, Ben Shepperd, issued the following statement: “The PBPA applauds Judge Junell’s decision in our suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the...

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