- Texas Ahead Energy Fact Sheet (PDF, 95KB)
- Comptroller’s Energy Report 2008
- Fiscal Notes Special Energy Issue 2008 (profiles options discussed in the Comptroller’s Energy Report)
- Energy Section of Comptroller’s Texas in Focus Report
- Governor’s Office Industry Overview
- Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Law (OGERL) Section of the State Bar of Texas
- Railroad Commission of Texas - Crude Oil & Natural Gas Division
- State Energy Conservation Office (SECO)
- Texas Oil & Gas Association
Energy
Reliable and affordable energy is the factor that, more than any other, lifted Texas to prominence in the world economy.
For much of the twentieth century, Texas’ economy was driven by the oil and gas industry. At the height of the oil boom of the early 1980s, the industry accounted for more than a quarter of the gross state product and of state government revenues. Though the state’s economy has diversified over the last 25 years, the industry is still important to our welfare, and has seen a recent resurgence due to rising oil and gas prices.
Today, the energy landscape is changing. Fortunately, Texas has an abundance of alternative fuel sources—and the human capital needed to tap them. Thanks to its history as a leading energy producer, Texas is blessed with an abundance of technical, legal, financial and research expertise that can be deployed to meet the challenges of providing energy for a growing population and economy.
- Texas is the nation’s largest consumer of energy, accounting for nearly 12 percent of all U.S. energy use, due to its large population, hot climate and its high concentration of energy-intensive manufacturing and refining industries.
- The state is also the nation’s largest producer of energy. Texas remains the nation’s largest producer of oil and gas (excluding federal offshore areas), accounting for 21.3 percent and 27.8 percent of total U.S. production, respectively.
- In 2006, the Texas energy industry employed nearly 375,000 people who earned more than $35 billion in total wages.
- Texas has nearly a quarter of total U.S. oil reserves, and almost a third of the nation’s of natural gas reserves. The Permian Basin of West Texas alone contains 21 of the nation’s 100 most productive oilfields.
- Texas’ 23 petroleum refineries account for more than a fourth of U.S. refining capacity.
- Texas also leads the nation in renewable energy potential. Texas has the most wind generation capacity among states, at 27 percent of the national total.
- Texas also is the nation’s largest producer of “biodiesel,” with a production capacity of 100 million gallons annually. In 2007, Texas made about 73 million gallons of biodiesel.