Officials took the extraordinary step of taking on new debt to replace the old courthouse, which has been plagued by rats and other pests, elevator breakdowns and flooding.

Abandoned wells in the Permian Basin are increasingly erupting with briney, polluted water. The Texas Railroad Commission says it needs emergency money to respond.

While residents smelled rotten eggs, the state’s environmental agency said it has not detected any air pollution.

Experts warn that more blowouts should be expected unless oil and gas companies change their methods.

A company has long pursued the plan to move “high-level” nuclear waste from power plants across the nation to a storage facility in Andrews County.

The lawsuit claims federal regulators have undermined the Texas oil and gas industry by misusing environmental law, negatively impacting drilling and production.

Led by co-pastors Joe and Dawn Weaks, Connection Christian Church, a 118-year-old congregation in Odessa, has transformed while keeping true to its legacy of helping the community.

Under Javier Joven’s leadership, his critics say, the Odessa City Council has lost focus on municipal issues like roads and water infrastructure.

Before the pandemic, Ben Bilbrey worked with some of the largest oil companies. Now he’s waiting for the phone to ring.

Texas is producing so much natural gas right now companies are losing money.

An SMU study is the first scientific proof of a phenomenon local landowners have long warned was occurring.

The Odessa City Council approved the budget to replace nearly 200 water valves and 17,000 feet of pipe.

Truckers say they can wait up to 18 hours without pay to load or unload fracking sand. The drilling sites often lack restrooms.

The plans, which are required by the federal government to access certain grants after a natural disaster, are laborious to assemble — especially for rural counties.

Pecos County rancher Schuyler Wight says the Railroad Commission continues to plug wells. But each time they do, another one starts flowing.

One organization helping Texans pay their electric bills said the average household was $1,400 behind.

The dunes sagebrush lizard lives in the same West Texas land that supports the state’s biggest oil and gas fields, and industry leaders say the new designation will hurt drilling and production.

New Mexico’s State Land Office will withhold lease sales indefinitely on its most promising tracts for oil and gas development in the Permian Basin as it seeks approval by the state Legislature to increase top-tier royalty rates.

Martin Water is building an oil and gas waste recycling facility next to the Circle 6 Baptist Camp in the Permian Basin despite concerns about water and air pollution.

A nonprofit commissioned the report that found severe and fatal vehicle crashes in the Permian Basin far outpaced the state.

Diamondback Energy will attempt to buy rival Endeavor Energy Resources to create an energy giant in the Southwestern United States worth more than $50 billion.

Crude oil and natural gas extraction in Texas reached record levels in 2023, according to the industry’s annual report.

Called “upset” events, companies are required to tell the state when they emit pollution above what their permits allow.

Like local leaders in many other towns in West Texas, the Kermit City Council spent years saving its tax revenue fearing the energy economy would crash. Now it is struggling to keep up with essential services like trash and road repair.

Tim Dunn has used his wealth to establish a network of organizations that push his ultraconservative views across Texas. The deal comes amid a time of consolidation in the Permian Basin.

New Mexico is bracing for the possibility that a bonanza in oil income for the nation's No. 2 oil producing state will end if the world's thirst for oil falters.

The expansion, which will start with a smaller pilot in four high schools between Texas and New Mexico, is being paid for by the Permian Strategic Partnership, a group funded by major energy producers.

Fabian Maldonado has supported his Odessa family for years on his welding salary. Wanting more, he’s gambling that a mobile coffee trailer can withstand the booms and busts of the industry.

The West Texas ethos of low taxes and small government has been hard for school leaders to overcome. Voters have rejected bond issues in Midland and Odessa during the last decade.

Like many regions in Texas, the county jails and hospitals have been at capacity with people needing mental health help. Local leaders hope a new 200-bed facility will alleviate pressure.

An industry leader in the Permian Basin said the new report proves safety regulations are helping. Other observers say more data is needed to understand risks of extraction.

ERCOT is asking Texans to conserve electricity from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday as tight grid conditions are expected.

This is the third year businesses in the Permian Basin — known for high school football and oil fields — have participated in the University of Texas at Austin program. Students this year say they are seeing their hometowns in a new way.

The EPA last year announced aerial surveillance of “super-emitters.” At least one other company in New Mexico faced a similar fine.

When sizzling temperatures in June affected the air pressure in pipelines in West Texas, companies in five counties vented millions of pounds of natural gas and other toxins into the air.

Satellites, drones and airplanes equipped with infrared cameras will likely be the backbone of a new federal policy to fine the nation’s largest methane polluters.

Commenting on the EPA’s proposed new rule to reduce methane leaks nationally, environmentalists said Texas regulators are hesitant to address emissions of the climate super-pollutant.

The oil industry pushed hard against the proposal to issue an ozone nonattainment designation, which would have required that companies reduce oilfield emissions.

Oil and gas companies are increasingly reusing “produced water” as West Texas aquifers are being depleted and the practice of injecting wastewater into disposal wells triggers more earthquakes.

Oil and gas companies produce 3.8 billion barrels of wastewater per year in the arid Permian Basin. A state consortium is trying to figure out whether it can be reused.

The federal environment agency says it will continue flyovers of the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico until Aug. 15 using infrared cameras to survey oil and gas operations.

The Environmental Protection Agency says it will conduct helicopter overflights to look for methane “super emitters” in the nation’s largest oil and gas producing region.

We’re hiring reporters to cover the Panhandle/South Plains and East Texas, along with a regional editor. We hope to also place staff in the Rio Grande Valley and the Permian Basin.

Labor shortages, supply chain issues, hesitant financial backers and a frosty relationship with the Biden administration have limited how much Texas oil and gas companies are ramping up production.

The surge in seismic activity from increased underground pressure is shaking the West Texas ground and rattling longtime residents.

Energy experts said the production drop during a relatively ordinary cold front could be a bad sign for the grid if the state is struck by extreme winter weather again.

Texas-based ConocoPhillips bought Shell’s Permian Basin assets for $9.5 billion, its second major purchase in the oil-rich area over the last year.

A new United Nations report says cutting methane pollution is crucial to curbing dangerous climate change in the short term.

Greg Abbott visited the Permian Basin on Thursday and spoke out against President Joe Biden’s energy and environment policies. The latter move has proved particularly controversial within Texas, with four U.S. House Democrats from the state asking Biden to rescind it on Wednesday. Abbott called the order a "homework assignment" for every agency and threatened to fire agency leaders who do not go along with it. It was not immediately clear if there was already a bill filed with the Texas Legislature to achieve Abbott's goal. “To save Texas energy, we need to demand new leadership in this state that is honest, upfront with Texans, and embraces the future,” party spokesperson Abhi Rahman said in a statement.

ConocoPhillips is buying shale producer Concho Resources in an all-stock deal valued at $9.7 billion, making it a major presence in the Permian Basin, the top-producing oil field in the U.S. The deal comes as many oil producers are struggling to make ends meet. More than 200 oil producers have filed for bankruptcy protection in the past five years. ConocoPhillips had acreage in the Permian Basin, but it was small compared to the company's size, and the deal "gets them a premier position in the Permian,” LeBlanc said. The Permian basin stretches from the northern reaches of Texas across the New Mexico border.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed presidential permits for energy development during a tour of the Double Eagle Energy oil rig in Midland on Wednesday. Carlos Barria/REUTERSPresident Donald Trump sought to give a morale boost to the beleaguered Texas energy industry during a visit Wednesday to the Permian Basian, while also rallying oil-and-gas workers against Democrats ahead of the November election. "We were very close to losing a very powerful, great industry," Trump said, "and now we're back and we're just gonna keep expanding." While Texas officials welcomed Trump to Texas by endorsing his "support of Texas energy producers, the industry across the state has been harshly disrupted in 2020. The trip was Trump's 16th visit to Texas as president but first to the Midland-Odessa area, a Republican stronghold.