Texas Railroad Commission (RRC)
The state agency that regulates oil and gas in Texas — drilling permits, well status, spacing, and production reporting; other states use the OCC or NMOCD.
The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) is the state agency that regulates oil and gas production in Texas. Despite the name — a holdover from its origins regulating railroads — it issues drilling permits, sets spacing and density rules, tracks well status, enforces plugging requirements, and collects production reporting. Its records are the authoritative public source for Texas well and operator data. It is a Texas-only agency, not a national regulator.
Every major oil and gas state has an equivalent body, so the regulator's name varies. In Oklahoma it is the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC); in New Mexico it is the Oil Conservation Division (NMOCD) within the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD); North Dakota uses its Industrial Commission. These agencies set spacing, hear pooling applications, and enforce correlative rights in their states.
For a mineral owner, the RRC (or your state's counterpart) is the public window into your minerals: you can look up a well by API number, confirm the operator of record, check whether a well is active or plugged, and verify reported production that underlies your royalty.