Texas Oil and Gas Association


The Texas Oil and Gas Association is a industry group representing the petroleum and natural gas industries in Texas. Texas is the biggest producer of fossil fuels in the United States, account for 41% of crude oil production, 25% of natural gas, and 31% of refining capacity. The Texas Oil and Gas Association documented 428,234 Texans employed in the industry in 2019, resulting in over $16 billion in state and local taxes.
Formed in 1919, the association had 5000 members as of 2020.

Positions

Climate change

An April 2020 statement by head Todd Staples acknowledging the existence of global warming and the fossil fuel industry's role in solicited commentary by multiple media outlets. This is a suprising reversal for Staples, who was previously part of coalitions attempting to interfere with greenhous gas regulation. The local public radio station KUT attributed to this change in position to an attempt to stay in line with American Petroleum Institute attempts to focus on Carbon capture and storage instead of climate change mitigation practices which shift away from a petroleum economy.