Jon Rosenthal names Railroad Commission transition team, priorities in first address

Subscribe to The Y’all — a weekly dispatch about the people, places and policies defining Texas, produced by Texas Tribune journalists living in communities across the state.

Texas Railroad Commissioner-elect Jon Rosenthal will push to double the agency’s half-billion-dollar budget, raise employee wages, streamline permitting for responsible operators and ramp up oil and gas production, the Democrat said Friday.

At his first news conference as railroad commissioner in Midland, Rosenthal, formerly a four-term Cypress legislator, said he wanted to work hand in hand with oil companies to plug thousands of orphan oil and gas wells with no owner, and aid the agency’s roughly 1,100 employees.

“I don’t think it would be fair of me to lay a bunch of extra work on an already overworked workforce,” Rosenthal, who was an oil field engineer for 25 years, said.

He added that he’d commit to making the work of shutting thousands of derelict oil and gas wells, known as orphan wells, less expensive and faster.

“I personally believe most of our operators want to do the right thing and want to play by the rules, want to make the money and still be good stewards of the environment,” Rosenthal said.“I’m sure major operators will agree with me.”

The remarks were the first indications of how Rosenthal would govern as the first Democratic oil and gas commissioner in more than three decades. Rosenthal defeated Republican Bo French in a heated election in which the Democrat was outraised and outspent, while facing denunciations that he would threaten the oil and gas industry.

Rosenthal responded by running a campaign focused on the railroad commissioner job, barnstorming across the state and teaching lessons in tow about the agency’s responsibilities. Rarely did the Democrat address culture war issues, which his opponent, French, made the cornerstone of his campaign.

Rosenthal delivered remarks in Midland, a city in the capital of oil and gas production — the Permian Basin — which last year delivered nearly half of the nation’s oil supply.

At the Petroleum Club in Midland, Rosenthal pledged bipartisanship, starting with his transition team, which includes former Republican Railroad Commissioner Barry Smitherman. Sitting Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright, whom Rosenthal will replace in January, will serve in an advisory capacity during the transition.

“My goal is to help this commission be more effective and transparent,” Rosenthal said. “We’re going to put Texans first, responsibly managing resources, keeping our Texas economy strong, improving our infrastructure, and to … the folks that may not yet understand the role that Texas energy plays. Oil and gas here is not just the backbone of the Texas economy and the driver of the Texas miracle. It’s the heart of our energy infrastructure.”