The Naked Truth: Texas Oil & Gas

How many Texans know what the Texas Railroad Commission does? How do you make people care about an important election with a funny, misleading name where the incumbent claims to be the “only Christian on the ballot”?

This is the question I asked myself in January, in the face of a crowded Republican primary race for the Texas Railroad Commission. So I took my clothes (mostly) off and climbed on top of a pumpjack for a 5 second TikTok “Super Bowl” ad. And it worked. While it cost me the endorsement of the San Antonio Express, I firmly believe it’s the sole reason there is a run-off at all. Now that I have all my clothes on, can we have an honest conversation about the actual challenges facing the oil and gas industry and the incumbent’s lack of qualifications?

The Texas Railroad Commission regulates oil and gas wells, intrastate pipelines, and surface mining. Despite its confusing name, it is one of the most powerful regulatory agencies in the world. It oversees the Texas oil and gas industry, which, if it were its own nation, would be the fourth-largest oil-producing nation in the world.

Three different commissioners each serve staggered, six-year terms. Like most statewide races in Texas, these commissioners are truly chosen in the Republican Primary, where they are subject to minimal media attention or scrutiny. Most contributions come from the oil and gas firms they regulate, which at best creates a large potential for conflict of interest, and at worst, leads to outright bribes.

The RRC alone makes decisions impacting state, national, and global economies, as well as the health and safety of ordinary Texans, daily. When an oil well blows out and contaminates the only drinking water for rural citizens, the RRC has exclusive regulatory authority. I moved onto a West Texas cattle ranch last summer and personally witnessed the RRC tell the landowner she was not allowed to contact Commission staff – that all communications must be made through the attorneys. I thought State attorneys were only adversarial to Texans in criminal cases. Apparently not. The RRC’s current leadership is openly hostile to everyday Texans. What happens to the 99% of Texans who cannot afford a massive legal battle when their groundwater is contaminated by grossly negligent oil companies? Whom do they call when the state regulators are complicit?

This brings me back to the semi-nude pumpjack publicity stunt. I have been an oil and gas attorney for fourteen years. I have represented primarily oil and gas operators in contract negotiations and litigation. And for years I have been calling attention to the problems facing this industry: earthquakes from produced water disposal, casing integrity and groundwater contamination, orphaned wells, and the ever-present threat of federal intervention, among others. I have no long-term political aspirations – I want to get in, bring transparency, competency, and trust back to the RRC, and then go back to my life as a mom and attorney.

Meanwhile, my opponent is a career politician who has never worked in the oil industry and fell into a Commissioner seat when he was redistricted out of a house seat. He has used his position for personal enrichment, where he was recently caught taking significant “campaign contributions” days after approving a permit application against the advice of RRC in-house experts.

I am an experienced oil and gas attorney with actual field experience. I am supervisor well control certified and understand the operational realities of exploring for and producing hydrocarbons. My supporters are out there getting their hands dirty every day in the Eagle Ford and Permian drilling and completing wells. My opponent’s supporters are sending six-figure campaign donations from the comfort of their California high-rise offices. And yet despite this clear contrast, I am the underdog, up against hundreds of thousands of fundraising dollars, and an entrenched establishment that likes its candidates simple and morally pliable.

The naked truth can be uncomfortable, but we are at a crossroads in this country and need leaders willing to step up, speak out, and stand up for what is right – especially when it’s difficult. I cannot be bought, bribed, or bullied. Texas will be Stronger with Stogner and I humbly ask for your vote in the Republican Primary on May 24th.

Sarah Stogner is an oil and gas lawyer based in Ward County, Texas. Her Republican Primary runoff election for Texas Railroad Commissioner is May 24, 2022. More information can be found at her website sarah4rrc.com.