As part of the response to Winter Storm Uri, the Texas State Legislature passed SB3 and the Railroad Commission of Texas has finalized rules regarding weather emergency preparedness standards for natural gas facilities, including pipelines and related midstream infrastructure. TPA has been working diligently with these and other regulatory entities to ensure the integrity of […]

Wondering how the midstream industry operates in Texas? The industry follows well-established and fundamental legal principles in all commercial dealings, including during extreme weather events. Read more here in an Op Ed published by the Midland Reporter-Telegram.

Shay Bluntzer was reelected Chairman of the Texas Pipeline Association on January 14, 2022. Read more here.

Since a similar (but smaller scale) winter storm hit Texas in 2011, “midstream companies had begun hardening their facilities, implementing heat tracing and applying heating elements and wraps to valves and controls that might freeze. More enclosures around controls have been built since February, and back-up generators, including some that run on diesel, have been […]

Gas pipelines do not freeze because they are “naturally insulated” by being buried underground. In addition, natural gas itself does not freeze (it takes temperatures below -297 degrees Fahrenheit to freeze natural gas). Learn more in this link to an article that was published in the Austin American-Statesman.  

SB 3 creates a new regulatory structure in response to Winter Storm Uri that mandates the creation of new entities, such as the Texas Energy Reliability Council and the Texas Electricity Supply Chain Security and Mapping Committee. TPA is working closely with state agencies to submit comments on the proposed rules to ensure the safe, […]

Emissions are falling; learn why in the Texas Methane & Flaring Coalition’s inaugural Methane & Emissions Report.  Read more here

In June, the 87th Texas Legislature passed sweeping new legislation that will help avert some of the deadly power outages that Texans had to endure as a result of Winter Storm Uri in February. Texas pipeline companies are now working diligently with the RRC, the PUCT and all stakeholders to enact the mandates of SB […]

Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, spent years negotiating with industry groups to get new regulations placed on the chemical industry after the ITC fire in 2019.  The bill passed both chambers, but small changes need to be ironed out before it is sent to Gov. Greg Abbott. Read more here

Shay Bluntzer elected Chairman of the Texas Pipeline Association on January 8, 2021.  Read more here.