For an industry that influences more than a third of Texas’ economy, even small regulatory changes can have far-reaching consequences. For our oil and gas clients, those changes are first felt at the project level, where evolving requirements influence how energy projects are planned, permitted, and delivered.
Understanding the forces driving those changes can help project teams make more informed decisions and position projects for smoother approvals. And as one of the first disciplines involved in project development, surveyors are uniquely positioned to apply that understanding from the earliest stages.
That perspective doesn’t come from technical knowledge alone. It comes from a commitment to staying engaged with regulators, operators, permitting professionals, and environmental experts to better understand the issues affecting the industry. The best surveyors don’t just understand the land; they understand the policies, priorities, and relationships behind the regulations.
In an industry that affects so many aspects of life in Texas, we add value by understanding how policies, stakeholders, and industry trends influence one another and ultimately shape project outcomes.
In permitting, details matter. So does context.
As surveyors, we’re often among the first boots on the ground at a project site, creating the plats that lay the foundation for every decision and approval that follows. While we may not be the ones submitting the permit applications, we are responsible for one of the earliest deliverables in the regulatory process.
Successful projects hinge on accurate data, but we’ve seen through experience with various regulatory agencies that it isn’t just what data we provide, but how we present it that adds value. There are many ways we can deliver reliable data, but if it misaligns with the permit’s intent, it can slow approvals and lead to cascading delays throughout the project delivery.
In short, the details matter, they vary by permit, and they’re easy to overlook or misinterpret without a clear understanding of regulatory expectations. For us, that understanding comes from building strong relationships across the industry and maintaining an ongoing dialogue with both our clients and the agencies responsible for reviewing their projects. It’s one thing to understand the technical requirements; it’s another to be immersed in the conversations surrounding them from multiple perspectives.
Across the industry, operators are navigating an increasingly complex regulatory landscape—from complying with nuanced P-16 requirements to addressing evolving legislation around orphaned wells and produced water. As surveyors, we’re able to better support our clients from the very beginning, whether that means incorporating the right coordinate information, leveraging GIS tools to improve well location verification, or tailoring our deliverables to the “unwritten” permitting requirements.
Ultimately, we’re in a position to help connect the technical details with the broader context of the industry and regulatory environment. That’s where we consistently add value for our clients. By staying at the intersection of industry trends, regulatory expectations, and technical execution, we help clients stay ahead of change.
Many of those changes are being driven by a broader movement in industry priorities, particularly around environmental impacts and long-term resource management.
How environmental policy is shaping energy development
Understanding the regulatory process also means understanding what’s driving it. Across the industry, proactive environmental policies are an important part of the conversation—not as a competing priority to energy production, but as a driver of innovation, long-term resource management, and operational resilience. As ongoing research advances, challenges that were once viewed strictly as liabilities are increasingly being evaluated for their broader value and potential, while others are the focus of renewed efforts to reduce long-term environmental risk and strengthen accountability.
Produced water is a prime example. Long treated as a waste stream requiring disposal, it’s now being explored as a resource with impacts across industries. Ongoing research, pilot programs, and emerging policy discussions are focusing on technologies that could enable treated produced water to be reused in agricultural or industrial applications.
Orphaned wells have also garnered much attention throughout the industry. With more than 11,000 documented orphan wells in the state, the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) is accelerating well plugging programs and looking at ways to strengthen operator accountability, reducing the likelihood of new orphan wells in the future.
These are more than regulatory topics; both have broad implications for landowners, operators, environmental groups, and the future of energy development in Texas. Produced water has the potential to evolve from a disposal challenge into a valuable resource, while efforts to address orphaned wells reflect a broader commitment to responsible land and infrastructure management.
Together, these conversations reflect an industry focused on driving sustainable solutions for the future. As the policies and priorities surrounding them evolve, so will our role as surveyors and land development professionals. Staying engaged in these topics is how we keep in front of the emerging issues and deliver value in the years to come.
The ripple effect of Texas’ energy industry
One statistic puts the oil and gas industry’s influence into perspective: roughly 34 to 38 percent of Texas’ economy is tied to energy. The impact goes beyond well sites and pipelines to influence everything from manufacturing and transportation to hospitality, housing, agriculture, and countless other industries. When the energy sector grows, communities, businesses, and infrastructure grow alongside it.
For Texans, that statistic may not come as a shock, but it does reinforce why conversations around permitting, legislation, the environment, and emerging technologies matter. Every decision has a ripple effect. Every project presents new opportunities. And every connection, every relationship, helps us turn ideas into action for our clients.
By staying in the middle of an industry in constant motion, we’re staying engaged in the concerns, priorities, and opportunities shaping the future of energy development in Texas. We’re listening to concerns and challenges, asking questions, and building relationships with the people driving those conversations.
Those insights, and the connections behind them, will help us better support our clients from the earliest stages of projects. A project is only as strong as its foundation, and the foundation of every pipeline ties back to data and relationships.
