Energy & Minerals Press Releases
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Land Commissioner debunks energy rumors at Congressional hearing
April 26, 2013(WASHINGTON)—Tap water catching on fire due to so-called “fracking-contaminated groundwater” were among several wild tales the Texas Land Commissioner rebutted last week before a Congressional committee. Commissioner Jerry Patterson dispelled several urban myths and laid out the facts about ...more
Oil and gas lease sale earns $9.2 million for Texas schools
April 02, 2013(AUSTIN)—Oil and gas exploration on state lands earned Texas schools more than $9.2 million today at the quarterly Permanent School Fund lease sale. Private oil companies competitively bid more than $11.5 million to explore for oil and gas on land owned by the state. Permanent School Fund tracts o...more
Federal reptile dysfunction defeated
June 13, 2012(AUSTIN)—- Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson today claimed victory in an initial battle after U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced federal bureaucrats will not list the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species. "Texans stood up and were heard," Patterson said...more
TEXAS LAND COMMISSIONER AND CEMEX RESOLVE EL PASO MINERAL RIGHTS DISPUTE
February 28, 2012(AUSTIN)—Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, the Texas General Land Office and CEMEX are pleased to announce a resolution of recent litigation that provides income to the Texas Permanent School Fund from CEMEX's future mining operations at McKelligon Canyon quarry. Current operations...more
Federal reptile dysfunction delayed
December 01, 2011(AUSTIN )—Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson today commended the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to call for more data before making any decision to list the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species. Listing the lizard could threaten continued exploration and production of one...more
Keynote speakers set for U.S.-Mexico Border Energy Forum in El Paso
October 24, 2011(Austin)—Keynote speakers at this week’s U.S.-Mexico Border Energy Forum will include distinguished business and government leaders from both sides of the border. All 10 U.S. and Mexican states along the border are represented at the forum, which takes place Oct. 27-28 at the El Paso Convention Ce...more
Patterson wins huge lawsuit against CEMEX
September 02, 2011(AUSTIN)—The schoolchildren of Texas today a won huge appeal against CEMEX over the ownership of building materials mined from Permanent School Fund lands. Damages in the case could be worth more than half a billion dollars. Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson took CEMEX to court in ...more
State and corporate leaders to meet in El Paso for U.S.-Mexico Border Energy Forum
August 24, 2011(AUSTIN)—Top business leaders will meet with government officials from all ten border states to plan for the future during the U.S.-Mexico Border Energy Forum at the El Paso Convention Center Oct. 27-28. This year's forum - the 18th annual - will be bigger than ever, coinciding with the Re-Energiz...more
Texas school kids earn more than ever from oil and gas in 2011
July 19, 2011(AUSTIN)—Oil and gas exploration from West Texas' Permanent School Fund lands is earning the school kids of Texas more than ever in 2011. Private oil and gas companies today paid $9.3 million just for the right to explore on land owned by the state's Permanent School Fund, which helps pay for the ...more
Oil and gas lease sale shatters previous Permanent School Fund record
April 05, 2011(AUSTIN)—Competition for oil and gas leases on Permanent School Fund lands in West Texas earned more than $108 million Tuesday for the Permanent School Fund, a total that’s more than twice the previous record set in 1979. “This is an all-time record, $108 million just for the right to ex...more
Patterson welcomes President Obama’s offshore wind start
October 08, 2010(AUSTIN)—Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson drew attention to the Obama Administration's belated entry into the offshore wind race today after U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed the nation's ninth lease for the development of offshore wind power with much fanfare. Patterson signed the...more
New interest in old west Texas fields keeps bids high
October 05, 2010(AUSTIN)—A continued surge of interest in West Texas exploration kept the average per acre bid high today at a regular Permanent School Fund oil and gas lease sale, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson announced today. "The average bids today were the second highest we've ever seen for oil and...more
17th Annual Border Energy Forum to be held in Chihuahua, Chih.
September 29, 2010(AUSTIN)—Government and private sector leaders from the U.S.-Mexico border region will gather in Chihuahua, capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua, for the 17th annual Border Energy Forum on September 30 and October 1. This year's forum - always held in a border state - will focus on ...more
Patterson: Record lease sale good for Texas education
September 22, 2010(AUSTIN)—Jerry Patterson, chairman of the Permanent University Fund's Board for Lease of University Lands, announced the results of a record oil and gas lease sale in Midland today: $207 million. "Today's lease sale was a jaw-dropper," Patterson said. "The $207 million brought in today for the Per...more
17th Annual Border Energy Forum to be held in Chihuahua, Chih.
August 18, 2010(AUSTIN)—Government and private sector leaders from the U.S.-Mexico border region will gather in Chihuahua, capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua, for the 17th annual Border Energy Forum on September 30 and October 1. This year's forum - always held in a border state - will focus on ...more