Articles by Carlos Nogueras Ramos, The Texas Tribune and Alejandra Martinez, The Texas Tribune

West Texas Town Endures Another Well Blowout, Putting Residents at Risk

TOYAH — After a restless night of sleep, Elida Machuca texted her neighbor, searching for answers. The air around her house in this West Texas town stunk of rotten eggs. “Last night, about 1 a.m., it was so bad we …

Study Links Fracking Wastewater Injection to Surface Blowouts in West Texas Oil Wells

Fracking wastewater, injected underground for permanent disposal, traveled 12 miles through geological faults before bursting to the surface through a previously plugged West Texas oil well in 2022, according to a new study from Southern Methodist University. It’s the first …

Oil and Gas Power Lines Suspected of Causing Texas Panhandle Wildfires

When a spate of wildfires tore across the Texas Panhandle in February and scorched 20,000 acres of Craig Cowden’s ranch near Skellytown, he decided he had had enough. Cowden took on a second unofficial job: looking for possible fire hazards …

West Texas Truckers Protest Low Wages, Working Conditions

MONAHANS — Low wages and working conditions that truck drivers describe as degrading have sparked an organized labor movement in the Permian Basin, a historic first for the nation’s busiest oil field. About a dozen truckers and local environmental activists …

Tainted Water Flowed to These Texans’ Homes for Three Years. No One Told Them.

MIDLAND COUNTY — Leslie Borrego lives in a modest house south of the city limits, built 24 years ago by her late husband Raúl, who died unexpectedly from an aneurysm four years ago. The walls, decorated with framed portraits of …

Firefighters Race to Subdue Texas Wildfire Before Dangerous Weekend Conditions

FRITCH — A blanket of snow and rain that descended over the Texas Panhandle on Thursday helped firefighters to quell the spread of the largest wildfire in the state’s history, which has engulfed more than 1 million acres of land …

West Texas Has More Fatal Crashes Than State Average, Report Finds

ODESSA — Severe and fatal vehicle crashes occur at a higher rate in the Permian Basin than the rest of Texas, a new report released Wednesday by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute found. Commissioned by the Permian Road Safety Coalition, …

Texas Regulators Suspend Well Permits to Address Rising Earthquake Frequency

The state’s oil and gas regulatory agency last month suspended nearly two dozen permits that let companies inject saltwater water into the ground, a routine industry practice that regulators said has contributed to the rising frequency and magnitude of earthquakes …