- Williams Cos. (NYSE:WMB) is suing the Texas Railroad Commission over an exemption it says will give oil producers a "blank check" to flare off natural gas whenever doing so would be profitable.
- The regulator this summer gave EXCO Resources a two-year exemption from the state's prohibition on flaring for 130 wells the company said it would have to shut in if it were unable to flare the gas.
- WMB, which owns a gathering system that could service the wells by turning an existing valve, says the regulator was incorrect that flaring is necessary and that the decision effectively guarantees an exemption to any operator requesting one.
- WMB had a gathering contract with the previous owner of the wells at issue in the lawsuit, but the agreement ended in 2017, and WMB has yet to reach a gathering agreement with EXCO for the wells.