Railroad Commission of Texas issues record number of oil drilling permits

Oil Field
Photo credit Jasmin Pawlowicz/Getty Images

The Railroad Commission of Texas issued more than a thousand drilling permits in March. That's an all-time record and Todd Staples, the President of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, says that's good news.

"It's sending the signal that industry is responding. Our rig count is up about 60 percent from the previous year," Staples said. "In fact, just the last week of March - the rig count -we had 25 added in the nation, and 20 of those was right here in the state of Texas."

Staples is calling this a step in the right direction but adds the Fed needs to reset American energy policy to open up more growth in the industry.

The increase in drilling permits likely won't affect oil prices - at least not in the short term.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Jasmin Pawlowicz/Getty Images