Texas Railroad Commission finalizes regulations on shallow geothermal injection wells
Houston, Texas (source: flickr/ Link576, creative commons)
Carlo Cariaga
25 Sep 2025
The Railroad Commission of Texas has finalized regulations that provide robust and streamlined permitting requirements for shallow geothermal injection wells.
The Railroad Commission of Texas (Texas RRC) has the regulations for shallow Class V geothermal reinjection wells is now operational and working, thus providing clarity on permitting, drilling, completion, operation, and plugging shallow closed-loop geothermal systems. The commission also reports that it is working on the regulations for deep Class V geothermal reinjection wells, and that it expects these to be ready by the first quarter of 2026.
As mandated by the Texas Natural Resources Code, “the exploration, development, and production of geothermal energy and associated resources on public and private land for the purpose of conservation and the protection of correlative rights” falls under the powers and duties of the Texas RCC. This gives them the authority to adopt rules as necessary to regulate, as well as issue permits for geothermal injection wells.
The published Class V geothermal reinjection well regulation, under Subchapter A of Chapter 6 of the State Regulations for the Texas RCC, allows for a “permit by rule” for shallow closed-loop geothermal injection wells. This greatly simplifies and streamlines the permitting process, giving developers greater confidence to move forward with planned projects.
The new regulation also provides an updated definition of a shallow closed-loop geothermal system as follows:
A closed-loop geothermal injection well, including all heat pumps and tubing, heat transfer fluids, and connections from the injection well to the infrastructure and the geothermal heat exchange system, that operates as a heat source or heat sink in concert with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system designed to heat or cool infrastructure. These systems are also called “ground source heat pump systems.” All energy used from this type of system is consumed by the onsite infrastructure and is not provided to an energy market.
RELATED: Texas lawmakers propose opening $5bn energy fund for geothermal
Source: The Railroad Commission of Texas
