With the onset of unconventional technology and hydraulic fracturing, Texas is, figuratively speaking, engaged in producing a sequel to the film

Giant. Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean may not be around any longer, but the rugged terrain and the footprint of oil are omnipresent.

Yet, the state that claims the Permian Basin and the Eagle Ford and Barnett plays is mired in a technology that is almost two decades old. The state’s ability to process permits and document drilling is as flat as the Texas prairie.

The Texas Railroad Commission, the agency that rides herd over the oil and gas industry in the state, is struggling to keep up with producers’ drilling reports and residents’ demands to access information about wells and pipelines.

Consider what David Porter, a commissioner of the agency, had to say in October at Hart Energy’s DUG Eagle Ford conference in San Antonio. “Our IT system is so old and so antiquated. That’s one of the things I hope we are going to improve in the next few years.”

He continued: “Quite frankly, the biggest problem that we’ve got at the Railroad Commission is the IT system. We’re probably stuck somewhere in the mid-1990s as far as technology and software are concerned. It’s not acceptable. We’ve got to improve that.”

Finally, after years of needing to reboot, the Railroad Commission may be gaining some momentum.

The Railroad Commission hopes that it has found a ringer in Milton Rister, who was hired as executive director on September 11. Rister comes from the governor’s office, where he served as director of administration since 2010. Before working for Gov. Rick Perry, Rister was the executive director for the Texas Legislative Council.

“Rister has a background in modernizing a couple of large government agencies as far as their IT system goes,” Porter said. “It’s one of the main reasons we hired him to be the new executive director.”

On December 3, the Railroad Commission appointed Brandon Harris as chief information officer of the agency’s Information Technology Division. His chief objective is to “help oversee efforts to increase efficiencies through new technology initiatives,” according to a Railroad Commission news release.

More specifically, Harris will be charged with the task of placing all of the agency’s regulatory forms online. “Currently, oil and gas operators can file many forms, such as drilling permits, production reports and well completions, online. But there are many other forms that the commission plans to move online to help reduce its reliance on paper mailings and manual data entry,” the news release said.

Paper mailings and manual data entry? That’s a stout clue that the land of Bick Benedict and Jett Rink is struggling in the world of oil and gas information technology.

In a 2011 letter to the Texas Legislature that requested $2.9 million in additional funding, the Railroad Commission documented an example of inefficiency created by the technological void. Because of a lack of an online reporting system, operators that are required to test their wells and report the findings have no recourse but to mail in the results. Then, Railroad Commission staff members have to process the records, which are upward of 180,000 annually. Finally, employees “key in one record at a time” into the agency’s computer system.

Here’s a more forward-thinking vision that the agency outlined in its letter:

A major reduction of paper processing resulting from e-filings and electronic notifications would substantially reduce the Railroad Commission’s paper, postage and staff key-entry costs.

Online filing would speed up the approval process. Furthermore, errors associated with manually filing paper forms would be reduced.

Filing forms online or through an improved electronic data interchange process would allow filing status to be monitored online, and that would increase customer satisfaction.

Railroad Commission management would be provided with enhanced query and tracking features that would allow them to monitor and track operator filing patterns.

The public would have access to the well-test data.

The Railroad Commission’s request for more funding will be considered during the next legislative session, which begins this month. Without question, the Legislature’s decision will determine if the Railroad Commission can, finally, begin to deal with this giant problem.