The Lone Star State’s oil and natural gas industry paid more than $14 billion in state and local taxes and state royalties in fiscal year 2018, according to new data released by the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA).

The amount taxes and royalties paid by oil and gas companies in Texas, where prolific shale plays such as the Permian Basin, Barnett and Eagle Ford are located, was up 27% from fiscal year 2017 and reached the second-highest total in Texas history.

“Last year alone, the Texas oil and natural gas industry paid the equivalent of $38 million a day to fund our schools, roads, universities and first responders,” Todd Staples, president of TXOGA, said in a statement. “More tax and royalty revenue from the oil and natural gas industry means our lawmakers have more to work with to meet the needs of our growing state.”

In fiscal year 2018, Texas school districts received $1.24 billion in property taxes from mineral properties producing oil and natural gas, pipelines, and gas utilities. Counties received $366.5 million in oil and natural gas mineral property taxes.

State royalties paid by the oil and natural gas industry in fiscal year 2018 increased 18% to a total of $2 billion, money that is used to capitalize the Permanent School Fund (PSF), which benefits the public schools of Texas, and the Permanent University Fund (PUF), which benefits public higher education in Texas. Oil and natural gas royalties constitute the only substantive new money deposited annually to the PSF and PUF, according to Staples.

“What’s remarkable to me is that the Texas Permanent School Fund, seldom recognized outside of Texas, leads the pack among ALL educational endowments in the country,” he said. “With a balance of $44 billion at the end of fiscal year 2018, the PSF is the largest educational endowment in the nation—bigger than Harvard University’s endowment worth $39.2 billion.”

Staples also noted that in addition to taxes and royalties, Texas oil and natural gas companies has been investing billions in advanced technologies that are protecting and improving our environment. U.S. CO₂ emissions are near 20-year lows and methane emissions from oil and natural gas systems are down 14% since 1990—all while production has skyrocketed, according to a release from TXOGA.

“Proof that we can grow our economy, protect the environment and enhance our energy security at the same time,” he said.

TXOGA is a statewide trade association with roughly 5,000 members representing every facet of the Texas oil and gas industry including small independents and major producers. Collectively, TXOGA members account for over 90% of all oil and natural gas produced in Texas, they operate a vast majority of the state’s pipeline mileage and gas processing capacity, and they are responsible for a preponderance of the state’s refining capacity.

In 2019, the association is celebrating its centennial year, Staples noted in the TXOGA release on Feb. 13.

“As we celebrate 100 years of oil and natural gas, we are proud to report that the Texas oil and natural gas industry has paid $133 billion in state and local taxes and state royalties, just since 2007,” he said.