We prepare and file the recurring Railroad Commission reports a Texas operator owes.
Six recurring forms: P-18 and the monthly production report, H-10 and P-5 with your financial assurance each year, H-5 on its test cycle, and W-3X at P-5 renewal. In a small company one person usually handles all of it, and that person is usually the owner. We begin with the P-18 and add the other forms from there.
Five forms went portal-only on September 1, 2026. The work before the filing did not change.
P-18, PR, P-5, W-3C and W-3X are portal filings now, with no paper option behind them. Each one still starts the same way: pulling run tickets, hauler statements and meter readings, tying the volumes out, and keying the result into a system that validates every entry before it will accept the report. The filing got faster. The work that has to happen first did not.
AllocationEvery recovered barrel is traced back to the property whose water produced it.
These six filings are
the whole practice here.
Larger firms offer them alongside permitting, land work and environmental consulting. We do not do those things. The recurring Commission calendar for a small operator is the work we take, and it is the only work we take.
EfficiencyAll six recurring forms
A firm that takes only the P-18 leaves you the PR, the H-10, the P-5 renewal, the H-5 test cycle and the W-3X. You would still be tracking four schedules and answering the correspondence on each of them. We take the full recurring set, on all four of its schedules.
P-18 · PR · H-10 · P-5 · H-5 · W-3X
AccuracyOne reconciled set of volumes
The P-18, the production report and the H-10 all draw on the same underlying numbers: what fluid came in, where it went, and what oil was recovered from it. We reconcile those volumes once, from your run tickets and meter readings, and prepare each form from that same reconciled set.
Volumes tied out before anything is filed
CostSized for one or two facilities
The Commission’s own P-18 filing data shows the median operator on that list runs two facilities, and 47.8% run exactly one. That is the size of operation this is priced and staffed for. Nothing here asks you to buy software or run an onboarding project.
Flat per facility · no retainerA person does the work, not software.
Emergent is two people. One of us reconciles your volumes, prepares each form and signs the filing, and the same person answers when the Commission writes back. We use software on our own side to keep six forms and their due dates straight. It does not sign anything and it does not speak for you.
What the monthly filing costs you now.
Set the three sliders to what this work actually takes in your company. The result is your own arithmetic: the hours these filings consume in a year, and what those hours cost at the rate you enter.
These are your numbers, not ours. Set the sliders to what the work actually takes you. We have not published an average because we do not have one worth quoting yet.
On the figures you entered, the range works out to $11,232–$14,040 a year. It is an estimate from your own inputs, not a quote and not a result we are claiming.
Estimate based on your inputs. The free review returns a firm, flat per-facility quote.
Three things that go wrong
with recurring filings.
A returned filing blocks the next one
One late or rejected P-18 is not fatal by itself. The sequencing is what hurts: your monthly P-18 cannot be started until the previous submission is approved, so a single stuck filing puts every month behind it. As the RRC moves more forms into LoneSTAR, cross-form checks such as matching your P-18 volumes against your H-10 are expected to follow. We keep the filings consistent with each other so those checks return nothing.
Untraced barrels are credited to another operator
Statewide Rule 56 turns on whether a recovered barrel can be traced to its source. Volumes that cannot are allocated back to the producing properties in proportion to the water each one sent you, and that property’s operator reports them as its own production on Form PR. Nothing is seized and nothing is held back. The barrel is reported as somebody else’s production, which is why the source records matter more than the total.
The filing calendar competes with the field
You are running trucks, tanks and a disposal schedule, and the filing dates land in the middle of it. Reading rule changes and portal notices is a separate job from the one you are doing. Send the run tickets and meter readings and we prepare each report, tie the volumes to your own records, and file it on the date it is due.
A monthly compliance machine,
run for you.
Historical review
We pull every P-18 you’ve filed, rebuild the fluid ledger barrel by barrel, and surface the mismatches before the Commission does.
Reconcile & clear
Imbalances corrected, amended filings drafted, and flagged or pending reports worked directly with RRC staff until the account is clean.
File and follow through
Your monthly filings submitted on time, volumes checked against your meter tickets, and whatever the Commission sends back worked until it is cleared.
Carry the calendar
P-18 and PR every month, H-10 and P-5 with financial assurance every year, H-5 on its test cycle. We track what is due and when, so you are not the one remembering it.
The standardEvery number tied out against your own tickets before it ever leaves our desk.
The monthly cycle,
from your data to the filed report.
After a one-time setup, your monthly filings run on our calendar instead of yours. Each month you do exactly two things: send your numbers and approve the finished reports. We carry the allocation, the filing, and the letters.
- We handle it
We ask for the month’s data
On the first of each month we email you for that period’s volumes, so a filing deadline is never yours to track.
- Your turn
You send your numbers
Attach your data in whatever format your system already exports. No templates, no reformatting, no portal to learn.
- We handle it
We build your filings
We allocate every barrel, reconcile the fluids, and prepare each report, and quietly resolve any discrepancies on your behalf.
- Your turn
You review & approve
We email the finalized reports. You look them over and give the green light. Your approval is all it takes.
- We handle it
We file & notify
We submit each filing in the system that takes it, LoneSTAR or RRC Online, on your behalf, and send skim allocation letters to every required party.
Two of the five steps are yours: sending the volumes and approving the finished reports.
Two touches a month. We carry the allocation, the filing, and the letters, and catch the discrepancies before they ever reach your desk.
Get started todayThe P-18, straight.
Everything you need from the Commission, in one place, plus the questions operators ask us most.
Official Railroad Commission of Texas resources. Emergent Environmental is not affiliated with the Railroad Commission of Texas.
What is RRC Form P-18?
Form P-18, the Skim Oil/Condensate Report, is the Texas Railroad Commission filing for facilities where skim liquid hydrocarbons (oil or condensate) are recovered and then sold or disposed. It documents the water received, the skim oil recovered, and the volume disposed for each reporting period.
Full guide: What is Form P-18?Who has to file a P-18?
Operators of saltwater disposal (SWD) and water-gathering facilities that recover and sell or dispose of skim oil or condensate. If your facility skims hydrocarbons off the water it handles, the Commission expects a P-18.
Full guide: Who must file a P-18?When is the P-18 due?
The Skim Oil/Condensate Report is filed monthly through the RRC LoneSTAR portal, due by the 15th of the month following the reporting period. You can confirm the requirement in the official P-18 instructions linked above.
Full guide: P-18 deadlines and penaltiesCan I still file the P-18 on paper?
No. Effective September 1, 2026, the Railroad Commission no longer accepts hardcopy P-18s; the monthly report must be filed electronically through LoneSTAR. The one exception: corrections to reports originally filed in the legacy system still go to the Production Audit Department on paper.
Full guide: How to file in LoneSTARWhat happens if a P-18 is late or does not reconcile?
Filings that are late, or whose fluid balance does not reconcile to the barrel, can trigger manual review or come back returned until corrected, and the next monthly P-18 cannot be started until the previous one is approved. As the Commission moves more of its forms into LoneSTAR, cross-form checks, like matching P-18 volumes against the H-10, are expected to follow. A pattern of problems strains your standing with the Commission; clean, on-time, reconciled filings keep your account clear.
Full guide: P-18 deadlines and penaltiesWhat is skim oil or condensate?
Skim oil and condensate are the liquid hydrocarbons recovered, or skimmed, from the water a disposal or gathering facility handles. Because they carry value and must be traced to a producing source, the State tracks them on the P-18.
Full guide: P-18 glossaryDo you file the P-18 on my behalf?
Yes, on your sign-off. You send us your monthly volumes; we allocate every barrel, reconcile the fluids, and prepare the report, then submit it to the Commission through LoneSTAR once you approve it. We also send the required skim allocation letters. Your approval is the green light.
Full guide: How to file in LoneSTARWhat does Emergent cost?
Flat, per-facility pricing with no retainers. We start with a free historical review of your trailing P-18 filings, so you see exactly where you stand before deciding anything.
Find out what the Commission already sees.
Your P-18 history is public record, which means your imbalances are too. We run the full reconstruction at no cost, walk you through every flag, and give you a firm quote to prepare and file them for you.