Running an oilfield service company from Laredo: what does Webb County change?

Laredo is the Webb County seat, in the southwestern part of the county at the intersection of U.S. Highway 59 and Interstate 35.

For oil and gas, Webb County is RRC District 4, served from the Railroad Commission office at 10320 I-37 in Corpus Christi. That surprises some contractors, because the counties next door, La Salle and Dimmit, are District 1 and are handled from San Antonio.

For state roads, Webb is the home of TxDOT's Laredo district, which also covers La Salle, Dimmit, Zavala, Maverick, Duval, Kinney and Val Verde.

If your crews work on both sides of the Webb and La Salle line, you may deal with two RRC district offices in a single week.

Webb County's oil and gas history is older than the Eagle Ford. Gas was found in 1908, the first producing oil well came in 1921, and in 1989 Webb County was first in Texas in natural gas production.

Webb is also on the RRC's list of 27 Eagle Ford counties.

The USGS assessed tight sandstone reservoirs across South Texas in 2025, covering the Olmos, San Miguel and Escondido formations in an area that runs from the San Marcos Arch to the U.S.-Mexico border and includes the Maverick Basin. It identified the Eagle Ford as the main source rock for those formations.

For a contractor, a gas-heavy county means more work around compression, gathering lines, separators and produced water, and MSAs that may come from gas gatherers as well as producers. Read who the "Company Group" is in each one. See what does Company Group mean in an MSA.

Laredo is a major gateway to Mexico, and trucking has long been one of its leading industries. For an oilfield contractor that means sharing I-35 and US 59 with heavy freight traffic.

Insurance points to settle:

• Auto limits and umbrella. TxDMV's minimum for vehicles over 26,000 pounds is $500,000. Operator MSAs commonly ask for $1,000,000 plus umbrella. In TxDOT's April 2012 energy-sector presentation, the Laredo district had one of the two largest immediate road expenditures listed, $10,357,710.
• Crossing into Mexico. Don't assume your Texas auto, GL or workers' comp follows a truck or an employee across the border. If anyone on your payroll will work or drive in Mexico, tell your agent first.
• Permits. Oversize and overweight loads need TxDMV permits through TxPROS. Keep them consistent with your auto schedule.

See oilfield auto insurance and MCS-90.

FEMA records show Webb County as a designated area for public assistance under the Hurricane Beryl major disaster (DR-4798, incident period July 5 to 9, 2024), and in the 2020 Hurricane Hanna emergency declaration and the July 2026 Texas Flooding emergency declaration (EM-3649).

Laredo is not on the coast, but Gulf storms move inland. Confirm flood on your equipment floater at your yard, carry comprehensive on parked units, and know your property policy's wind deductible. See oilfield equipment insurance.

Send the insurance and indemnity sections of each MSA, noting which county each job is in. Add your certificates, auto schedule, and any compliance platform rejection notice. Tell us if anyone works or drives in Mexico.

All Webb County work is Texas work, so Chapter 127 governs the indemnity. We check limits against what each MSA requires and flag gaps. Your attorney reviews the contract, and a licensed insurance specialist walks you through what we find.