Barton bought stake in gas wells from lobbyist

DALLAS

Barton said at a hearing last month of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that he was “a small, small partner in a natural gas well in Johnson County in the Barnett Shale.” He later told a reporter that he couldn’t remember exactly how he obtained the interest.

Mize, who died in 2008, had urged Barton to create a federal oil and gas research program that was included in a 2005 energy law Barton wrote when he chaired the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Mize doesn’t appear to have ever directly benefited from the program’s funding.

An expert says lawmakers aren’t prohibited from going into business with campaign donors, but Barton’s interest could become controversial at a time when Congress is considering energy legislation that would boost the demand for natural gas.

Houston Chronicle