JOHN L. HILL 

Attorney General 

The Attorney General of Texas 

December 21, 1978 

Honorable Wilson E. Speir, Director. 

Texas Department of Public Safety 

5805 N. Lamar Blvd. 

Austin, Texas 79773 

Opinion No. H- 12 9 9 

Re: Whether certain materials 

constitute oil field equipment for 

purposes of article 9llb, section 

l(i), V.T.C.S. 

Dear Mr. Speir: 

You ask whether the term “oil field equipment,” as it appears in the 

Motor Carrier Act, V.T.C.S. article 9llb, includes caliche, sand, gravel, 

cement, reinforcing steel for bridges and culverts, lumber for forms, road 

beds and fencing, or other road building materials used to construct and 

maintain a road upon an oil and gas lease or a drilling pad located at a well 

site. Article 9llb provides for the licensing of specialized motor carriers, 

defined in part as follows: 

(i) ‘Specialized motor carrier’ means any person 

owning, controlling, managing, operating, or causing to 

be operated any motor-propelled vehicle used in 

transporting, over any public highway in this state, 

over irregular routes on irregular schedules, for compensation and for the general public with specialized 

equipment, property requiring specialized equipment in 

the transportation and handling thereof. . . . 

For the purpose of this Act, the term ‘specialized 

equipment’ includes, but is not limited to block and 

tackle, hoists, cranes, windlasses, gin poles, winches, 

special motor vehicles, and such other devices as are 

necessary for the safe and proper loading or unloading 

of property requiring specialized equipment for the 

transportation and handling thereof. 

For the purpose of this Act, the term ‘property 

requiring specialized equipment’ is limited to (1) oil 

field equipment. . . . 

p. 5117 
Honorable Wilson E. Speir - Page 2 (H-1299) 

For the purpose of this Act, the term ‘oil field equipment’ 

means and includes machinery, materiels, and equipment 

incidental to or used in the construction, operation, end 

maintenance of facilities which are used for the discovery, 

production, and processing of natural gas and petroleum, and 

such machinery, materials, end equipment when used in the 

construction and maintenance of pipelines. 

Sec. l(i). 

Thus, oil field equipment requires specialized equipment to transport end 

handle, see Attorney General Opinion O-6916 (19451, end includes machinery, 

materials, and equipment incidental to or used in the construction, operation, and 

maintenance end processing of oil and gas. This definition of oil field equipment 

covers a wide variety of items, so long es they are used in the ways stated by the 

statute. Attorney General Opinion S-104 (1953) determined that sand end hydrated 

lime constitute “oil field equipment” as defined by article 9llb, section l(i), if used 

to maintain oil refineries. The intended use of the road building materiels you 

enumerate is a fact question which cannot be resolved in the opinion process. 

You next ask whether transportation of the enumerated materials is regulated 

when a highway is traversed es set out in erticIe 911b, section Ic, V.T.C.S., or when 

the commodities are transported between two or more cities, towns, or villages. 

Article 911b, section lc states 

The terms ‘Motor Carrier’ and ‘Specialized Motor Carrier,’ 

as used in Section 1 of this Act; shell apply to end include all 

for hire transportation of oil field equipment, as defined in 

subdivision (i) of Section 1 of this Act, over the public 

highways of this State outside the corporate limits of cities 

or towns, irrespective of whether in the course of sllch 

transportation a highway hetween two (2) or more incorporated cities, towns or villages is traversed. 

As e general matter, a motor carrier is not covered by the Act unless it 

traverses e highway between two or more incorporated towns in transporting 

property. V.T.C.S. art. 911b, S l(g). Section lc effectively subjects to regulation all 

for hire transportation of oil field equipment over public highways whether or not e 

highway between two municipalities is traversed. 

You finally ask whether e carrier with Railroad Commission authority to 

transport road building materiels could legally transport them to en oil field 

facility without also having authority to transport oil field equipment. The 

authority of a certificated carrier to transport property depends on the certificate 

itself end the intent of the commission in granting it. See State v. Bilbo, 392 

S.W.2d 121 (Tex. 1965); Dye Trucking Company v. Miller, 39m.W.2d 567 (Tex. Civ. 

P. 5118 
Honorable Wilson E. Speir - Page 3 (H-1299) 

APP. - Austin 1965, writ ref’d n.r.e.1; Attorney General Opinion M-244 (1968). The 

issuance of a soecielized certificate coverinn certain items to a carrier does not 

withdraw the existing authority of e general~commodity carrier to carry the same 

items. See V.T.C.S. art. 9llb, S 5a(b); cf. Alamo Express v. Union City Transfer, 

sunre (Soec iialized carriers granted authority to carry certain items following 

evidence that common carriers rendered inadequate service). 

SUMMARY 

Whether the term “oil field equipment” es it appears in 

article 9llb, section l(i), V.T.C.S., includes road building 

materials used to build end maintain facilities for the 

discovery end production of oil end gas is a fact question. 

Section lc of article 9llb requires the regulation of all for 

hire transportation of oil field equipment over public 

highways whether or not a highway between two municipalities is traversed. Whether or not e carrier with 

authority to transport road building materiels may transport 

them to en oil field facility depends on the terms of the 

certificate and the intent of the commission in granting it, 

but he does not necessarily need authority to transport oil 

field equipment in order to provide this service. 

Attorney General of Texas 

APPROVED: 

DAVID M. KENDALL, First Assistant 

Opinion Committee 

p. 5119