Mealey's ( April 18, 2025, 10:14 AM EDT) -- AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. Department of Justice announced that an oilfield company executive, his company and another company have pleaded guilty to violations of multiple federal laws in relation to the release of hazardous gas XE "hazardous
gas" from hydraulic fracturing drilling operations that resulted in the deaths of an employee and his wife. The executive will serve five months in prison and the companies will pay a total $1.4 million in fines....