Does Vladimir Putin want Denton to ban fracking?

“It is reasonable to assume that their intention is to increase their market share of natural gas production and distribution as Russia is the second largest producer of natural gas in the world,” Porter said.

America is the number one producer, in part because of hydraulic fracking techniques that debuted in the Barnett Shale. And Texas produces one third of U.S. natural gas, which makes this personal for Porter and the Texas Railroad Commission.

Russia has an agenda, Porter said, to fund anti-fracking efforts, support environmental groups and place misinformation in the public, including the Gasland films, which he called deceitful.

“Gazprom’s effort, with the assistance of the Kremlin and Ketchum, has already resulted in the ban of hydraulic fracturing in many EU countries, and now, they have their sights set on the U.S.,” Porter said.

He called on Kerry to close the loopholes in the U.S. sanctions that allow Gazprom to interfere in U.S. policy and politics.

In an emailed response to the DBJ, Porter's spokeswoman Mary Bell said the commissioner's comments in the letter are not specific to Denton.

"Gazprom is spending tens of millions of dollars -- that we know of -- to eliminate competition globally. It's likely they've influenced much of the overall anti-hydraulic fracturing movement's message," Bell said.

Fellow Texas Railroad Commission Barry Smitherman did raise the question of whether Russia’s influence was behind the movement in Denton.

In a letter to the Denton City Council in July, Smitherman said the secretary general of NATO accused Russia of working with environmental groups to ban fracking, increasing Europe’s dependence on imports from Russia.

Nicholas covers the energy, manufacturing, aviation and transportation beats for the Dallas Business Journal. Subscribe the Energy Inc. newsletter