Energy Crisis is Here, Warns Denise Bode, Former IPAA President as Seen in Energy Houston, Vol. 3 No. 2

Business Wire, Feb 8, 2001

Business/Energy Editors

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 2001

If the U.S. does not open up federal lands to exploration and production and support the rebuilding of the nation's energy production, refining and delivery systems, we can expect more price hikes and curtailments for energy, warns Denise Bode, vice chair of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and former president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. The full text of the article is available on our Web site www.worldenergysource.com.

Writing in the new issue of Energy Houston magazine, Bode says, "America's energy infrastructure and resource base is being shut down, and that is in turn causing a crisis from the gas pump to the electric meter." America is approaching being 60 percent dependent on foreign energy, up from 42 percent 10 years ago.

That warning is echoed by Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, also a contributor to the issue. Keating warns that "if history has taught us anything, it is that basic commodities -- the products that provide energy and food -- can be used as weapons." Since energy-consuming states still outnumber energy-producing ones, he predicts a hard fight to pass measures such as Oklahoma's tax cuts for producers that have significantly reduced the yearly number of marginal wells being plugged.

Also in this issue, Robert P. Peebler, chairman of GrandBasin and vice president of Halliburton, says most oil company stock performance has been disappointing, and one of the problems is a lack of "e-sizzle."

Peebler notes that the flow of capital to market is a function of investors seeking the highest returns, and today, most investors want to know how a company is going to utilize the Internet to win competitive advantage.

"Value creation in the E&P industry of the future will focus on the knowledge-intensive activities of finding and managing oil and gas reserves and their associated risks," he writes. "A new E&P business model must include ways of shedding assets and gaining more value from knowledge and intellectual capital." The way to accomplish that, of course, is new ways of utilizing the Internet.

Additionally, the Texas Land Commissioner reports on a new program that provides discount electricity to Texas public schools and produces more revenues for the education fund. The program converts oil and gas royalties into electricity.

Energy Houston magazine publishes the thoughts of Houston-area leaders in the energy industry, education and government, allowing them to select their topics and presenting them in an unedited format. The company's sister publication, World Energy, also publishes articles from the top energy industry leaders and regulators worldwide.

All articles published in World Energy and Energy Houston, as well as a wealth of other industry information, are also available at the publications' Web site, www.worldenergysource.com. This resource makes it possible for those researching the energy industry to access financial reports on major energy companies, stock quotes, government data bases, international times, and worldwide air schedules and airport information, plus daily news updates and an international events calendar. The site also translates all English material into five other languages -- Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.