On the record with Patrick Taylor, named to Forbes list of the 400

New Orleans CityBusiness, Dec 1, 2003 by Amber Bethel

He's stuck to his guns ever since.

Adopting New Orleans

Even though Texas is the center of the oil and gas universe today, Taylor said Taylor Energy has no plans to follow the trend.

I did think when I left Texas that I had been very fortunate at the Kinkaid School in Houston and I had dreams of going back, he said. At this point in time, I wouldn't live in Houston for all the tea in China. Nobody's going to drive me out of this state.

He has been courted by economic development officials in Texas and Florida. And he understands why others have gone.

The state desperately needs further tort reform, he said. He said the tax system is abusive across the board.

There are just too many bureaucrats, he said, and every cent spent on state positions should be justified.

But services should not be cut. Especially TOPS, which he said does not cost the state any money. In the long run, the state saves money by sending students to in-state colleges.

Taking a chance on the children of Louisiana is much more solid than many risks he's taken. But being an independent oilman has certainly paid off.

I don't know why people haven't followed my example, he said.

He used to think of himself as a dodo bird for running his company in such a unique way but he's decided that's not the case.

I'm not a dodo bird, I'm a freak, he said seriously, before cracking a sly smile. But I'm a very successful freak.

The Forbes account isn't accurate, Taylor said.

I have been called a billionaire, and that's probably more like it, he said.

Taylor attributes his Fortune 400 listing to three things.

First, he has plenty of capital. My signature alone is worth so much, he said with a smile.

Second, he looks to his legal advisers and a strong board of directors that will assume operations of Taylor Energy and overlook the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation when he and his wife, Phyllis, die.

Third, he pumps most of the revenue generated back into the company.

Taylor doesn't take much time off from monitoring the day-to-day operations of his company.

When then-Mississippi Gov. Kirk Fordice wanted to take him on a month-long safari in Africa, Taylor said he couldn't go. After arguing a while, Fordice found the only argument that would drag him away from his energy company.

I said 'I know running Taylor Energy is a big job, but so is running the state of Mississippi,' Fordice said with a laugh. If I can take a month off, so can you.

Taylor said he won't settle down until he takes his last breath. Retirement means you can do anything you want to do, Taylor said. If that's true, I've been retired ever since I got out of LSU.

An oilman's advice

Taylor's first memory was feeling sheer, utter despair that I was a child. The feeling still burns within him now, which is why he addresses children as young adults.

His advice to those who want to be engineers, oilmen or anything else simple: apply yourself and get an education.

You've got to prepare yourself and get ready to start at the bottom, he said, remembering the decade or more he spent working on oil rigs, taking only one or two days off a month. Get into the fieldwork and get your hands dirty. And success is not automatic, it's not guaranteed.