On 3/2/07, Allen, Doug <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Heck, if we were not part of the U.S., we'd be just one more OPEC
> country!


and truth be told, OPEC was modeled on the way the Texas Railroad
Commission controlled the production of oil in the state (don't ask
why a RR commission controls oil, just accept it).

Until the discovery of the giant East Texas Field oil production was
based on the drill, capture and produce as fast as you can business
model. The ET field was so huge that such production methods caused
the price of oil to drop to 10 cents a barrel and ran the risk of
drastically damaging the field's ability to produce oil.The state
stepped in and imposed production controls. Each well could produce
only x amount per month. This ensured the stability of the field and
the price of oil.

For most of its history the field produced at 80% of capacity, The
field has produced more than 4.5 billion barrels of oil (original
estimate was drastically low) and the field continues to produce to
this day.

http://www.easttexasoilmuseum.com/index.html

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/EE/doe1.html

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/10235/tsl-10235.html

http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/railroad/oil/page7.html

and that's your Texas history lesson for today

-- 
Peter Kurilecz CRM CA
Richmond, Va

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance