February 2010
PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
David L. Billingsley, Jr.
Thumbs up to the good people in Massachusetts! Voters there sent a strong message to Washington by electing Republican Scott Brown to Ted Kennedy’s long held Senate seat. Hopefully, this will make our politicians realize that they are supposed to work for the American people and not dictate to them. This is great news to those of us who oppose the Health Care overhaul and Cap and Trade legislation.
Excessive regulation hurts industry and the economy as a whole. A prime example of this was pointed out in the Oil & Gas Journal recently in an article titled “Hydraulic fracing dominates ExxonMobil-XTO merger hearing”. The purpose of this hearing was to examine the merger’s impact on the energy market, but quickly turned into a debate on whether to federally regulate hydraulic fracturing. The article pointed out “that the proposed combination’s (merger) agreement includes a termination provision if Congress enacts legislation making hydraulic fracing too costly and uneconomic.” Industry does need economic incentive to thrive!
Our thanks go out to Galen Treadgold for an interesting talk on Seismic Tools for Shale Prospecting at the January meeting. He provided us some insight on what companies are hoping to learn from their seismic surveys over the shale plays and discussed some of the new processing techniques being used.
I appreciate those of you that have answered the call and are delivering a few of our Maps In Schools maps to area schools. Again, we have the ability to provide a number of these maps to schools at no charge and are still looking for volunteers to do so. This is a great program and one that we need help with. Please call David Williamson at (318) 465-8831 and volunteer.
Alan Brittain is heading up the Science Fair again this year and is looking for volunteers to help judge earth science projects. This is not only a good thing for the area kids, but is a great experience for those judging. You will be amazed at how sharp and interesting these kids and their projects are. Alan can be reached at (318) 865-8568.
Please note that we will not have our normal 3rd Tuesday luncheon meeting in February, as we have bigger and better plans. Kevin Hill is busy working on his February 19th meeting, which will be held at the Shreveport Petroleum Club at 6:30 p.m. Kevin will talk about the geology of the Oregon wine country and will conduct a tasting of various wines from the region. Chef Eddie promises a great dinner featuring Northwest specialties and I know he can deliver. Make sure and get your reservations in soon, as seating will be limited to 120. You are encouraged to bring your spouse or date for this fun event.
How ‘bout dem Saints!
All the best,
David
Announcements:
Click here to learn more about the call for papers for the 2010 GCAGS Convention!
Click here to learn more about the 2010 Oil History Symposium!