2
The Battalion
STATE & LOCAL
I Thursday, August 9,1990
JS 845-33H Thursday, August
nent Invasion could fuel U.S. oil boom
37 our Congress HOUSTON (AP) — The continu-
he bank boards j|g turmoil in the Middle East has
^ to restrict the prompted talk of a possible boom
estment practice | r the nation’s energy capital.
Jed scores of J Thos u e ^ ho have ^ggled
, . • through the energy industry s
ad, theimpenal Rgg e( j recovery of the 1980’s have
hail happy to bet; Been keeping a close eye on Iraq’s in-
i insolvent saving yasion of Kuwait and the resulting
delinquent loan lerease in oil prices.
I Some believe a sustained increase
and loan bailoui j n oil P rices could fuel d ° mestic dril -
, : ling, raise revenues and attract ill
ation and Bestors who were scared away from
ollar recovery the industry when prices plunged in
;tting ridofthe the mid-1980s.
quickly with the That all bodes well for Houston,
as become a cea; ^ * s st ' d * n tde recovery
■tages of the last oil bust.
, , ,1 “If it (the conflict) stays for any
ess who, what, Hength of time, we’re headed to
wards another boom,” said John
faulkinberry, chief financial officer
If Paramount Petroleum Co., an in-
iependent oil and gas exploration
Ind production company.
I “The oil and gas business has been
town for quite a while, and so we
meed a little good news. But I hate
lor it to come as a result of a war,”
|aulkinberry said.
“There is an air of expectancy,”
aid Faulkinberry, who admits to
lashing a smile over the prospect of
letter times in the oil patch.
“This probably means the busi
ness is really going to jump into sec-
md gear now,” he added. “1 think a
lot (of oil exploration companies)
will be more aggressive in their busi
nesses.”
Others, however, are more cau-
nous. They still remember the dev
astating effect of plunging oil prices.
“It may be another boom for
Houston, but it’s way too early to say
that. There are still too many of us
who have memories of the previous
boom,” said Don Covey, president of
the exploration and production divi
sion of Mitchell Energy 8c Devel-
■st groups. Weai|
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BATTIPS
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Independent producers
take heat for high prices
AMARILLO (AP) — Indepen
dent oil and gas producers in the
Panhandle say they are getting a
bad rap for refiners, distributors
and retailers who raised prices af
ter Iraq invaded Kuwait.
The independent producers,
whose revenues come from the
sale of oil and natural gas at the
wellhead, say they have no con
trol over what retailers charge at
the pump.
“I object to the black eye we’re
taking on these pump prices,”
Barrett W. Pierce, president of
Amarillo-based Rio Petroleum,
said.
Pierce said refiners, distribu
tors and wholesalers raised gas
prices too quickly after the Iraqi
invasion.
Gasoline prices in the Panhan
dle shot up as much as 17 cents a
gallon Aug. 2, after news broke of
the Iraqi invasion.
Pierce said oil produced from
Panhandle wells in recent days
should be the first barrels af
fected by the Middle East conflict,
and that oil may not make it to
the pumps in the form of gasoline
until next month.
“We wish the major companies
would go slower with their price
hikes,” said Julian Martin, exec
utive vice president of the Texas
Independent Producers and Roy
alty Owners Association.
“This has happened before,”
Martin said. “We understand the
problem of replacement costs,
but where does that start? Do you
have to do that on what’s already
in storage?”
If troubled conditions persist
in the Middle East, American
consumers should get used to
higher prices, said Kary L. Plank,
executive vice president of the
Panhandle Producers and Roy
alty Owners Association.
“The refiners are going to be
paying more for the oil that they
purchase because so much of it is
imported,” Plank said.
Texas oilman T. Boone Pick
ens, in a speech Tuesday in India
napolis, called the oil companies
“greedy” and said they can’t jus
tify the swift gasoline price hikes.
opment Corp., an independent oil
company based in The Woodlands
north of Houston.
“People are going to be moving
slowly because of the uncertainty
and because we have seen what has
happened before,” Covey said. “If
you were here in ’86 then you un
derstand misery — because there
was a lot of it.”
Despite efforts to diversify, the
energy industry comprises 40 per
cent of the local Houston economy,
according to the Greater Houston
Partnership. That dependence on
the oil and gas industry has brought
boom and gloom to the nation’s
fourth-largest city.
As oil prices soared towards $40
per barrel in 1981, Houston became
the known as the “Golden Buckle of
the Sun Belt.”
But by 1986, oil prices plummeted
below $10 per barrel, and the local
economy also plunged.
The city has slowly recovered with
the growth of services, electronics,
biotechnology, the medical industry
and space-related businesses. But
some believe the city really needs a
big boost in the energy industry.
“Regardless of the progress that’s
been made, the state is oil and gas
driven, Houston in particular,” Faul
kinberry said. “Anytime you have an
event like this happen that makes oil
prices go up, it’s going to have an im
pact on Houston.”
Oil prices have increased since
Iraq’s invasion, but the jump was
somewhat curtailed Tuesday and
Wednesday.
On the New York Mercantile Ex
change, the cost of benchmark West
Texas Intermediate closed at $28.30
a barrel Tuesday. The contract had
vaulted over the $28 a barrel mark
Monday, the highest level in five
years.
By midday Wednesday, the price
was down to $25.80.
Drillers also could see some new
business from the crisis. The num
ber of rigs actively exploring for oil
and gas rose to 4,500 at the height of
the boom in December 1981, but it
plunged to a low of 663 after oil
prices collapsed in the summer of
1986.
This week, the count totaled 966
— down 30 from the previous week
but up from the 874 working rigs a
year ago, according to Houston-
based Baker Hughes Inc., which
keeps track of the count.
Commencement exercises set
UTEP president, Time executive address grads
The president of the University of Texas at El Paso
and Time Inc.’s chief executive officer will be guest
speakers at Texas A&M’s summer commencement.
Ceremonies are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday and
9 a.m. Saturday at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
At Friday’s commencement, UTEP President Dr. Di
ana Natalicio will address degree candidates in the col
leges of agriculture and life sciences, education, geosci
ences, liberal arts and veterinary medicine.
Students completing studies in architecture, business
administration, engineering, medicine, science and
those from Texas A&M at Galveston will hear Reginald
K. Brack Jr. during Saturday’s commencement.
Brack is chairman, president and chief executive of
ficer of Time Inc. Magazines.
Commissioning ceremonies for 23 cadets also are
scheduled during Saturday morning ceremonies.
Natalicio was named president of UTEP in 1988 af
ter serving the university for 17 years in positions of in
creasing responsibility.
In addition to teaching in the departments of linguis
tics and modern languages, Natalicio has had numer
ous administrative positions at UTEP, including chair
man of modern languages, associate dean of liberal
arts, acting dean of liberal arts, dean of liberal arts, vice
president for academic affairs and interim president.
Brack was named to his position in December 1986
after serving in top executive positions for several Time
Inc. subsidiaries for nearly 15 years.
He has served as a director of Time International,
Time’s worldwide advertising sales director, associate
publisher of Time Magazine and was chief operating
officer of the magazine worldwide.
He also was the founding publisher of Discover,
Time Inc.’s magazine of science and technology.
Near miss
Photo by Sdndra N. Robbins
Matthew Phillips, a junior political science major from Houston,
takes a shoot at the hoop while playing some basketball on the
courts located inside the Grove.
Officials name taskforce
to locate funds for V-22
AUSTIN (AP) — Legislative lead
ers have named a task force that in
cludes three former governors to
push for federal funds for the tilt-
rotor aircraft — a craft that can take
off and land like a helicopter and fly
like a jet.
Former governors Preston Smith,
Dolph Briscoe and Mark White were
named to the Task Force for Tilt-ro
tor Technology by Lt. Gov. Bill
Hobby and House Speaker Gib Le
wis. Hobby and Lewis will serve as
co-chairs of the task force. U.S. Rep.
Pete Geren, D-Fort Worth, will serve
as coordinator of the group’s efforts.
Lewis, D-Fort Worth, said the air
craft, called the V-22 Osprey, will
enhance national security while pro-
vidingjobs to Texans.
The V-22 project currently pro
vides 1,000 jobs in the Dallas-Fort
Worth area and has netted $116 mil
lion in military contracts, Lewis said.
in indi-
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Man’s plane painting business nurtured by aviation obsession
ENNIS (AP) — A 60-year obsession with
aviation is what keeps 77-year-old Frank
Poplawski happy in the aircraft painting
business.
“As long as I can remember I’ve liked air
planes,” Poplawski said. “You got to like
them to do this because it’s kind of messy.”
Poplawski’s reputation for craftsmanship
is such that he keeps his workshop at Ennis
) Municipal Airport full using only one kind
| of advertising — his company logo em-
I bossed on every airplane he paints.
A couple from California were on hand
[ recently to get an estimate. The once
I cream-colored finish on their single-engine
beauty had faded or “chalked out,” becom
ing cracked and muddy.
Poplawski noted that the previous
painter had not been careful enough in
protecting the windows. The edge of the
glass had been fogged by whatever chemi
cals were used to strip the old paint.
The California job will have to wait in
line behind a half-finished Beechcraft Bo
nanza and a 1964 Cessna stripped down to
its silvery metal skin.
Poplawski and his son, Francis, handle
between 12 and 18 small airplanes a year.
One paint job can take four to six weeks to
complete and cost in the neighborhood of
$3,500.
“When I started out in this business, it
cost $500 to paint a plane,” Poplawski said.
“Today, the materials alone cost nearly
$1,800.”
Actually painting the airplane is the least
of the painter’s worries, he said. The secret
of a good paint job is cleaning any metal
corrosion once the old paint is stripped.
He used a single-engine Mooney await
ing service as an example. Even though the
paint job looked fresh, corrosion was show
ing through beneath the wings and around
the flush-mounted screws.
In many instances, portions of the air
plane must be dismantled to do a thorough
job. Some owners ask for technical modifi
cations. Both Poplawski and his son are
qualified aircraft mechanics.
Poplawski has handled work for custom
ers who brought their airplanes from as far
as Alaska and Bolivia. The weirdest job he
has handled was painting the Coca-Cola
trademark across the wings of an airplane
owned by a bottler in Alpine.
“That special red paint was $220 a gal
lon,” Poplawski said.
Poplawski, the son of Polish immigrants,'
was born in Adams, Mass. He was on his
way to California in 1941 when he stopped
in Texas and decided to stay.
He moved to Ennis from Fort Worth 21
years ago, becoming the first business to
open at the local airport. He chose a site on
the edge of Lake Clark.
It s so restful to have a lake outside your
front door,” Poplawski said.
A pilot since 1929, Poplawski still flies a
small, homemade experimental airplane
with a propeller in the rear. The airplane,
built from fiberglass, weighs less than 700
pounds and is driven by a 100-horsepower
motor.
reserves
'tain the
d. Each
number
Campus
getn0
4NDFfl
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2$
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1*138
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INCLUDES 1 PR. STD. EXT. WEAR, OR
STD. TINTED SOFT LENSES, EXAM
AND FREE CARE KIT.
Extended to August 31,1990
- Sale ends July 27, 1990
Call 696-3754
For Appointment
CHARLES C. SCHROEPPEL, O.D., P.C.
DOCTOR OF OPTOMETRY
707 South Texas Ave., Suite 101D
College Station, Texas 77840
1 block South of Texas & University Dr. intersection
College Station, Texas 77840
SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE
Celebrate Your Graduation
with
European Cuisine
prepared by
Trudie Adam-Krise
(Former Owner/Chef of Black Forest Inn)
Roast of Beef Ribeye $ll.95
Chicken Breast Florentine 7.95
Shrimp Monrey 12.95
Good Selection of Wines and Delicious Desserts
Friday, August lO 6-9:30 p.m.
Saturday. August 11 12:30-2:30 p.m.
6-9:30 p.m.
Reserucnions Strongly Recommended
846-0828
Gourmet Chinese and Japanese Dishes
Mixed Drinks will also be served these 2 days
Pacific Garden-Atlantic Connection
701 University Dr.. IZ.. Between the Hilton & Chimney Hill Bowling
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Interior Exterior
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• Vinyl dressing on all vinyl • Polishing
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1401 S. Texas Ave @ Coulter in Bryan
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