Oyster stew is a Louisiana staple, but is prepared and eaten everywhere the succulent pelecypod is found.  There are many variations, some heartier than others, and one even by James A. Michener in his book Chesapeake.  Here is an authentic Louisiana version of the recipe from Comeaux’s Louisiana Bar & Grill in Alpharetta, Georgia.

1 stick butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely diced
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, plus more to taste
2 pints oysters (with liquor), drained and liquor reserved
1 quart seafood stock (see Note)
1 (10-ounce) can Rotel tomatoes, pureed
1 quart half-and-half
¼ cup white wine or brandy
Garlic croutons

In a large (2-gallon) stockpot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion and carrot and cook, stirring constantly, until onions are translucent. Add 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning and stir to combine. Add oyster liquor, seafood stock and tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes. Add half-and-half and bring back to a simmer. Add oysters and cook until their edges begin to curl. Add wine or brandy and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve at once in hot soup bowls garnished with croutons, green onions, parsley and paprika.

Note: It is not difficult to make your own seafood stock. This method makes about 2 ½  quarts. Use 1 quart for this recipe and freeze the remainder. Place about 2 pounds fish heads and/or bones and/or shrimp shells in a large pot with some trimmings from onions, celery and carrots in 3 quarts water, or enough to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer 35 to 45 minutes. Strain.  Serves 8.

Eric’s Website

I am working on a new novel, a murder mystery set in Logan County, Oklahoma.  In addition to murder, the book features cattle rustling, a stalking black panther, and an all- female commune that practices paganism as well as extreme earth-sustaining measures.

The novel’s main character, Buck McDivit, returns for the first time since appearing in my book Ghost of a Chance.  Bones of Skeleton Creek is the mystery’s tentative title.  Here is an excerpt from the book:

Excerpt from Bones of Skeleton Creek (first draft, unedited)

Muted sunlight peeked through a thick cover of clouds as Buck stood in a semicircle with a group of men, waiting for the arrival of the investigator.  No one spoke as they watched a gray van back up to their location.  It must have already started out as a banner day for homicides in Logan County because the person exiting the van was Satchel Pratt instead of Doc Watson, the usual man on the job.

Even though a chill wind whipped the tree limbs at the nearby ranch house, Satchel’s only jacket was a light, waist-length jacket with the words medical investigator printed on the back.  Satchel wore glasses that did little to impart an air of studiousness to the large man with dark, shoulder-length hair.

“What’s up, Cowboy?” he asked Buck, ignoring the other half-dozen law officers and ranch hands observing the situation.

“Bad news,” Buck answered, nodding toward the body occupying the eye of the circle.

No one had approached the body, wary of destroying evidence at what was obviously a crime scene – a gruesome crime scene.  The body in question was that of a man lying on his back, his legs bent at the knees and folded beneath him in what would have been a most uncomfortable position – if he were alive to notice.  He wasn’t.

The first job of a medical investigator is to check for trauma, something that may have caused the death.  Sometimes trauma isn’t apparent, or the actual cause of death obvious.  No such problem existed with this death.  The man was quite naked and lying in a puddle of blood that pooled mostly beneath his buttocks.  Satchel Pratt put on a pair of rubber gloves and knelt beside the victim.  From the black bag that he carried, he removed a syringe which he used to extract a sample of blood from the victim’s femoral artery.

Pratt had a sheath on his belt from which he took what looked like a meat thermometer and quickly inserted it beneath the right side of the man’s rib cage, an area of the body known as the intercostal space.  Deftly, he directed the thermometer into the dead man’s liver.  The lead cop, a Logan County Sherrif’s deputy, stepped closer.

Satchel wiped off the thermometer with a wipe and placed it back in the sheath.  “Can I borrow your pen?” he asked the deputy.

The dead man’s head rested on a mess of blood, bone and brains.  Gently lifting it, Satchel inserted the pen in the gaping hole.

“This is the exit wound,” he said.

The man’s mouth splayed open in a grotesque smile.  Satchel used the opening to probe inside with the Deputy’s pen.  When he removed it, he turned around and offered it back to the person that had loaded it to him.

“You keep it,” the deputy said, shaking his head and taking a step backward.

Satchel grinned, one Buck had seen many times before.  It was Pratt’s shtick and he always performed it for the benefit of those police officers that had not yet observed the scene of a homicide, and for the entertainment of the others that had.  Zipping down his light jacket, he slid the pen into his shirt pocket.  His performance wasn’t yet finished as he anticipated the Deputy’s next question.

“How long has he been dead?”

Buck tried hard to keep from smiling as Satchel removed a second meat thermometer that he kept sheathed on the right side of his belt.  Holding it close to his myopic eyes, he touched the instrument to his tongue.  Both deputies and the three cowboys gasped.

“Maybe as long as twelve hours,” Satchel said, “But it could be less because of the cold weather.”

Seeing the men’s stunned reaction, Buck could contain himself no longer, breaking into an uncontrolled bout of rollicking laughter.  It stopped abruptly when a familiar voice spoke behind him.

“What’s so funny, McDivit?”

From the distinctive, raspy voice, Buck knew without turning that it came from Logan County Sheriff, Big Jim Hagen.

Buck didn’t bother answering because the sheriff, he knew, had already witnessed Satchel’s little act more than once.  Someone even taller than Sheriff Hagen, accompanied him.  It was a man that Buck recognized instantly and knew very well - Clayton  O’Meara, Buck’s former boss and the owner of the ranch on which the dead man was murdered.  Although he rarely saw the man, this was the second time Buck had run into him that day.

“What’s the story here, Satchel?” Hagen asked.

“You got yourself a homicide, Sheriff.”

Buck starting taking notes as Satchel Pratt began to recite.

“Caucasian male, about thirty.  Someone brought him into this clearing about ten to twelve hours ago and forced him to strip off all his clothes.  They tied his hands behind his back with chicken wire and had him kneel.  They castrated him – while he was still alive from the amount of blood on the ground.  Then they stuck a weapon in the victim’s mouth and pulled the trigger.”

“Sounds more like a suicide to me,” the sheriff said.  “No one would let a shooter stick a pistol in their mouth.”

The deputy snickered, but quickly turned his head away when Pratt said, “You mean right after he cut his own balls off?”

Sheriff Hagen said, “I’m just saying that when somebody dies from a gunshot wound in the mouth, it’s usually suicide.  What’s your take on it, Buck?”

“This seems more like a case of revenge to me than a professional hit.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the victim knew who killed him.  He also has a nasty contussion on the side of his head.  I imagine his killer nailed him with the pistol he used to kill him with.  Maybe he was unconscious when the killer jammed the pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger.”

“Satchel, does that sound about right?”

“His upper lip is split.  I’d say it makes for a pretty convincing story.  Now all you need is the killer.”

Big Jim Hagen digested Buck’s theory and Satchel Pratt’s take on it.  Glancing at the big man standing beside him, he asked, “You recognize the victim?”

Clayton O’Meara nodded at the Sheriff’s question.  “Name is Frank Boggs.  One of my hands.  Only been working for me about a month or so.  He’s a local and my foreman can get you all the information we have on him.”

Sheriff Hagen glanced at his lead deputy, still ashen-faced from observing Satchel’s little joke.  “Get your head out of it, Lamont.  Cardon off the victim and start combing the area for evidence.  Don’t look like we’ll find much, but you never know.”

Clayton left the crime scene, shaking his head and taking his gawking hands with him.  He didn’t speak Buck before leaving, but he smiled and nodded in his direction.  It didn’t matter.  There was still much to do before he and Satchel bagged the body and carted it to the van.

The day had started out cold and had only grown colder.  As Buck and Satchel finished their work, the murder scene looked like a washed-out oil painting.  It was the end of a long day and wet flakes of snow began falling from the ashen sky as the two men rolled the gurney to the back of the van.

Cubic Energy participates in additional Chesapeake horizontal Haynesville Shale well.

Eric’s Website

Oil may have reached bottom and started back up because, lately, there have been more ups than downs.

Oil rises on positive company earnings - Yahoo! News.

Eric’s Website

Tips from Motley Fool.

5 Ways to Play the Coming Crude Bounce.

Eric’s Website

I received a couple of comments about the use of hydrogen in automobiles.  One reader noted that while it is unsafe to drive a vehicle with a tank of hydrogen in the back, it is possible to generate small amounts of the gas that can be mixed with gasoline, thus increasing the miles per gallon and decreasing greenhouse gases.

This is true.  One company is marketing such a device here in Oklahoma City and I’m sure many more are available on the internet.  My friend Mick, an oil man in Tulsa, is selling large generators, complete with such a device.  The result is extra hours of cleaner power generation at almost no cost.

Unhappily, the American public only seems to think “green” when the price of energy is out of sight.  We should be concentrating our efforts on such devices, available as we speak, to increase fuel efficiency and decrease greenhouse gases.

I would love to hear from all of you and welcome any and all comments on the subject.  With the price of oil heading toward $50 barrel today, we can’t afford to be complacent.

Eric’s Website

  Here is a picture of a Logan County, Oklahoma graveyard.  Like almost any place in central Oklahoma, there is an oil well pumping unit in the background.

Eric’s Photos

I may be prejudiced, but the Oklahoman is my favorite newspaper.  I rarely miss reading it, and then only when I'm out of town and can't find a copy.  The paper is a great source of wonderful regional recipes and this one appeared just in time for the national college football championship game between OU and the University of Florida.  I haven't tried it yet but I don't think that I will be disappointed when I do.

SOONER STEW

3 pounds chuck eye steak or roast, well-trimmed

Salt and pepper

¼ cup flour, divided in half (half to sprinkle meat and half for thickening stew)

3 tablespoons canola oil (reserve half for second saute)

2 cups chopped onion

2½ cups chopped red sweet pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup red wine (zinfandel or Chianti work well)

1 (14.3 ounce) can chopped or petite diced tomatoes

1½ cup carrots sliced ¼-inch thick

1½ cups red potatoes diced ¾-inch, scrubbed, skin left intact with blemishes and eyes removed

3 to 4 cups chicken broth or beef stock

12 ounces frozen whole green beans, thawed

?Cut meat into large bite-size chunks and sprinkle with salt and pepper, dusting lightly with flour. Heat oil in the bottom of a large Dutch oven or stew pot. Brown meat in batches. Do not overcrowd meat for best results.

?Prepare onions, garlic and peppers. Add additional oil if necessary and saute, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula. As onions and peppers soften and become translucent, incorporate flour, stirring thoroughly.

?Deglaze mixture with wine, stirring to loosen any remaining drippings. Add meat and canned tomatoes, stirring well. Cover and allow mixture to simmer for 30 minutes. Prepare carrots and potatoes, and stir into the mix along with at least 3 cups of broth or stock. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Stir in green beans. Serve hot with thick slices of crusty bread and olive oil for dipping.

?Cook’s notes: It is essential to pay careful attention to browning the meat, being sure all sides are browned. This is the foundation for flavoring the stew. It takes about 2½ hours to make this stew, so get it started before the game. I do not recommend serving this stew with Gatorade.

Serves 6 to 10 depending on appetites and scores.

?Source: Sherrel Jones, The Oklahoman

Eric’s Website

An unhappy fact of life is spreading across the oil patch.

Texas oil country sees hard times on horizon | NewsOK.com.

Eric’s Website

Quote of the Day: “With the recent gains in price and the flattening out of the forward curve, we may be seeing the first evidence that the OPEC production cuts are having an impact on the crude oil market.” Tim Evans, energy analyst with Citi Futures Perspective in New York.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20602099&sid=aI1ry8jmGmN4&refer=energy

Eric’s Website

Exploration for oil and gas has so many facets, it’s hard to keep up.

Exploration » Blog Archive » Chavez does about-face.

Eric’s Web

The story of Spindletop is one of the most interesting in the annals of oil and natural gas exploration.

Hard Hat Tales: Spindletop changed the world - EnergyScout Connections.

Eric’s Web

Here is the text of President Obama's inauguration speech. Less than 2500 words, it is a beautiful and important document that will be studied and discussed for years. If it doesn't move you, then you should check your pulse:

President Obama’s Inauguration Speech

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.  I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. 

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.  The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace.  Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. 

At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents. 

So it has been.  So it must be with this generation of Americans.  

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood.  Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred.  Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. 

Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered.  Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics.  Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights. 

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real.  They are serious and they are many.  They will not be met easily or in a short span of time.  But know this, America -- they will be met. 

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics. 

We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.  The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation:  the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given.  It must be earned.  Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less.  It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. 

Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. 

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life.  They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. 

This is the journey we continue today.  We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth.  Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began.  Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. 

But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed.  Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.  The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.  We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.

We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technologys wonders to raise health cares quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.  And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans.  Their memories are short.  For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.  

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.  The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. 

Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward.  Where the answer is no, programs will end.  And those of us who manage the publics dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill.  Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. 

The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.  Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. 

Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expediences sake.  And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born:  know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more. 

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.  They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please.  Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy.  Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations.  We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan.  With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. 

We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.  We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers.  We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace. 

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.  To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their societys ills on the West -- know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. 

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.  And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the worlds resources without regard to effect.  For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains.  They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. 

We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.  And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.  It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. 

It is the firefighters courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parents willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate. 

Our challenges may be new.  The instruments with which we meet them may be new.  But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old.  These things are true.  They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.  What is demanded then is a return to these truths. 

What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled.  In the year of Americas birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river.  The capital was abandoned.

The enemy was advancing.  The snow was stained with blood.  At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America.  In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words.  With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. 

Let it be said by our childrens children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and Gods grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

God bless you all and God bless America.

Eric’s Web

An interesting and important article to help understand the current price of crude oil.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20602099&sid=aiN0l..usZik&refer=energy

Eric’s Website

I will be attending the Edmond Author’s Book Fair this Saturday, the 24^th of January, at the Edmond Historical Society & Museum.  The museum is located at 431 S. Boulevard in Edmond, Oklahoma.

The event begins around 1 pm.  If you are in the area, please drop by and introduce yourself as I would love to meet you.

Eric Wilder

Yes, there are real diamonds in Arkansas.  Check it out on this website.

Crater of Diamonds State Park Arkansas - keep what you find in this finders keepers diamond mine.

Eric’s Website

A fun tour for a Monday morning.

Famous Stones.

Eric’s Website

   I know this has nothing to do with energy but here is a pic of my new pup Scooter.  Come to think of it, he does take lots of my energy.

Eric’s Photo Page

Debra (Debbie) Dawson is an Oklahoma City teacher at North Highlands and she worked with Marilyn when she was running the reading lab there.  Marilyn made this dish New Years Day and I can attest that it is wonderful.  I don’t know if Debbie is a Cherokee, but almost everyone in Oklahoma is, at least to some extent.

3          c. hominy, drained

1          can cream of celery soup

8          oz. sour cream

½         c. onion, chopped

4          oz. green chiles, diced

1          clove garlic, minced

8          oz. Monterey jack cheese

Mix all ingredients well in casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Enjoy.

Eric’s Website

Maps: Miscellaneous Maps.

Here’s an interesting map for all you shale players.

Eric’s Website

  Here is an interesting graph recently published by the EIA.  It shows the consumption of natural gas since 1998, and projects consumption through 2010.  Their was a decline in consumption from 2002 through 2006, but an increase beginning in 2007.

Eric’s Website

Service contractors begin biting the bullet, and lowering prices – reluctantly.

Rig contracts getting shredded - EnergyScout Connections.

Eric’s Website

USGS Release: Swarm of Earthquake Activity Over For Now at Yellowstone National Park (1/7/2009 6:16:45 AM).

Eric’s Website

Here is a Google map of the San Andreas Fault system.  Very interesting!

San Andreas Fault Map - Zoom In on the Fault! - GEOLOGY.COM.

Eric’s Website

A sad, but true scenario.

http://energyscout.ning.com/forum/topics/dont-get-used-to-cheap-oil

Eric’s Website

Another prediction from the group that said oil would be selling for $149 barrel by the end of 2008 – a $100 per barrel error.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20602099&sid=a5M_0Cds8RhI&refer=energy

Eric’s Website

Russia, Ukraine reportedly reach deal on natural-gas flows - MarketWatch.

Eric’s Website

I found this recipe in Under the Mushroom, a collection of favorite recipes from the Little Mushroom restaurant, Dallas, Texas.  The ingredients remind me of the beef stew my Mom used to make.  Marilyn Romweber, owner of the restaurant, is the author of the great cookbook.  Grab a copy if you can find one.  Here is a recipe from Under the Mushroom I think you will like.

½         stick butter

2          T oil

3          onions, chopped

2          garlic cloves, minced

1          green pepper, chopped

3          ribs celery, chopped

Flour (seasoned with seasoning salt and pepper)

2          lbs. lean beef cut in 2/3” cubes

1          lb. pork cut in 2/3” cubes

½         lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced

1          can beef consommé

2          15 oz. cans tomato puree

3          T vinegar

1          T limejuice

2          tsp. soy sauce

1          T Worcestershire sauce

1          tsp. chili powder

¼         tsp. ground ginger

¼         tsp. ground cloves

¼         tsp. ground parsley

¼         tsp. dried oregano

½         tsp. dried mustard

1          bay leaf

1          tsp. liquid smoke

½         tsp. cayenne pepper

In a saucepan, sauté the onions, garlic, green pepper and celery in the butter and oil until soft.  Remove and set aside.  Dredge the meats in the seasoned flour and brown in the remaining oil in saucepan, adding more oil if necessary.  Add the sautéed vegetables, and all other ingredients, and stir well.  Cover and simmer on low heat for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.  Taste for seasonings.  Skim fat from surface before serving.  Makes enough for a party of 10.  Enjoy

Eric’s Website

So true, so true!

http://energyscout.ning.com/forum/topics/oil-service-companies-welcome

Eric’s Website

I’m not the BCS, but here are my picks for the best college football teams in the land:

A fact of life in today’s energy producing environment.

Producers trim spending plans.

Eric’s Website

An article of interest in Oklahoma.

CEO of SandRidge sells stock: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance.

Eric’s Website

World turmoil, massive supply cuts and bottom-basement crude oil prices combine to propel oil over $50 a barrel.

Crude reclaims $50 amid OPEC output cuts, Gaza fighting - MarketWatch.

Eric’s Website

A very interesting article to read as the price of crude oil points upward and now exceeds $47 barrel.

The Real Rationale Behind Current Supply and Demand for Oil and Other Commodities - Seeking Alpha.

Eric’s Website

  A crew of Cities Service surface geologists.

In the early days of oil exploration, explorers had many reasons for drilling a well at a certain location.  If someone found oil, the leases around that well would suddenly become more valuable and other operators would try to drill as close as they could to a producing well.  The technique is still practiced and is known in the business as “closeology.”  During the seventies and eighties Texas Oil and Gas Corp. would sidle up as close as legally possible to a producing well.  This practice is called “corner shooting” and TXO earned a reputation as corner-shooting kings.  A reputation that was not always good.  Well, that’s a story for another time.

Before the days of seismology and other geophysical exploration techniques, operators would often drilled near an oil seep, or on the crest of a hill.  Harry Sinclair, the founder of Sinclair oil was very superstitious and liked to drill near cemeteries.  He had a lot of luck finding oil that way.

Cities Service Oil was the first company to hire geologists to try and find oil.  Using surface mapping techniques, this band of geologists found literally millions of barrels of oil.  This includes the El Dorado, the largest oil field in Kansas, and the Oklahoma City Field, the largest oil field in Oklahoma and at one time the world.

When I began working as an exploration geologist for Cities Service in the 70’s the company had many maps of surface features that they had never gotten around to drilling.  They also still had a surface geologist that worked in Tulsa.  Ernie Tisdale was a wonderful man and geologist but a throwback to an earlier period of exploration.  I was working Kansas at the time, along with another geologist named Dave Forth.  While digging through a stack of old maps one day we came across an undrilled surface structure in Elk County, Kansas.  It was decided that Ernie, Dave and I would drive to Kansas and check out the surface structure in person.

Elk is a rural county in far southeastern Kansas.  We spent the night in Elk City in an old wooden, two-story hotel.  While eating at a local cafe, Ernie recounted a story about two Cities Service “lease hounds” that used to work the area.

The geological crews and leasing crews all stayed in the same rustic hotel as the one we were staying in that night.  Yes, the building was very old.  There was no fire escape from the second floor, only a rope outside every window that extended to the ground below.  The two landmen, I’ll call them Ted and Joe because I can’t remember their real names, were partners but different as proverbial night and day.  Ted was quiet, a teetotaler and a minder of his own business.  Joe was anything but.

Joe was also quite the practical joker and Ted the usual butt of his jokes.  He told Ted that the owner had explained how afraid of fire he was and that the old wooden building was in constant danger of burning.  Later, long after Ted had retired for the night, Joe banged on his door yelling, “Get the hell out.  The stairwell’s on fire.  Climb out the window or you’ll be burned alive.”  Much to the glee of his partner Joe. Ted shimmied down the rope with nothing on but his skivvies.  Joe, fairly inebriated by this time, met Ted at the front door, still rolling with laughter.

That night I slept lightly, waiting for someone to bang on my door.  Thankfully, neither Ernie nor Dave was a jokester like Joe had been.

We spent the next day checking out the undrilled surface feature.  The structure was there all right, just as it had been mapped in the 1920’s.  Maybe a million barrels of untapped oil.  We proposed a well and Cities bought leases and agreed to drill the structure.  Alas, the prospect was never drilled and it remains undrilled to this day.  The map is probably locked away somewhere in a warehouse in California.  Still, I’m thankful for experiencing at least some of the excitement early wildcatters must have felt when deciding to drill a well at a particular location.

Wildcatters such as Frank Phillips and Harry Sinclair found large fields, amassed untold fortunes and are now famous.  There were many other explorers such as Ernie, Ted and Joe that aren’t remembered but played as great a role as any in finding the oil that made this nation what it is today.  Such is the legacy of early Oklahoma oil exploration.

Eric’s Website

1 qt stale bread, wet and squeezed

2 tbsps butter

1 chopped onion

1 tbsp parsley

1 sprig thyme

1 bay leaf

3 tbsps sage

salt and pepper to taste

Drain the oysters, carefully removing all bits of shell.  Save oyster liquor for stuffing.  Wet stale bread with hot water, squeezing thoroughly.  Mix and season with sage.  Chop fowl’s liver and gizzard finely, and put 1 tbsp butter into frying pan.

Mix in chopped onion, and chopped liver and gizzard in the pan.  As the mixture browns, add the herbs, and then the bread.  Mix well.  Add remaining butter and stir, blending thoroughly.

Add the oyster liquor, and then mix in the oysters.  Stir for several minutes before using it to stuff the fowl.

Eric’s Website

Oil prices moderate following the biggest one-day percentage gain since January 1994 that occurred in trading on the last day of 2008.

Oil turns lower on slowdown worry - MarketWatch.

Eric’s Website

      During the last oil boom, Christmas parties became monster occasions in downtown Oklahoma City.  Schlumberger, Halliburton, Dresser Atlas and all the large service companies rented massive ballrooms and sated every guest there with food, drink and entertainment.  The oil companies were not far behind, especially those in constant search of investor money.

Single and still young, I once had three women that I was dating show up at the same party.  The ballroom was so large and the crowds so thick, I almost made it without discovery.  Well, almost!

A year or so later, I made the break from Texas Oil & Gas, forming a partnership with a geophysicist friend of mine.  We had an office on the eighth floor of the Park Harvey Center.  The venerable office building had a bank of elevators in the center of the floor.  A hallway wrapped around this center square with the offices on the outside, facing the windows.

In addition to John and me, there was a small oil company, a land (oil leases) company, two lawyers and a couple of independent geologists.  We all knew each other and decided to go together and have a Christmas party on our floor.  We chipped in for the booze and food, and one of the lawyers mentioned that he had a few waitresses as clients that owed him money.  He was sure that they would act as waitresses free in exchange for working off some of their indebtedness to him.

About this time, I had just begun dating Anne and wanted desperately to impress her.  When the night of the party arrived, John and I had a big shock.  The lawyer’s servers were actually strippers and they were dressed only in baby dolls.  Since we were not paying them, they were not afraid of us firing them, and they quickly began sampling the hooch as fast as they dispensed it.

Word soon spread.  Before long, leering geologists packed the hallways along with landmen and engineers.  The girls did not mind, soon doffing their tops, and then their bottoms.

Anne showed up with a friend, a matronly secretary.  After practically fainting, the older woman hurried back to the elevators, leaving the increasingly rowdy crowd for safer climes.  I do not remember a lot after that, having already consumed too much whiskey.

The party continued until all the whiskey was gone, and the girls dressed and departed.  Anne was a good sport about the situation, as was Debbie, John’s future wife that also showed up.  Anne remained sober, had a clear head and drove me home safely.  I awoke to a massive hangover and a ringing phone.  The news of the party had spread and those that had missed it were calling to see if the stories were true.

The following year John and I were drilling oil wells and had several employees.  Instead of the previous year’s drunken debacle, we hosted a sedate wine and cheese party that lasted only until seven.  It did not matter as hundreds of oil industry voyeurs showed up anyway, just in case. 

Those were the go go years of the last oil boom.  Even amid the blurred memories, many things that occurred read almost like fiction.  The events that occurred during that era were true.  Even I couldn’t make this stuff up.

Eric’s Website