Peter Maffitt

The “Baker Hughes Rig Count” shows the oil & gas drilling rig count has plummeted in the past year. The month April is the first time in 25 years the North American oil and gas drilling rig count has fallen below 1,000 rigs. The price of crude oil in the past year had fallen as much as 50%. Many expensive shale oil wells have become uneconomical at current crude oil prices. Much of the US crude oil increased production comes from shale oil formations with expensive horizontal drilling. Shale oil formations often must be fracked several times; consequently, productions costs are high.

May 8, 2015 is the 70th anniversary of VE Day, Victory in Europe, May 8, 1945. There were over 8 million Americans in World War 2 military service. Daily there are fewer and fewer WWII veterans.

The prosperity of Mexico is a key issue for Texas. The Mexican oil & gas industry is a major factor in the productivity of Mexico. On April 28 the Mexico Center at the Baker Institute at Rice University put on a comprehensive program on Mexico’s Energy Reform with 15 speakers and 300 attendees sponsored by the law firm Haynes Boone.

A Texas A&M Aggie Muster was held in Manila, Philippines, on Tuesday to honor the Aggies who some seventy plus years ago fought in the Corregidor battle. More than 300 Aggie Musters will be held worldwide where ever Texas A&M graduates reside. There are plans to dedicate a monument that has recently been erected on Corregidor to the all of these Texas Aggie servicemen that defended Bataan and Corregidor during the WWII era and those at the 1946 Manila Muster.