Peter Maffitt

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship held its 13th annual Energy and Clean Technology Venture Forum September 17th at Rice University with over 460 attendees and 60 innovative energy technology company presentations.

Ambassador Charles (Chas) W. Freeman, the former career US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, (US Foreign Service Retired), has outlined the Saudi Arabia position on the Oil Price Collapse. Ambassador Freeman served as President George H.W. Bush’s representative to Saudi Arabia from 1989 to 1992.

The City of Houston has become swamped by its debt owed to employee pension funds.The Laura & John Arnold Foundation recently issued a very clear report on the condition of the City of Houston Pension funding. The eleven-page report is titled, “Swamped: How Pension Debt is Sinking the Bayou City,” is attached at the bottom of this article.

Estimates vary, but the Greater Houston is home to between 250,000 to 270,000 Texas veterans. The number is growing because, according to Congressman Ted Poe, one out of ten active duty military is from Texas and many of these will likely retire in Texas.

HOUSTON, Texas — The funeral service for Harris County Deputy Darren Goforth was held 11 AM, Friday, September 4, 2015 at the 2nd Baptist Church on Woodway. On August 28th, while in uniform, Deputy Goforth was putting gasoline in his

The Department of Commerce announced this week that U.S. companies can now export some crude oil to Mexico. There is a vigorous debate in Washington over crude oil export policy. Exxon and other industry groups lobbied to remove the prohibition on exporting crude oil.

The Mexican peso has fallen over 20% against the US dollar in the past year despite efforts to prop up its currency.

Mexico’s energy reform program is critical to the pursuit of energy independence in North America. This is according to Dr. Tony Payan, director of the Mexico Center at the Baker Institute at the University of Houston, who testified before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. The topic was “Pursuing North American Energy Independence, Mexico’s Energy Reform.”

This weekend the Houston Astros’ great, Craig Biggio, 5 foot 11, 185 pounds, number 44, was inducted into the 2015 Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. He was elected with 82.7% of voters in his third run. Biggio was one of the famous “Killer Bs” of the Houston Astros.

The City of Houston appears to be following the path of the nation of Greece in terms of financial ruin. News sources daily are keeping us appraised of the continuing Greek debt crisis. Greece has a debt of 170% of their Gross National Product.

The US oil & gas drilling rig count has plummeted in the past year and this week 24 July the rig count gained 21 rigs. Last week the rig count fell 7 rigs. The two prior weeks the rig count increased.

The Mexican peso on July 20th continues it fall and it broke 16 to 1 US dollar. An economic and political stable Mexico is essential for the United States and Texas. Over the past year the Mexican peso has been weakening. A year ago it was 12.97 to the US dollar; 6 months ago 14.66; one month ago 15.34; and July 20th 16.02. On July 22, the peso exchange rate is 16.09.

Social media and the general conversation both in Mexico and abroad is that Mexican President Peña Nieto is rumored to have prostate cancer. He has already undergone at least three major operations since 2011–the last two within this past year. But as usual, the foreign press says more and speculates considerably more on this delicate matter than the Mexican press.

Over the past year the Mexican peso has been falling. A year ago the peso stood at 12.94 to the US dollar; six months ago, 14.75; one month ago, 15.49; and on June 30th 15.73.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed the current state budget that includes $25 million for the continuation of structural repairs for the Battleship Texas, BB-35, located at the San Jacinto Battlegrounds.

ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, operates the electric grid for 24 million Texans, for about 90% of the state’s electric load. Potomac Economics is the independent market monitor, with no enforcement ability. Platt’s Management Daily reports on the daily electricity usage. The mission of ERCOT is to avoid brown outs and black outs. Several years ago ERCOT cut off electricity to the Dallas Medical Center and that was a mess. When there is an approaching brown out or black out, ERCOT can raise price of wholesale electricity to bring on line mothballed, inefficient or otherwise withheld power plants to increase supply.

There are demonstrations in Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Mexico. Ex-presidents in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua are being investigated for corruption.

The 2018 presidential, governor, senate, and lower house election are in play. No one is a clear leader for that presidential election. And Mexican are seeking routes to consolidate their democracy well beyond their political party system.

A stable Central America is highly beneficial to Texas and the United States. The CICIG, a UN funded investigation group, has been very active in Guatemala. In May, President Otto Perez Molina asked for the resignation of several high level public officials.

The Texas oil & gas industry has been hard hit by the drop in crude oil prices. As of June 5 the Texas oil & gas rig count is 364, down from 891 rigs a year ago, or a drop of idle 518 rigs.

Texas benefits greatly from a stable, democratic Mexico with 125 million citizens. Thus, Texans should deeply care about elections in Mexico. To raise awareness of the importance of this 2015 election, the Baker Institute, under leadership of Dr. Tony Payan, invited Mexican political and moral leader Cuauhtémoc Cardenas to Houston for a talk on the state of Mexican Democracy.

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.