Editorial Comment

	Vol. 224 No. 8
THOMAS R. WRIGHT, JR.,  PUBLISHER

World Oil in Chinese. Gulf Publishing Co. has signed a joint venture agreement to translate selected articles from this publication and Hydrocarbon Processing and publish them in the bimonthly, Chinese-language publication World Petroleum Industry, which is produced under the auspices of the Chinese National Committee of the World Petroleum Congress.

World Petroleum Industry is distributed to over 10,000 key buying influences within China’s vast oil and gas complex, including the China National Petroleum Co. (CNPC), China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), China Petrochemical Corp. (SINOPEC) and China National Chemical Import and Export Corp. (SINOCHEM).

Gulf’s President and CEO John “Rusty” Meador said, “With an expected return to double digit growth in the Chinese economy looming on the horizon, we feel very privileged to have established a critical link between China’s need for technology to recover its onshore and offshore reserves and the western oil and gas technology providers.”

Under terms of the agreement, Gulf Publishing will also serve as the exclusive advertising sales and marketing arm for World Petroleum Industry outside of China. Advertising rates and specifications will be available by contacting Lanie Finlayson at 1-713-520-4406.

In case you didn’t know, Gulf already publishes the Russian-language magazine, Oil and Gas Technology.

Overkill. I have no idea how many times I’ve filled my car with gasoline without noticing this (doubt you have either), but just the other day, it dawned on me that the pump displayed the volume being delivered to three decimal places.

That’s right – somebody was purporting to measure the gasoline going into my car down to one one-thousandth of a gallon. That seemed a little too precise to me, so I decided to get an idea of just how much 0.001 gallon really is. A quick calculation, plus a double-check via an online converter, showed that it is about equal to seven-tenths of a teaspoon (0.7 tsp). Assuming one could even work the pump nozzle fast enough to deliver 0.001 gallon of gasoline, the price of that delivery (based on $1.40 per gallon) would amount to $0.0014, or 0.14 cents.

Anybody have change for a penny?

Goodbye. Unless I am invited back to write a guest column or an article, this will be my last chance to share my astute opinions with you. That’s because I have decided to make a career change and join Groppe, Long & Littell, a long-standing and respected consulting firm here in Houston that specializes in oil and gas analyses and price forecasts.

To some of our more green readers (yes, there are a few that have infiltrated our industry), this announcement might be met with some glee, since those same folks typically misunderstood my musings. But I have never been anti-environment. Instead, I have tried to let you know when politicians, crusaders and enviro-wackos (that term courtesy of one R.W. Scott) try to impose ridiculous regulations on our industry. And to demonstrate my green side, I’ve composed a little poem for you:

I woke early one morning,
The earth lay cool and still
When suddenly a tiny bird
Perched upon my window sill.
He sang a song so lovely
So carefree and so gay,
That slowly all my troubles
Began to slip away.
He sang of far off places
Of laughter and of fun,
It seemed his very trilling,
brought up the morning sun.
I stirred beneath the covers
Crept slowly out of bed,
And gently lowered the window
And crushed his little head. 

Actually, I didn’t write that, but received it in an Email. Regardless, I’m happy to have finally found a way to print it.

Speaking of birds, here’s another example of how poorly thought out wildlife management procedures can backfire. As one of the major news services reported, the inscription on the metal bands used by the U.S. Department of the Interior to tag migratory birds has been changed.

The bands used to bear the name of the Washington Biological Survey, abbreviated as: Wash. Biol. Surv. But that all changed when the agency received the following letter from a Louisiana hunter:

Dear Sirs:
While duck hunting last week I shot one of your birds. I think it was a crow. I followed the cooking instructions on the leg tag and I want to tell you it was horrible!

The bands are now marked Fish and Wildlife Service.

Kidding aside, the past 30 years of oil industry publishing has been a great experience and has allowed me to meet some fantastic people, develop some lasting friendships and see some fascinating sights (Lagos not included). The folks who bring you the news and technical developments on a regular basis constitute a very small fraternity and most are very professional – even our competitors. But I hope you’ll excuse my bias when I state that there are none better than those at World Oil.

I leave you in good hands. Adios!
rwright@groppelong.com