100th Anniversary of Spindletop Celebrated by Noted Geologist and Author Michel Halbouty.

Business/Energy Editors

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 3, 2000

When Anthony Lucas struck oil on the Texas Gulf Coast by drilling the well known as Spindletop in 1901, he changed the world with an economical source of energy that would fire America's rapid ascendance to the top of the Industrial Age.

But as Michel Halbouty writes in the new issue of World Energy magazine, a visionary named Pattillo Higgins was the true prophet of Spindletop, based on his belief that a salt dome where he brought his Sunday school classes on picnics held commercial quantities of petroleum. (Article available at www.worldenergysource.com.)

Halbouty was with Higgins in 1951 when the 50th anniversary of the first gusher was celebrated, and he recollects how Higgins was focused on the geology of Spindletop -- particularly how a salt dome trapped the petroleum. In the article, Halbouty discusses this geological phenomenon and how salt domes will continue to play a major part in petroleum exploration.

Also in this issue, several major oil and gas figures give their views on the current supply and demand situation both for crude oil and gasoline. OPEC Secretary General Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, noting the need for more oil and gas exploration and development to meet growing demand, pledges his organization will cooperate to maintain stable oil prices that provide a fair return on investment. "One thing is now absolutely clear: that the Organization has demonstrated on several occasions that it is willing and able to take action both when prices are too low and when they are too high," he wrote.

Also in this issue, Alaska Senator Frank Murkowski says the U.S. needs a rational energy policy, including opening more of Alaska to exploration and production. The call for better federal energy policy is echoed by David Tippeconnic, president of CITGO, who warns that gasoline supply disruptions could emerge due to excessive regulation.

Global petroleum supply will be in the news in the following issue of World Energy as well, when an entire section will focus on the newest plays in the North Sea. The section will include a range of articles from the top explorers and suppliers in the region.

World Energy magazine publishes the thoughts of worldwide leaders of the energy industry, allowing them to select their own topics and publishing them in an unedited format. The company's sister publication, Energy Houston, also publishes articles from the top business leaders in the Houston area, including those in the E&P business, power companies, consultants and suppliers and government figures.

All articles published in World Energy and Energy Houston, as well as a wealth of other industry information, are also available at the publications' Web site, www.worldenergysource.com. This resource makes it possible for those researching the energy industry to access financial reports on major energy companies, stock quotes, government data bases, international times, and worldwide air schedules and airport information, plus daily news updates and an international events calendar. The site also translates all English material into five other languages -- Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.