Energy

Reporting and commentary on the Texas energy industry and innovations shaping its future

Energy|
February 1, 1996

Oil’s Well That Ends Well

It’s not enough to say that associate editor Helen Thorpe was a fish out of water while reporting her story on the new oil plays in the Gulf of Mexico (“Oil and Water,”). She was really a fish out of water on the water. Three different times, the

Energy|
November 1, 1995

Crude Awakening

There’s black gold in the South American rain forest—lots of it. Can the oil companies get it out without ruining the jungle and the way of life of the Indians who live there? The perils of drilling in the heart of darkness.

Energy|
October 1, 1995

Reversal of Fortune

Boone Pickens and his protégé, David Batchelder, built Mesa Petroleum into an energy giant. Now Pickens’ empire is crumbling and his former aide is leading the charge against him.

Energy|
November 1, 1994

Disarmed and Dangerous

With the end of the cold war, the Pantex nuclear facility is dismantling its bombs. Will nearby Amarillo’s environment and economy get blown to pieces?

Energy|
May 31, 1992

Oil and Water

Ten years ago I guess you could call yourself a Texan if you hadn’t been to the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, but an easy conversance with the OTC and its ways certainly bolstered your credentials. Back then the OTC was, like riding a horse or drinking a beer in

Energy|
December 1, 1990

Boomtown

Don’t give up on oil yet, Texas. Come along to Pearsall, deep in the brush country, and learn how the new oil boom is different from the old.

Energy|
October 1, 1990

Power Switch

Are customers of the Comanche Peak nuclear plant better off with safety advocate Juanita Ellis on the inside or the outside?

Energy|
November 1, 1988

How Houston Beat the Bust: Energy

Engineer Saba Haregot’s love affair with Houston (it’s not just all those job offers). How natural gas is helping to reinflate the economy. And a shuttered plant that tempers oil pipe opens up.

Energy|
November 1, 1988

How Houston Beat the Bust (Sort Of)

This story is from Texas Monthly’s archives. We have left it as it was originally published, without updating, to maintain a clear historical record. Read more here about our archive digitization project. Once Texans thought the boom would never end. Then they thought the bust

Business|
December 1, 1986

Making It in the Bust

At a time when Texas seems to have lost its gift for creating fortunes, there has emerged a group of entrepreneurs who are making money by catering to the needs of people who are going broke.

Energy|
October 1, 1984

Feasting on the Oil Glut

So you think that OPEC controls the price of oil and that the glut is hurting everybody in the oil business? Wrong. Traders on the international spot market are pulling the strings and getting rich in the process.

True Crime|
August 31, 1983

The Big Con

From his early days in Big Spring, Eugene Anderson wasn’t what he seemed; neither was the mysterious element he later claimed turned water into fuel.

Energy|
June 30, 1983

The Gambler

Jack Young was the eighties’ oil boom in the flesh. Unfortunately, he also personifies the aftermath of the bust.

Energy|
October 1, 1982

“It’s Time To Make a Deal”

The inside story of Boone Pickens’ adventures in the Wall Street merger game, featuring action, suspense, drama, a few laughs, and a special guest appearance by President Ronald Reagan.

Energy|
July 1, 1980

Profits? What Profits?

Reading Big Oil’s annual reports for the truth about profits is a little like drilling for oil in the Baltimore Canyon: you know it’s there, but how deep will you have to go to find it?

Energy|
August 1, 1978

Labor Pains

Second-generation refinery workers don’t believe in politicians or corporations and some of them don’t believe in unions. The question is, do they believe in strikes?

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