750 Old Hickory Blvd. # 285, Bldg. 1,  Brentwood, TN 37027
   Phone: 615.263.1291    Fax: 615.263.1282

Ky/Tenn Report
Volume 9,  Number 85,   July  2002


TENNESSEE STAND GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN-As we go to press, Tuesday, July 2, 2002, the Division of Geology is shut down. No one is manning the phones, issuing permits, checking wells, etc. Tennessee state government will be shut down until the legislature resolves the budget situation. That may be later today or it might be for more than a week.  Before heading to Nashville to get a permit or check records, you might want to call 615-532-1500.

TOGA MEETING, SEPT. 13, BALON VALVES COOKING AT MILLER’S-The TOGA board of directors meeting will be held Friday, September 13 at the home of Sharon and Deloy Miller, followed by a steak feast provided by Balon Valves. Everyone in the oil business, members and non-members, are welcome. (To make certain Balon doesn't run out of steaks, call Teresa at Miller Petroleum, Inc. 423-663-9457 to let us know you are coming.)  The board meeting is tentatively scheduled for 5:00 p.m. and the Steak Feast is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

SELL YOUR DEAL IN THE TOGA BOOTH AT APEX, AUG 27-29-Thanks to Somerset Refinery, TOGA will be telling deal makers around the nation that  "There Really is Big Oil & Gas In Tennessee" at the Association of American Petroleum Geologists annual APEX prospect Expo in Houston, Texas, August 27-29, 2002.   To participate in the last two prospect expos, TOGA members have been asked to pay $100 each to sponsor the booth.  In this case, Frank Lynch, Somerset Refinery CEO, agreed to pay for the booth as a way to help producers find money so they could drill more wells, and find more oil for Somerset to buy.  With Somerset's help, any member is welcome to present their deals, either in writing or in person in the TOGA booth.  Get you deals ready for Houston. Call the TOGA office for more information at 615-263-1291. 

LIST YOUR DEALS, NO COMMISSION- Lynch made the promise to help Kentucky and Tennessee producers find funding when he keynoted the TOGA convention. He said the new owners have boosted the refining capacity to 4,500 bbl/d and planned another capacity increase to 5,500 bbl/d.  "I need your oil and I will pay West Texas Intermediate price, less transportation.”  In addition to sponsoring the TOGA booth at APEX, he told operators in a recent letter that they can market their properties through the Petroleum Listing Service, a nation-wide membership service that matches properties, leases or drilling deals with other companies or investors, and takes no commission.  Membership in PLS is through TMD Energy.  To get your deal listed, call Bill Goodwin, Chuck Murchison or Juli Golemi at 615-259-2677.

MILT GORE PASSES AWAY-Milt Gore, Crossville, a pioneer in the oil business in Tennessee and retired inspector, passed away on June 23th.  His funeral, attended by many Tennessee oilmen, was held in Crossville, on Wednesday, June 27th.  Editors note-One of Milt's trademarks as an inspector was to warn operators, "Don't let me find out about a spill on one of your leases from my bosses or the EPA." He seldom did.  He was a fair and honest man, who loved the oil business. He will be missed.

WE NEED A FASTER WAY TO COMMUNICATE-A lot of oilmen would have liked to have paid their last respects to Milt Gore and his family by attending his funeral, but didn't learn of his death until too late. As president of TOGA, I learned of his death from my assistant, who relayed a call from the Div of Geology on Tuesday morning.  At that time, I was in Oklahoma City on business, with no chance to get back in time.  It points out the need for us to get up to date and start using the internet to communicate.  For those of us who now use the internet, it is a great way to communicate.  Most of us check our e-mail first thing and several more times.  Many of us receive e-mail at home and on the road, so we check it in the evening and over the weekend.  The folks at Geology called everyone they could, but phone calls and faxes take a lot of time.  You can send an e-mail message to hundreds, even thousands in a few minutes.

KEEP UP, JOIN THE TOGA E-MAIL PROGRAM-To get us up-to-date with our communications, TOGA is launching an e-mail message service so we can communicate quickly. We will start by building an e-mail list.  All you need to do is to call, write, fax or e-mail your e-mail address to us and we will add you to the list.  And like Deloy Miller's old bumper sticker said about Oil Wells…"If you don't have one-Get One."  If you don't have an e-mail address-Get One.

BOB HOLLAND DIES AWAITING HEART TRANSPLANT-At about the same time the industry learned about Milt Gore's death, Bill Ray was called by Bob Holland's son in Alabama.  He told Bill that his dad, Robert D. Holland, another long time oil operator in Tennessee who has been inactive for a decade, died from heart failure.  Bill understands he was waiting for a heart transplant when he died. 

LANDMAN AVAILABLE- There is a Knoxville-based landman looking for part time work.  He is John Anderson, who some of you met when he attended the annual meeting in Knoxville. For more information, give us a call at the TOGA office 615-263-1291.

GAS PRODUCTION UP 73% SAYS ZURAWSKI-Ron Zurawski, chairman of the Tennessee Oil & Gas Board told TOGA members at the convention that gas production last year topped 2 billion cubic feet, a 73% increase from the previous year.  He said that oil production rose 12% to 386,428 barrels for the year.  He noted that Overton County continues to lead the state in oil production with 42% of the total.  He pointed out that seven of the top 10 producing oil wells in 2001 were new field wildcats, lead by John Henry Oil Corp's Roger McDonald #5, which produced 35,073 for the year.

EXPECT HIGHER NATURAL GAS PRICES, EXPERT TELLS TOGA-Speaking at the TOGA convention, Brad Sawyer, SEI Energy, LLC. predicted higher-ranging natural gas prices in the years ahead.  "My forecast is for much higher prices in the years to come.  For this year, if we have a normal summer, I would expect to see prices in the $3.20 to $4.00 range. For the winter, weather forecasters are predicting the return of El Nino.  If this does materialize, it is likely to be a mild event that would not be too bearish for natural gas prices.  With that, I don't see prices much higher than $5.00. If we do get a normal winter, all bets are off and we go back to where we were a year and a half ago-$10 gas in California and elsewhere.

T. BOONE PICKENS TO TENNESSEE? MAYBE!-The 74-year-old T. Boone Pickens is on the move again.  He owns a 7.6% stake of Penn Virginia Corp. and has now offered to buy Penn Virginia's remaining shares for $329.6 million.  Penn Virginia is active in Tennessee and a member of TOGA.  So if the well-known Pickens is successful, you may see him at the next TOGA meeting.  When he finds out there really is big oil in Tennessee, there is no telling what Tennessee company he will come after.  As you know, Pickens sought control of the larger oil companies in the 1980s, including Phillips Petroleum, Gulf Oil Co. and Diamond Shamrock, Inc.

INTERNET RECORDS BY YEAR END, KENTUCKY'S GOAL-Rick Bender, director of the Kentucky Department of Mines and Minerals told TOGA members that his department has been converting hungers of thousands of microfilmed records to a digital format, with the goal of making them accessible to operators on the Internet by year-end.

NO TENNESSEE PERMIT LIST-Office closed until legislature passes a budget.

The Ky/Tenn Report is published monthly and distributed at no cost to oil and gas operators in Tennessee and Southern Kentucky. It is owned and operated by W.D. Goodwin, Inc., The editor is Bill Goodwin, e-mail: tmdbill@aol.com It is the official publication of the Tennessee Oil & Gas Association, 750 Old Hickory Blvd, #285, Brentwood, TN, 37027. Phone 615.263.1291, Fax 615.263.1282. Web site: www.tennoil.com.

Past Newsletters

Click here for archived newsletters, beginning May 2000.

Home | Newsletter | Membership | Spill Trailer | Links

©2000 Tennessee Oil and Gas Association