Another dry hole

June 25, 2001
I'm tired of reading editorials in the Oil & Gas Journal that the poor old oil industry is being mistreated because nobody likes us, nobody cares.

I'm tired of reading editorials in the Oil & Gas Journal that the poor old oil industry is being mistreated because nobody likes us, nobody cares. These editorials have been a staple of OGJ since I began reading it in the early 1970s, and have become classics of their kind. I suppose a similar one was published in the very first edition, and many more are on the horizon.

Of course nobody likes the oil industry. Why should they? It shouldn't surprise anyone in the energy industry that the industry has a horrible public perception. The industry has done worse than a poor job in explaining itself to the American public. And "poor" is being very kind. Nonexistent would be closer to the reality. Oil company PR efforts are literally textbook examples of how not to be successful in presenting your point of view.

The major oil companies have extensive public relations departments whose primary job function is to provide as little information as possible to the oil-buying public. They are very good at this job. The adage that "No news is good news" has been carried to the extreme by these companies. It is hard for me to distinguish between stupidity and arrogance in these cases, and I suspect there are ample grounds for both.

The trade organizations are little better, and simply parrot the same tired old formulas that are neither convincing nor realistic.

There is no spokesman or voice speaking for the industry, much less one that is competent, intelligent, and has some measure of credibility. There must be some program for public education and outreach by this industry, or things will only continue to get worse. Everybody in this industry should face the reality that the energy business is seen as anticonsumer, antienvironment, and even anti-American. Oil companies are seen as heartless corporate entities that don't lose any opportunity to lay off employees or rob the public blind.

If this isn't the case, then prove it. Sitting around the petroleum clubs and cussing the government and tree huggers will only continue the trend of digging that dry hole deeper than ever. Other industries seek to improve their public image, but it has to be said, based on the evidence, that the energy business simply doesn't give a damn.

If this industry has a bad image, it has only itself to blame. And no one is going to get us out of this mess but ourselves.

When I was a roughneck in West Texas, we had a saying: "Do something. If that don't work, do something else." I suggest it is time for something else, and right away.

Max Edison
Retired Roughneck
Dallas