MEDIA RESOURCES

 

CONTACT: communications@mail.cox.smu.edu

DALLAS, Texas (SMU) – At a time when the energy industry is riddled with speculation about increased costs and issues of supply and demand, industry experts are proposing multiple solutions to benefit the future of the industry and the consumer. However, some of the best solutions for the future are those learned from the past.

SMU’s Cox School of Business and its Maguire Energy Institute, in conjunction with The Collins Economic Forum will host the Frank Pitts Lecture Series, a panel discussion on “Lessons Learned From The Past.”

WHEN:	Tuesday, September 10, 2002 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. Press/VIP Reception: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
WHERE:	Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business Andersen Gallery - Fincher Building 6212 Bishop Blvd.

Christine Hansen, executive director of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC), will moderate the discussion among the panel members. Hansen is a lawyer and is a member of the National Petroleum Council, the Gas Research Institute Advisory Board, and the board of the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council. She was selected as “Woman of Achievement for 1995” by the national organization Women in Energy, and received a “1997 Byliner Award” from Women in Communication, recognizing her newsworthy achievements on behalf of the oil and gas producing states. During the 1996 Global Conference of the International Women's Forum, Hansen was recognized as a “Woman That Makes A Difference” by the IWF membership. Prior to becoming Executive Director of the IOGCC, Hansen was in private law practice and had been a senior executive officer with two large utility companies. For seven years, she served as one of three Iowa Commerce Commissioners, regulating public utilities in that state.

Topics will include discussions of international relationships, technology, and conservation, especially that relate to natural gas, and how each of these topics relates to the energy policy of today.

Each panelist, reflecting a cross section of energy concerns, will speak from his or her perspective.

Panelist include:

Roy M. Huffington is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Roy M. Huffington, Inc., an independent, international oil and gas company located in Houston, Texas. In 1946, Mr. Huffington joined Humble Oil & Refining Company as a field geologist. In 1956, he left to set up his own oil and gas exploration company. Roy M. Huffington, Inc., as an independent, worked mostly in Texas and Louisiana until 1968, when Mr. Huffington secured a production-sharing contract with the Government of Indonesia. Discoveries in East Kalimantan led to the development of a multi-billion dollar LNG export project between Indonesia and Japan. In 1985, he received the Gold Medallion oil Pioneer Award from the Government of Indonesia for meritorious services to the oil and gas industry in that country. In 1990, the overseas properties of the company were sold to the Chinese Petroleum Corporation of Taiwan. From 1990 to 1993, Mr. Huffington served as the U.S. Ambassador to Austria, where he worked to open up business opportunities between the newly- accessible Eastern Block countries and their Western counterparts.

William J. Murray is Chair of the Energy Reliability Council. Mr. Murray has had a long history of working in the energy industry. In 1939, he was appointed to serve on the Office of Petroleum Coordinator for National Defense that later became the Petroleum Administration for War after Pearl Harbor. He also served on the Texas Railroad Commission from 1947 – 1963. In 1973, he chaired the Volunteer Gas Allocation, which in 1986, was expanded to become the Energy Reliability Council, which now includes gas, fuel oil, nuclear, lignite, coal, and hydro. From 1963 to present, he has been a consulting engineer and energy consultant. His clients have included the cities of Austin and San Antonio. In June of 1995, in recognition for his impact in the energy industry, the Texas Railroad Commission designated its new district office building in Kilgore, Texas, as the William J. (Bill) Murray, Jr. Building.

Dr. Jay B. Weidler is currently offshore consultant to Kellogg Brown & Root. Dr. Weidler, a retired senior vice president and chief engineer for Brown & Root Energy Services, has more than 45 years of engineering experience in military, academic, and industrial fields. He is involved with offshore platform design, arctic engineering, computer software development, and project engineering, all with Brown and Root. As senior vice president of worldwide marine engineering business, Dr. Weidler was director of technology for the Space Operations Business Unit and retired as the chief engineer and director of Technology for the Energy Services Business Unit. Dr. Weidler has been honored with the Citation for Service from the American Petroleum Society, the Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals at the Offshore Technology Conference; and Moffat-Nichol Harbor and Coastal Engineering Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers. In 1998, he was inducted into the Offshore Pioneers Hall of Fame, Ocean Energy Center.

The panel discussion will be held at the Cox School in the Andersen Gallery, Tuesday, September 10, from 12:00 a.m.– 1:30 p.m. Individual tickets are $55 and $500 for a table of 10. For more information, contact Andrea Smith, 214-768-4266, asmith@mail.cox.smu.edu or visit http://www2.cox.smu.edu/collins/collins_schedule.html.