Texas Oil Man

This pod has a great character in Clayton Williams. He's clearly a smart guy with a proven career in the oil business, yet he speaks through a muddled Texas accent and refers to the Chinese as Chinaman. I like how the authenticity of Williams' personality comes out in the pod, and while at first I didn't like how Elizabeth's approach seemed to be largely unchallenging to Williams, I can appreciate how her demeanor would allow Williams' to present himself completely unfiltered and, in the the end, that's exactly what you want when watching your main character.

Where is the interview with a counter-opinion on this debate? I won't disagree with Clayton Williams that oil prices are affected by supply and demand, but I found the discussion on the causes limited in scope and several assertions were left unchallenged. I'll concede his point that oil use in third world countries has increased, but another way to affect prices is to affect supply.

The concept of supply and demand seems like a pretty basic one to grasp for many, so it doesn't seem that hard to believe that oil companies understand that by limiting their infrastructure for petroleum (drill stations), they can also limit supply, thereby increasing the cost. I'm not saying there is illegal collusion going on either, but to say that oil companies have no control over the cost is ridiculous.

By the way, I think there is something factually dishonest with the graph labeled "Gasoline Prices in Today's Dollars". It jumps from Feb 2003 to July 2006, but March 2003 was the start of the Iraq war, and Hurricane Katrina was in August 2005. So I disagree that there have been no interruptions to supply in 2006, because not only has there been in interruptions in supply (Katrina wiping out infrastructure in the Gulf Coast) but also instability in the Middle East (Iraq War).

I've worked with Elizabeth on a couple of stories, and always thought that she would make for the kind of case officer whom the C.I.A. should be recruiting. Because when you're working with Elizabeth, access seems to be no problem. In this case, I was driving a rental car around Midland, Texas on a blazingly hot day in late May while Elizabeth was making cell phone calls in the passenger seat, and eventually we pulled in afterhours into this suburban office building with a kind of jungle, and there's this gentleman waiting for us after his employees have gone home... Of course, he and Elizabeth got along great--as you can see in the piece. But I hope that you look carefully enough at it to see beyond the tales of wildcat oil, and beyond all the taxidermized wildcats in his private office. If what he's saying is accurate--that there has been a fundamental shift in the causes of oil price rises, from interruptions in supply, to increases in demand from nations like China, India, and Brazil, then you generation could be in for a far rougher ride than my generation had. If what he says is accurate, it could be that one day your generation metaphorically drops my generation off at the corner of Main Street and Infinity, and then has to proceed across the decades on an empty tank... Good luck!

Not necessarily a indication of racism, I suppose. Could just be that his lingo is out of date.

Yeah...the "chinaman" comment made me cringe the same way I used to when my grandpa would say "colored".

Can't believe he uses the word "chinaman." This guy is really authentic.