Word: houston
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Rising oil prices meant high times for Blocker Energy Corp., a leading contract drilling firm. The Houston-based company assembled a worldwide fleet of rigs and kept them perpetually and profitably busy in the hunt for oil. But falling prices have choked that search and nearly throttled Blocker, which lost $71.7 million in 1982. "Our immediate priority," says Chairman J.R. Blocker, "is to survive...
Nowhere have falling prices struck harder than in the oil-rich region around Houston. The city's February unemployment rate reached 10.5%, a shade above the national average for the month and up from only 4.8% just a year ago. Houston office vacancies stand at 20.3%. In Port Arthur, a Gulf coast community that bristles with refineries, February joblessness...
...which can be thought of as its cushion against losses-at the end of last year. Oil-and gas-related loans in total came to 252% of equity. The largest bank holding company in Texas, Inter-First, said its earnings fell about one-third during the first quarter. In Houston, Southwest Bancshares expects a 40% first-quarter profit drop. Nevertheless, all the big Texas banks plan to continue their energy lending. Says Larry Helm, Inter-First's executive vice president: "The oil industry will come back. It has always been a cyclical business...
...costs in some areas are down some 40% from their peak levels of two years ago. The result, for those with the capital or a gambler's nerves, is low-cost ventures that can make even cheap energy pay off. Argues Sanford McCormick, president of Houston-based McCormick Oil & Gas Co.: "At today's costs, there's nothing wrong with the exploration business at $28 a barrel. I'll take that any time...
...short dynasty of Houston, the sweet destiny of N.C. State...