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	SPEECH TO PPROA AMARILLO APRIL 19, 1984

HOUSEKEEPING

          —INFORMATION PACKETS WITH FORTUNES

WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU A DIFFERENT VIEW OF THE GULF DEAL

          —THESE KINDS OF DEALS ARE HIGHLY COMPLEX FROM A LEGAL AND FINANCIAL STANDPOINT
          —BUT THEY ALSO HAVE THEIR LIGHTER MOMENTS.
          —THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF PRESS COVERAGE, AND IT’S AMAZING WHAT KIND OF STATEMENTS WERE MADE BY SOME PEOPLE.
          —WHILE SOME PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO MAINTAIN AN AIR OF ELOQUENCE, OTHERS ARE NOT QUITE AS RESTRAINED.

HAROLD HAMMER

          —ONE OF OUR FAVORITE CHARACTERS IN THE DEAL
          —HE WAS DESIGNATED THE “FIELD COMMANDER” BY LEE. —WASN’T KNOWN TO MINCE WORDS.
          —EARLY IN THE DEAL, AFTER WE HAD RELEASED SOME INFORMATION ABOUT SETTING UP A ROYALTY TRUST AT GULF, HAMMER CAME UNGLUED:

“WE’VE GOT TO ROLL UP OUR SLEEVES AND KICK HIM WHERE IT REALLY SMARTS.” (NEW YORK TIMES, NOV. 6)
          —HAD TO CLEAN UP THE QUOTE FOR PUBLICATION BECAUSE HAMMER LEFT NO DOUBT AS TO WHERE HE WAS AIMING.
          —ALSO DECIDED TO MAKE COMMENTS ABOUT MY CHARACTER, SOME OF WHICH YOU’LL FIND IN THE FORTUNE STORY.

“WHO IS PICKENS ANYWAY? EVERYTHING HE SAYS IS HORSE          AND HOT AIR.”
          —HAMMER EVEN WENT AFTER OUR BANKERS.
          —CITIBANK BACKED US EARLY IN THE DEAL.
          —HAMMER ACCEPTED A TENNIS TOURNAMENT JUST SO HE COULD PLAY WALT WRISTON, CHAIRMAN OF CITIBANK. “I WANT TO BEAT THAT LITTLE          . AND IF I DON’T, I’LL JUMP ACROSS THE NET AND CRAM THE RACKET DOWN HIS THROAT.”

JIM MURDY

          —OTHER GULF PEOPLE WERE MORE RESTRAINED BUT WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY WAS VERY REVEALING.
          —AT A DEC. 14 ANALYSTS MEETING FOR GULF, JIM MURDY, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, WAS ASKED WHAT GULF WAS GOING TO DO ABOUT THE GULF INVESTORS GROUP.
          —THE ANALYST ASKING THE QUESTION POINTED OUT THAT THE GROUP WAS NOW THE PRINCIPLE OWNER OF THE COMPANY AND OWNED AS MUCH STOCK AS THE MELLON FAMILY DID 14 YEARS AGO.
          —THE QUESTION WAS, “WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH HIM? HE’S NOT GOING TO GO AWAY.”
          —MURDY REPLIED: “SAME THING WE DID WITH THE MELLONS.”
          —AND THAT MEANT, IGNORE THEM.

JAMES LEE

          —GULF’S CHAIRMAN JAMES LEE WAS ONE OF OUR FAVORITES TOO.
          —AT THE DEC. 2 SPECIAL SHAREHOLDERS MEETING, HE CLAIMED THAT THE GULF INVESTORS GROUP WASN’T ACTUALLY A SHAREHOLDER BECAUSE WE’D BORROWED THE MONEY TO BUY OUR STOCK.
          —BUT WHEN HE SAID IT, YOU COULD JUST SEE ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE ROOM THINKING, “I BORROWED MONEY TO BUY MY HOUSE, AND I THOUGHT I OWNED IT.”
          —LEE ALSO DIDN’T APPRECIATE MY REMARKS ABOUT HIS LACK OF OWNERSHIP IN THE COMPANY.
          —HE OWNED 17,000 SHARES UNTIL I STARTED MAKING SPEECHES ABOUT HIS OWNERSHIP.
          —THEN HE EXERCISED AN OPTION AND INCREASED THE AMOUNT TO 21,000.
          —BUT HE DIDN’T APPRECIATE MY COMMENTS AND POINTED OUT TO ME IN ONE MEETING THAT HIS WIFE OWNED 6,000 SHARES.
          —SO I TOLD HIM I’D MENTION HER, TOO.
           —PERHAPS THE GOOFIEST STATEMENT OF THE DEAL, THOUGH, CAME WHEN GULF ANNOUNCED THAT ITS CROSS ISLAND WELL WAS A DRY HOLE.
          —OF COURSE, I’D ALREADY BROKEN THE NEWS TO THE PUBLIC A WEEK BEFORE.
          —THEY SAID: “THE ORIGINAL SHAFT WILL BE PLUGGED AT 12,500 FEET AND AN ANGLED SHAFT WILL BE DRILLED TO A POINT ABOUT 1,500 FEET FROM THE ORIGINAL BOTTOM OF THE WELL.”
          —NO WONDER THEY CAN’T FIND ANYTHING—THEY THINK THEY’RE IN THE MINING BUSINESS.

GULF PEOPLE WEREN’T THE ONLY ONES TO COME UP WITH GREAT QUOTES, HOWEVER.

MICHAEL HALBOUTY

          —MIKE HALBOUTY, THE FORMER ENERGY ADVISORY TO JIMMY CARTER, BEGAN TO SOUND LIKE AN EVANGELIST IN HIS CRITICISM OF ROYALTY TRUSTS AND MY VIEWS ON FRONTIER DRILLING.
          —JUST LISTEN TO THIS EXCERPT FROM A SPEECH HE MADE IN FEBRUARY: “. . .WHEN THE STATEMENT WAS MADE SEVERAL WEEKS AGO BY THE INDIVIDUAL WHO IS THE LEADING PROPONENT OF ROYALTY TRUSTS THAT THE COSTLY FRONTIERS SHOULD NOT BE EXPLORED, THUS LEAVING MORE MONEY IN THE TRUSTS TO BE DOLED OUT TO STOCKHOLDERS, THE SHOCK OF THIS PROPOSAL HIT ME LIKE A BOLT OF LIGHTENING. I COULD REMAIN SILENT NO LONGER, AND THE NEXT DAY, I PUBLICLY DENOUNCED ROYALTY TRUSTS, THUS BECOMING THE FIRST TO DO SO.”

GEORGE KELLER

          —ONE OF THE BEST QUOTES HOWEVER, CAME FROM GEORGE KELLER, CHAIRMAN OF SOCAL.
          —HE WAS RESPONDING TO THE CHARGE OF LOUISIANA SENATOR BENNETT JOHNSTON THAT OIL COMPANIES SHOULD TAKE THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS THEY SPEND ON ACQUISITIONS AND, INSTEAD, SPEND THE MONEY ON EXPLORATION.
          —KELLER REPLIED TO THAT IDEA WITH THIS STATEMENT: “YOU CAN’T BORROW THAT KIND OF MONEY FOR THAT KIND OF CRAPSHOOT.”
          —SOUNDS JUST LIKE AN ENGINEER.

TED BURTIS

          —SOME OIL EXECUTIVES GOT A LITTLE IRRITATED BY ALL THE MERGER/ACQUISITION TALK.
          —TED BURTIS, CHAIRMAN OF SUN, WAS ONE OF THEM.
          —IN RESPONSE TO A MEDIA INQUIRY ABOUT SUN BEING A TAKEOVER CANDIDATE, HE SAID: “SPECULATION ON THE TAKEOVER GAME MUST BE A LOT OF FUN, BECAUSE EVERY BONEHEAD IN AMERICA SEEMS TO BE PLAYING IT, AND I’LL BE DAMNED IF I’M GOING TO GET INVOLVED IN IT. SUN ISN’T FOR SALE.”

CHUCK WAIDELICH

          —BURTIS’ COMMENT REMINDS ME OF ANOTHER OIL COMPANY CEO WITH THE SAME ATTITUDE.
          —HE SAID: “WE’RE TELLING ANYONE WHO COMES ALONG WITH AN OFFER TO BUZZ OFF.”
          —WAIT A MINUTE—THAT QUOTE DIDN’T COME FROM THE GULF DEAL.
          —BUT MAYBE YOU CAN GUESS WHO SAID IT ANYWAY.
          —CHUCK WAIDELICH, CITIES SERVICE, MAY 28, 1982.