The drilling guy said, “I need $5 million.” He was buying a deep drilling rig that could go to 25,000 feet. He worked in the Anadarko Basin where it was deep, expensive, and gassy. Gas prices in the deep basin were $9 per thousand BTUs (or about a thousand cubic feet). The independent chimed in… “Once the rig is checked out, we have big plans,” he said. He needed $5 million, too. The waitress stopped by again. Bill ordered prime rib for the table and another round of drinks. She was in a different nighty. We all noticed. Bill handed the mud guy and the drilling guy the papers. They were bank loans. Bill said, “Just fill in the amount you need. I’ll run ‘em through.” They were signature notes. No collateral. The guys filled in the amounts and signed their names. Bill gathered up the notes, ordered Dom Pérignon champagne, and toasted the group: By July 1982 – 12 months later – gas prices had tanked. Thursdays at Michael’s Plum were long gone. I never saw the mud guy again. Word was he went broke and checked in to rehab. The drilling guy and the independent, like everybody else, went broke, too. Mike and I still see each other. Usually at Jack’s Onion Burger on the north side. Jack’s is owned by Jack Hodges, who used to own Hodges Trucking. It was a huge outfit. Moved drilling rigs and equipment all over the Anadarko. The only thing Jack is moving today is burgers. “It’s a $10 million day. Here’s to luck and higher prices.” No One Saw It Coming!
Bill, at the bank, had his own set of problems….
Penn Square had grown. And grown fast. It was an oil and gas lending powerhouse.
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