The History of Pel-Tex Oil Company Pel-Tex was founded in June 1959 by Earl P. Burke, Jr. After receiving a B.S. in Geology from Tulane University, he was employed by F.A. Callery Inc., an Oil and Gas Exploration Company owned by investment banking firm Lehman Brothers, headquartered in New York. In 1980, Pel-Tex formed a co-venture with Transco Energy, Tesoro Petroleum, Freeport McMoran and other oil and gas operators. The resulting drilling program had an average yearly budget of $90 million. Pel-Tex has either operated or participated in excess of 600 wells throughout the Gulf Coast. Pel-Tex has maintained pace with geophysical technology as new survey and processing techniques have become widely available. 2-D lines, once the mainstay of exploratory work, are still used to scope and roughly define a prospect. However, Pel-Tex now uses 3-D and AVO (Amplitude Vs. Offset) to do the detailed mapping, much on par with major oil companies. Pel-Tex has initiated multiple 3-D surveys in support of its prospecting activities during its history. It also uses gravity data in combination with its extensive subsurface studies together, to further enhance the (2-D & 3-D) seismic interpretations. Commercial Engagement: Pel-Tex maintains its focus in selected producing trends and continually expands and improves its regional geologic interpretation with new seismic data and the drilling results of other operators. It also tracks leasing and farmout activity closely to understand the direction of the investment community and the overall market climate. On behalf of Pel-Tex and its investors, this disciplined focus on certain trends allows profitable investments as follows: Producing properties with cash flow and upside potential are identified and acquired. Low risk development prospects are identified and are used to balance higher risk exploratory drilling. Large prospects, that fit Pel-Tex's criteria, are generated, evaluated and inventoried. This inventory is ready when Pel-Tex's partners are ready. Small prospects with greater risk or reduced scope are farmed out. This minimizes capital exposure. Opportunities to farm in prospects from large companies with existing infrastructure are aggressively pursued. Such opportunities yield extensive exposure to valuable seismic data and provide the possibility for immediate production.