1980s Memo And Poem Capture The Current Producer's Dilemma

Independent petroleum producers have long projected the image of self-confident, self-reliant individuals who weren't afraid to tackle the toughest job. They are proud of their courage, strength and brawn. The time has now come to supplement these qualities with that quality which truly separates man from the lower animals – the use of their intelligence. Since it is probably unreasonable to expect marketing expertise of producers, maybe the time has come for the U.S. independent producers to engage the services of a knowledgeable marketing advisor who, by applying a realistic understanding of the producers’ true bargaining position, could, on a collective basis, obtain a much more realistic (higher and stable) price for domestic petroleum production than has been obtained in the recent past.

The Producer’s Question

A penny saved is a penny earned,
Was Franklin’s sage advice.
And diligently do we resist,
When asked to pay a price.

We’ll go to almost any length,
To minimize our cost.
Employing ours and others skills,
So not one cent is lost.

But once we’ve drilled and set the pipe,
And oil begins to flow,
We turn it loose to be refined,
And proudly watch it go.

We’ve heard that imports sill come in,
To meet the huge demand,
And dollars spent to bring it in,
Cause problems in the land.

And so we feel both pride and joy,
For surely, don’t you see?
Our country needs the oil we found,
And “surely they’ll pay me”.

But if, apologetically, we note the price is low,
Refiners say, “My market’s poor, that’s as high as I can go.”
So we accept their sad lament,
And their low payment too,
And take some consolation in the good thing that we do.

But one? strange thing still puzzles me,

And causes me to frown,
Why do refiners profits rise while mine go sharply down