Since Louis W. Powers sold his consulting firm in 1995, he has continued to do some consulting and speaking to financial groups and civic clubs. He also has served as vice chairman, chairman and historian of the Pioneer Oil Producers Society.

But his most intriguing project for the past six months has been the editing of his book about his 50-year-plus career. It weaves his international experiences with updated data, an assessment of today's geopolitical and industry trends, and how the Obama administration is responding. A wealth of knowledge and contacts worldwide (he loves using Skype) enable him to reflect on issues such as Saudi Arabia's productive oil capacity and how shale gas is affecting the world.

Powers is a graduate of two OSUs: Oklahoma State University in 1957 (at that time, known as Oklahoma A&M) and Ohio State University (a master's in 1958). Both degrees are in mechanical engineering.

He worked for Exxon for 19 years before starting his own business in 1979. He has worked in production research, reservoir engineering, operations management and consulting, including two years in Saudi Arabia as Saudi Aramco's chief petroleum engineer, on "loan" from Exxon.

In 1979, after leaving Exxon, he and partner J.K. Patterson formed Patterson, Powers and Associates Inc. In July 1984, he founded and became president of Powers Petroleum Consultants Inc., and began to write papers and reports about the petroleum industry. For one, on U.S. vulnerability to oil imports, he was honored by the IPAA in 1992. At that time, his report was sent to each congressman and senator. He also worked on the committee that wrote presidential candidate Ross Perot's energy plan in 1992. In 1994 he issued a prescient report titled, "Can America afford another war over oil?"

For the past 16 years he has been involved in a prison ministry at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Sugar Land, Texas; he also serves as a volunteer chaplain in a one-on-one mentoring program, and facilitates in a 12-week Bridges to Life program for victims and inmates.

Investor: What decided you on oil and gas?

Powers: Actually, it was two summers working in the aerospace industry, which was totally unsatisfactory. After I got my master's in mechanical engineering, I looked at other options, including the oil industry, although it was somewhat depressed in those days, and I joined Standard Oil of New Jersey Production Research (a forerunner of ExxonMobil).

Investor: What did you do there?

Powers: Research on new methods of oil recovery. My first job was working on a pilot test of steam injection in western Missouri and running lab experiments on producing heavy oil, i.e., tar that was so viscous you could not pour it out of a bucket at room temperature.

Investor: How do you think running a company would differ today vs. in 1979?

Powers: The key to success then, as it is today, is to surround yourself with people smarter than you and help them grow. We always tried to hire the very best.

Investor: What was it like working in Saudi Arabia?

Powers: My family, all five of us, had a great two years living there, and my work was very challenging. When we arrived in 1977, the roads were crowded with huge trucks; drilling rigs were turning to the right. Aramco was forging ahead with a plan to accelerate Saudi reserve depletion at a rapid rate. I came back to America six weeks after I got there, with approval to triple Aramco's staff of petroleum engineers.

But a few months later, the Saudis took control of Aramco and a more realistic goal was laid out, i.e., 10 million barrels a day as the maximum rate. The oil minister, Sheik Yamani, was quoted as saying, "Some day our grandchildren will need the oil." I wrote in my diary that night, "Today, the world has changed."

Investor: What do you think about peak oil?

Powers: Saudi Arabia will not fall off its dunes, but America may drown in a sea of red tape. They are not about to go on a sharp decline in oil production. I'm not sure that many in the world understand the advancement in technology that Saudi Aramco has been able to apply to their giant reservoirs.

About 60% of their drilling is now horizontal or multilateral wells, and it is controlled remotely by engineers and geologists many miles away. They have remote sensors down hole that report data to headquarters hundreds of miles away. Their reservoir modeling is some of the most advanced in the world.

Nor do many understand their large resource base. A single field, Ghawar, had eight times more oil in place than the largest U.S. field, Prudhoe Bay.

Investor: Tell us about your book.

Powers: I've spent the past six months on it. It includes stories the industry can be proud of, and some they may not want to hear. I update projects I've been involved in and where they fit into today's energy mix.

Investor: Does U.S. shale mania give the industry a false sense of security?

Powers: It is a very large potential resource that our industry can be proud of. It will have great impact around the world and in the U.S. The key question is, at what price is it profitable to develop? At today's prices of $4 to $5 per thousand cubic feet, most U.S. shale basins are uneconomic, in my opinion. At $8, shale is profitable in most basins.

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