This October issue has so many gems of wisdom. You'll learn more about the pros and cons of upstream MLPs, why Ray Hunt thinks a company's culture matters first and foremost, and what seasoned A&D specialists think of the acquisition market. But within our special report on Canada, you'll find this sage advice: "Build a company to sell and it might not last; build one to last and it will always sell." That's according to David Johnson, chief executive officer of Calgary-based, publicly traded ProEx Energy. With a market cap of about C$750 million, ProEx is focused on finding natural gas in northeastern British Columbia. Johnson's remark was made in connection with the fact that in Calgary, so many start-ups and juniors can access capital easily, acquire assets and build their production to about 5,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, then sell to others-and they start all over again. It brings up a million-dollar question: What does it take to build a company to last? Do CEOs and their investors even want to own something that lasts anymore? Or do they favor the business model of build-it-and-flip-it-soon? Whatever their chosen formula, many U.S. industry veterans are accessing capital easily and starting on the build-up road. I expect they'll have a good run over the next five years, if they can find enough of the right assets to buy-and can compete with the voracious herd of MLPs trying to do the same. Even before the MLP boom began, asset values had been climbing steadily, as were finding and development costs. There is no shortage of former E&P owners and executives willing to race. Roger Jarvis, who ran Spinnaker Exploration, Mike Harvey of Gryphon Exploration, Lisa Stewart of El Paso Production, Randy Foutch of Lariat Petroleum, Don Wolf of Westport Resources, and Paul Rady of Antero Resources, are but a few of the people starting over. In the past 12 months or so, they collectively have garnered private-equity commitments of roughly $5 billion. What will these super-jockeys find out on the track? For more on this, see the October issue of Oil and Gas Investor. To subscribe, write to custserv@hartenergy.com or call 713-260-6475. --Leslie Haines

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