The U.S. petroleum industry has now had ample time to assess the impact of the disastrous oil price slide of the past two years. The gruelling period of 1986-87 has forced us to take a long, hard look at where we stand. Unfortunately, the most crucial element of our industry - exploration - has been curtailed almost to a standstill. We have all had to learn to live with the harsh depressive state of the industry and the untenable position of exploiting reserves already found. There have been massive cutbacks in staffs and budgets have been trimmed to the bone, which have forced the stagnation of the exploration phase of the industry.

There is much media coverage today about the petroleum industry's downstream operations - refining, marketing, transportation, and so on. What concerns me most is that there is nothing being said about the importance of our exploration professionals and the real impact of reduced exploration for oil and gas reserves. There should be more awareness of the future of the industry. Summed up, we should be aware that without exploration, the U S petroleum industry would have to shift its might solely toward downstream activities - which, in turn, would number its living days.

It's time for a return to the broad picture and long-range planning of establishing a vital energy security. Uppermost in that planning must be a substantial increase in the exploration effort. Doing otherwise means no new oil or gas will be found, and that simply means that our exploration professionals will gradually become unnecessary as the industry slowly fades away. Americans must not let this happen.

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