ARKANSAS a OKLAHOMA

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OT EVERYONE in Arkansas and Oklahoma is rooting for oil prices to stay low. Some are even cheering OPEC, hoping its latest plan to control production and raise the price of crude works just fine.

I'm talking about retailers, home builders, bankers and many others in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Thousands have lost their businesses, jobs and much more in the last year, watching helplessly in disbelief as OPEC flooded the market with cheap crude. This action has translated into lower revenues for domestic companies, less drilling and sharp cutbacks in exploration.

Unemployment is up dramatically. The unemployment rate in Texas was 9.lo/o in August I 986; it was 7% the same month in 1985. The 1986 rate was 9.20lo in Oklahoma after only 6.80/o in 1985. Business failures and bankruptcies have skyrocketed. The rotary drilling rig count, a prime way of measuring exploration activity, is off500/0. Even the extraction of crude from the ground is headed down.

Everyone hoping for quick fixes because of OPEC's recent action could be in for a long wait. Domestic petroleum firms have reported that they are very cautious about their expansion plans for the future. They know, and we should know by now, that the precarious world of oil is more dangerous than ever. Risks could be massive if we assume the price of crude will quickly bounce back to past levels.

All of which continues to be very bad news for business people including lumber dealers who still depend on rhe petro economy. The bright side, however, is the fact that it everyone can make it want change these rcok. They'ry made by some comryny called Metric and they don't fit the nuts on my cor."

Jthrough this period by finding and creating new markets. just think what it is going to be Iike when crude flows again and the highways and back roads are clogged with the rig trucks.

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