Top Hand

MIDLAND Although he's been a Midlander for most of the past 45 years, it was actually interest in Odessa that brought Ted Collins Jr. to the Permian Basin.

Just out of the University of Oklahoma with a geological engineering degree, Collins came to Odessa in July 1960 to work for Pan American Petroleum, which became Amoco. His family already had a lease near Goldsmith that he still owns and operates today.

"I'm kind of partial to Odessa," he said from his corner office on the top floor of the Western National Bank building in downtown Midland.

After working briefly in Andrews, Collins, now 70, moved away from engineering to start his own business in Midland.

In 1969, he began a partnership with the late Herbert Ware that lasted the better part of three decades. It recently brought the duo induction to the Petroleum Museum's Petroleum Hall of Fame 2009 class, one of two major honors Collins will get this year. Last week, he received the Permian Basin Petroleum Association's Top Hand Award.

"Both of them were really a surprise," Collins said. "It's an honor because a lot of really cool guys before me got it."

"I think I've outlived my competition," he joked, "nah, it's a nice deal."

Making his Hall of Fame induction more notable is that it comes alongside former President George W. Bush.

"It's terrific," said Don Jones, who was a banker for Collins for years before becoming his partner with Collins & Jones Investments. "I'm thrilled for him."

Collins first ran an exploration partnership with Ware with American Quasar from 1969 to 1982. In 1988, they came back together to form Collins & Ware Inc., which grew to have more than 100 employees, 500 wells and $500 million in assets by the time Ware died in 2001.

"Ted and Herb were great partners," Jones said. "They really fed off each others strengths and weaknesses. Their word is their bond, they're honorable almost to a fault, if you can be that way. Their integrity is beyond reproach."

Through it all, Collins said he's been able to make it.

"We went through a lot of ups and downs, and we paid our bills during the down times," he said. "There's certainly been some down times or some skinny ones."

In between his partnerships with Ware, Collins became president of HNG Oil Company in Midland, which merged with Northern Natural Gas to become Enron Oil and Gas in 1984. That company, now known as EOG Resources, broke off from the now-infamous parent company two years before its 2001 collapse. EOG remains in operation today.

Collins said he never saw any signs of the corruption that brought the company down before he left his job as Enron Oil president in 1988.

"When I left, it was pretty healthy," he said. "Even in 1999, they were voted the best employer to work for. They didn't know they were cheating."

Much has changed since Collins got into the business. He said that when he started, papers had to be copied using a mimeograph machine and written messages had to be sent using telex, a telegraph network. But it's still the same business.

"You still have to repair a pump and pull rods," he said. "Everything's just quicker now and more modernized."

And now Collins is a partner in Patriot Resources, which has operations primarily in the Spraberry play south of Midland. One of his partners is Ware's son, Herb Ware III, the son of his longtime partner.

Collins has seen oil go from $3 to $35 a barrel and crash back down. He doesn't see the current slump lasting much longer, but even if it does, he can handle it.

"A lot of stuff will work at 40 (dollars a barrel)," he said. "I didn't think I'd ever complain about $40 oil, but I am now."

And although he's an eight-handicap golfer who has golf memorabilia around his office, don't expect to see too much of Collins on the links for the next decade or so.

"I don't have any plans to quit anytime soon," he said. "I enjoy playing golf, but I wouldn't want to do it every day."

And Collins sees Odessa ultimately outlasting Midland because it's where the oilfield service companies are located.

"No matter what happens, they're going to keep pumping those wells," he said.

And Jones said Collins would probably find a way to always be involved with it.

"He's a deal junkie, he's a wildcatter," he said, "and he's done very, very well because of great instincts."

2009 Petroleum Hall of Fame Inductees

>> George W. Bush, 43rd U.S. President.

>> Ted Collins Jr. and Herbert Ware Jr., founders of Collins & Ware Inc.

>> Jim Henry, founder Henry Petroleum Corp.

>> Johnny R. Warren, former chairman of Warren Equipment Company.

Induction ceremony

>> When: 6:30 p.m. April 23.

>> Where: Midland Center, 105 N. Main St.

>> Tables: $5,000 to $15,000.

>> For information: 683-4403.