None of the big chains met its plan for the holidays, and few matched 1994. Meanwhile, November auto sales were up 16 percent from their year-ago level, resulting in a record November for Houston dealers. The year-end flurry of drilling activity that marked many past years failed to materialize in 1995. Respondents credited a combination of improved management techniques, better control of capital budgets and the absence of expiring tax credits to capture. Low levels of domestic drilling onshore continue to be offset by high levels of activity and rising day-rates for rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
International opportunities continue to grow, especially in Latin America.
Prices and operating rates continue to fall. Despite the drop in operating rates, inventories remain under control. Both gasoline and heating oil prices began to rise in mid-November. The refining industry entered the heating season with low crude inventories, partly to save costs after several warm winters and partly to avoid potential losses on inventory valuation after the November OPEC meeting. By mid-December, cold weather pulled crude inventories below 10 million barrels, or 6.4 percent below 1994's level.