When this magazine was founded 20 years ago, business was booming and there was nothing else like it in the oil patch. Still isn't. We're proud that you are still with us, reading these words. A lot has changed. In 1981, the U.S. rig count averaged 3,970 for the year, four times more than what it was throughout the 1990s. Operators drilled 17,430 exploratory wells that year, versus less than 2,000 in 1999. Pundits thought oil could go as high as $100 a barrel. That was before the advent of oil futures trading, and wild speculation, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, which started in 1983. Since then, the magazine has remained one constant-while rolling with the punches-as events in the oil and gas industry itself went every which way. We used to travel to Michigan, Louisiana and Wyoming. Now we've added Indonesia, Poland and Brazil to the itinerary. We used to talk about what a well log was, or what a geologist does. Now, we explain e-commerce and increasingly complex financial structures and smart wells that almost drill themselves. If I had predicted back then that an old line, family-owned independent in Ardmore, Oklahoma, Noble Affiliates, would someday be studying the power grid in Ecuador, building a methanol plant in Equatorial Guinea, and acquiring leases offshore Vietnam, you would have said I was hallucinating. But all this has come to pass. It reflects what we said in 1988 in our first article on independents going abroad: the world has become a different, more open place and less-than-major U.S. companies will be very active in pursuing opportunity wherever it is. Technological marvels now enable them all to participate on the exploration playing field with the majors. Indeed, during the years we have seen the majors adopt many of the nimble business practices of the independents, even as the latter have followed them into foreign countries and deepwater plays. Who would have thought that a British company would snap up both Amoco and Arco? Or that a behemoth such as Texaco would file for Chapter 11 protection because of a massive lawsuit related to a merger-and then a few years later, agree to merge into Chevron? Who would have thought that in 2000, Getty Petroleum Marketing, a legendary oil-patch name, would accept a buyout offer from a Russian oil company, Lukoil? Or that Lukoil itself, and the Chinese, Argentinean and French national oil companies, would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange? These days, things move very fast in the interconnected oil patch. Through the Internet, we can watch real-time well logging data from anywhere in the world while sipping our morning coffee. We can watch stock and commodity prices go up or down instantaneously, and see political events unfold a continent away. We can evaluate seismic and production data; do due diligence; buy and sell equipment, services or oil and gas properties; and post resumes. Not to mention communicate news, jokes and gossip; and share work in progress with colleagues who may be sitting half a world away. To celebrate our milestone 20th anniversary, art director Marc Conly, who has crafted every issue of this magazine, has designed a new look for our table of contents that highlights our main features most attractively. And we are thrilled to be publishing Lowell Georgia's photo essay that collects some of the best of 20 years of exceptional photography. The editors are bringing you several exciting new departments each month. Managing editor Nissa Darbonne leads off with Completions, her commentary on various industry events and trends. In our popular exploration highlights section, Leasing and Permitting News debuts with a look at the Green River Basin. After International Highlights, you'll see Trends and Analysis, a look at the big issues that affect us all. That's followed by Cash Flows, which tracks the flow of money into the industry, whether public or private. You'll find In Their Opinion, our monthly summary of stock recommendations from two analysts, is moving to OilandGasInvestor.com, where we think it will be more timely. Finally, check out the very last page of this issue, where our top experts-exploration editor Peggy Williams and senior financial editor Brian A. Toal-are spotlighted. These magazine and oil-patch veterans will alternate each month in sharing their news and views in their new column, Perspectives. We welcome your feedback on these improvements to Oil and Gas Investor. Above all, we must thank the thousands of readers, advertisers and editorial sources who have so richly contributed to our continued success. It's been fun and fascinating. Stay with us now as we begin the next 20 years.