A rise in prices has boosted the Miss-Lou’s oil industry, but several months of stable prices will be needed to convince companies to drill many new wells, said local oil company officials.

The price per barrel for light sweet crude closed Friday at $29.51 compared to $11.96 per barrel a year ago — a big deal in an area whose economy has traditionally depended largely on oil. Still, prices are fluctuating from day to day.

&uot;Prices will have to stay up at least another year for it to have a big effect locally,&uot; said Charlie Blaney, president of Blaney’s Oil Specialty near Vidalia.

&uot;The government could knock the price down again, or the (oil companies) overseas could flood our market any time they get ready. … And I&160;don’t see us getting any insurance soon that that won’t happen.&uot;

Joe Fortunato, president of Big Joe Oil Co., is taking a chance on drilling four wells in the near future. &uot;That’s better than this time last year, when we didn’t drill any,&uot;&160;he said.

Still, he agreed that prices need to be stable for several months to boost the local oil industry.

&uot;It’s so unpredictable. The federal government could drop the price, for example,&uot;&160;Fortunato said. &uot;You’ll notice the government didn’t say anything when prices were low and people were losing jobs.&uot;

He believes that the price local companies are paid for each barrel of oil would need to stay between $20 and $25 for several months for the local industry to be affected. The price Miss-Lou companies get for oil is usually $2 to $3 per barrel lower than the national price.

Blaney, whose company services oil equipment, said the rise in prices seems to be spurring companies to do more work on existing wells rather than drill many new wells. &uot;Most are on hold for now,&uot;&160;he said.

Take Doug Brown, for instance. Last month, the president of Nevanen Energy bought 20 wells in Adams and Franklin counties, thinking the price might go up even more. But he said companies aren’t drilling many more wells.

&uot;A lot of wells were marginal, and with these prices the companies are able to do work to enhance the production of existing wells,&uot; Brown said. &uot;The pay-out is quicker now.&uot;

Gary Parker, operations manager for David New Oil, said work being done on existing wells has been enough to keep his crews busy.

&uot;Usually we slow down this time of year, but our crews are staying as busy … as we were in the middle of summer,&uot;&160;Parker said.

One reason is that, because the Mississippi River level is under 8 feet now, some riverfront wells that would usually be underwater in winter can still be accessed, he said.

&uot;It’s not an increase in business, but it hasn’t slowed down like it usually would,&uot; Parker said.