It is easy to feel separated while watching the news, to feel either unaffected or to simply become overwhelmed by the politics of it all. But politics effects us all, as demonstrated Tuesday, when the tensions in the Middle East have led a Dallas firm to move their equipment out of the Middle East. Mike Mullen, a St. Marks graduate and owner of Energy Equipment Resource Inc., spoke to Dallas News about the latest change in the company, and how tension in the Middle East effected the company’s decision.

Before becoming a business tycoon, Mullen was a St. Marks student, an avid football player, who continued to play at Tulane. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1973, and after his short stint as an athlete, became a member of the business world.

Energy Equipment Resource Inc. is an oil and gas drilling service provider, that up until recently, had equipment in the Middle East. Earlier this month, the company decided to move their equipment from the United Arab Emirates to Taiwan, where they begin working on growing renewable energy.

The St. Marks alum has made his money by making these big decisions, dealing with the ever changing energy industry. His work as a buyer and seller of equipment, as well as a service provider, is clearly effected by foreign policy. Mullen, in his interview with Dallas News, spoke about the economic effects of making money in a war zone. “I’m leaving a potential war zone in the Middle East to a new area, Taiwan, which is closed off to Chinese equipment,” he said. Mullen also cited the over-saturation of the market, and the number of rigs set up in the Middle East. Along with this, the insurance costs have apparently “skyrocketed” due to the threat of war that seems to be ever-present in the area.

For political reasons, China is unable to set up the equipment in Taiwan, leaving it an open market for companies like this one to set up shop there. This Dallas company is not the only one vying for a Taiwanese set-up. One Japanese-owned vessel left Northern Europe, setting sail for Taiwan.

These companies leaving the Middle East have led to major steps forward in alternative energy. “It’s my first time in an alternative energy project,” Mullen said. “We’ve been in oil and gas drilling, remediation, but never done anything with wind farms. I’m excited.”