Baldwin City ? Instincts that earned Jim Mietchen the nickname “magic man” have landed him a spot on a cable television series.

His techniques for finding oil in Kansas sparked the interest of Discovery Channel. And the Baldwin City man is one of three featured on “Wildcatters,” which begins at 9 p.m. today on Sunflower Broadband Channel 24.

“They filmed us for 30 days out there with two cameras,” Mietchen said. “What they did was put us in a race with two other companies to see which one could drill the quickest and find oil. You’ll have to watch the program to see the conclusion.”

The crew was filmed while drilling for oil near Dighton.

Mietchen and his ex-wife, Debbie Mietchen, have seen the unedited version of the program, but they are interested in viewing the final cut. Although divorced, the Mietchens live and work together.

While in western Kansas, Mietchen’s crew worked nearly around the clock.

“We were going about 18 hours a day,” Jim Mietchen said. “It’s a lot of work. Plus, we are under the scrutiny of the cameras all of the time. You are tired and you can see in there we look tired. It was fun though.”

What is a wildcatter?

By definition, a wildcatter is a person who drills oil wells in areas that are not known in advance to be oil fields.

“A true wildcatter uses nothing but instincts,” Debbie Mietchen said. “The other two companies used scientific methods to find their spot. Our science is gut instinct.”

They prefer maps and their “magic” instincts to science.

The basement of their home is filled with hundreds of maps of Kansas counties. Each is marked with numerous colored pins and markings that hold their own meaning for the Mietchens.

“I think science is great and it has a certain degree of validity, but I don’t think it’s reliable,” Mietchen said.

The oil business appealed to the couple because they could follow their own path.

“That’s what you’ve got to do in this business: think outside the box,” Mietchen said. “You’ve got to blaze your own trail out here. I’ve listened to all of the advice I can possibly get my hands on, but ultimately the decision rests in our hands.”

Beginning the business

The decision to blaze their own trail is what led the Mietchens from real estate to oil nearly 25 years ago, a choice that came after a meeting with oil tycoon Ross Perot.

“He said, ‘Too many people spend all of their time in planning everything out and not enough time in actually doing it. If you got an idea, jump on it and work it out as you go,'” Mietchen said. “That’s basically what we did. We just learned as we went and it worked out well for us.”

They began their drilling near their home, which was Ottawa at the time. They drilled nearly 100 wells in Franklin and Douglas counties during the next several years and saw success.

“We hit oil about 95 percent of the time, which is extraordinary,” Mietchen said. “Generally, you hit one well out of every 10, if you are lucky. We were successful with our first 35 wells before we hit a dry hole.”

They drilled oil in the two eastern Kansas counties for several years before selling the wells. Oil prices dropped significantly in the late ’80s, forcing them to sell their business.

“We sold the remaining 110 wells in 1988,” Mietchen said. “Then we waited for the price to get better until we got back into it. When it got down to $9 or $10 a barrel, it wouldn’t pay for itself. You can’t continue a business if you’re not making any money, at least breaking even. We took a break from it, but now we’re back with both feet in the barrel.”

Although the Mietchens left the oil business because of falling prices and returned with higher prices, becoming filthy rich isn’t their plan. They simply want to make enough to live a comfortable life, but nothing like the one they lived in the ’80s.

“Making a lot of money is not all it’s cracked up to be,” Debbie Mietchen said. “We just want to be comfortable for retirement.”