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Show The National Enterprise, August 25, 1976 Page eleven Energy Minerals Notes Higher Earnings THE NATIONAL DENVER Energy Minerals Corporation (OTC 1.75, 2.00) last week reported that earnings for the first quarter ended June 30, 1976, increased to $345,294 ($.09 per share) from $188,607 ($.05 per share) in 1975. Weldon C. Julander, president of the Denver-base- d oil and gas firm, noted that the 80 increase in earnings was due in part to the 22 increase in oil and gas production from $586,616 in the first quarter of 1976. 1975 to $714,774 in He also noted that in Griffin Drilling as a wholly-owne- d subsidiary of Energy Minerals Corporation and will also be nominated to serve on Energy Minerals Board of Griffin Drilling Directors. Company owns four medium depth drilling rigs and two completion rigs which operate in the Denver-Julesber- g Basin Area. With the Griffin acquisition, Energy Minerals current daily production is 750 barrels of oil and 5 million cubic feet of gas daily which at current oil and gas prices generates $13,475 per day. In addition, Energy Minerals has 3 million cubic feet of gas per day ready to be connected and five wells that Energy Minerals and Griffin are currently complet- fiscal 1975 Energy Minerals recorded $119,441 in dry hole and abandonment expenses as compared to only $3,998 in fiscal 1976. At the firm's annual meeting, he told shareholders ing. that fiscal 1977 oil and gas If the recent Federal sales are expected to continue Power ruling allowing interto increase on a quarter-to-quartstate natural gas to be sold for basis. For the full $1.42 per MCF is allowed to year ended March 31, 1976, go into effect. Energy MinMinerals had erals will be a prime benefacEnergy $2,417,282 in net sales of oil tor increasing natural gas and gas. revenues approximately $.60 per MCF. Griffin Acquisition Energy Minerals primary production is from the James H. Petersen, vice Spindle Field, located north of president of exploration, re- Denver, where Amoco reviewed the recent acquisition cently received a favorable by Energy Minerals Corporaspacing ruling from the Colortion of Griffin Drilling Com- ado Oil and Gas Commission pany of Denver. He said the granting authorization to all acquisition has now been operators to drill on 40 acre finalized and 405,000 shares of units instead of 80 acre spacEnergy Minerals stock has ing. As a result of this new been issued to Griffins ruling, Energy Minerals has founder and current president undertaken the drilling of Bennie C. Griffin and two additional tests on other Griffin employees. units. Griffin will continue to operate er 40-ac- rc New Yorker magazine recently published an article called the Wisdom of Barry Goldwater." I've always been a bit of a Goldwater fan so can't be very objective about his wisdom or lack thereof. We're on the verge of a war in the Middle East, we just lost our ass in Africa, and we've got a slowdown coming in Panama, Barry says. The domestic economy is good now, and will improve for a year, but then we're in for real inflation. I'm glad I don't owe a goddamned nickel. " I do remember my Grandmother saying that she was going to vote for Johnson because she heard Goldwater swear in public. I don't know if she carried through with that 1 threat. Anyway, it's not important. What is important is that Goldwater may be saying something rather new in this country. And, it may have both political and economic implications. Let me explain ' what I have in mind. Do you remember five years ago? We had inflation not 10 or 1 1 stuff but we still had it. And do you remember how we used to view it? The whole idea at the time wras buy or build now before prices went even higher. So, when people were told that lumber prices were going up, they raced to the local builder supply to buy before they went higher. In buying, they drove prices even higher. Just think not because the price was back on it. We built apartments right but because we knew it would cost more next year. Wc used the same logic with our homes. We even purchased freezers and stored food. Some of the food items have never been as high since. We even purchased stocks as a hedge against inflation. And then we all had the hell scared out of us. Guns and butter in Vietnam. World food shortages. A dramatic increase in world oil prices. It all hit at the same time. The result: The kind of inflation that few of us have ever seen. And at the end of the inflation, the worst economic slump since 1929. Well, I dont think that Id be going too far out on a limb to say that the whole experience of the last few years has made an impression. So. all of a sudden, Americans arc looking at inflation in a different way. Any kind of inflation news makes us wonder if it will get worse. At the end. wc keep expecting an even greater collapse. All the evidence seems to indicate that Americans arc News of higher lumber prices isnt acting differently. sending masses of people to buy before prices get even higher. On the contrary, higher prices seem to be causing people to stop buying. As people stop or slow down their purchases, inflation slows down. All this, you sec. makes Goldwatcrs statement rather interesting. I always thought that it was best to owe money during times of inflation. Fay back with cheaper dollars and all that. But Goldwater talks about a new round of inflation and then states that he is glad that he doesnt owe a nickel. And what he is saying is what a lot of us arc thinking. If wc get to travel on that runaway inflation road again, we'd like to do it in cash. Stated simply, it's not the inflation that really scares us, it's the crash at the end. Consciously or unconsciously, Goldwater was expressing a whole new approach to inflation. The simple truth is that inflation is now something that scares the hell out of us. And as long as it continues to scare us. it probably will not return as a major problem. As long as Americans slow down their buying at the first signs of inflation, the problem may be essentially self correcting. So much for economics. In the political world. President Ford has an opportunity. Jimmy Carter has said again and again that he will attack unemployment and take his chances with inflation." It may sound cold blooded as can be, but I have a feeling that the vast majority of Americans would rather take their chances with unemployment and take dead aim on inflation. It will be interesting to sec if Ford can bring out the very real difference between the two in the upcoming debates. The Prince Column by John Prince Partner, Prince, Linghcinrich & Greer. |