Show i I I BUSINESS t t NATURAL S. GAS SAS AS STOCKS The advent of the heating healing season brings sharply into focus one of the many problems which will defy easy solution over the months ahead namely the shortfall of natural gas supplies While the industry has battled gamely to Improve the situation it has lost gound over the years and the nation may be forced to pay the piper despite recent moves to ease one facet of a highly complex puzzle Nevertheless stocks of the natural gas companies which are among the better situated from the supply standpoint surely merit consideration consideration consideration con con- for the portfolios of many investors at this juncture Mother Nature May Not operate Co-operate This country has been fortunate fortunate for tor in recent years that the fuel and energy shortfall and related woes have not reached the extremely critical level We have Mother Nature to thank for that good fortune The last three years have seen relatively mild weather conditions during important parts of the heating season But can we count on Mother Nature to continue to bail us out Weather cycles are as inexorable as agricultural and economic tides This nation cannot continue to avoid facing up to the energy problem realistically and promptly At some point and it could well happen over the period immediately immediately im im- im mediately ahead the weather will be rigorous and hostile Luckily many natural gas carriers and distributors have storage facilities underground or above ground that can be supplied in the off season Then when peak demand occurs they are able to fall back on their stored reserves to fill the gap But even these storage facilities some of which are capable of containing substantial substantial substantial sub sub- volumes of gas have physical limitations No Easy Solution It is too bad that tha t in the face of such a vital problem the special interest groups have been unyielding Hence there is still an impasse on vital questions holding the key to the provision of incentives needed to finance exploration and development work which can ferret out and bring onto the market new supplies of gas Even if concessions were forthcoming in the near future the nation probably could not avoid several more years of touch and go conditions with respect to our supplies of natural gas Actually there is no way to shorten by much the time involved involved in in- in geophysical work drilling pipeline construction and the other less visible jobs that must be done before the output of a new gas field can reach the consumer This is elementary but some of the thinkers who thus far appear to be the force behind legislative barriers would have havethe havethe the consuming public believe that all the foregoing can be bedone i done without capital and at a moments moment's notice Good Goal Background or Had The natural gas stocks are normally considered to be among those issues that are money rate sensitive So the effect of continuing inflationary pressures and the inability of the Fed to expand the money supply aggressively to stimulate the lethargic economy have kept the natural gas stocks low enough so that they still represent relatively good values The pessimistically inclined might consider this climate far lar from promising but the Research De Department of Babson's Reports thinks otherwise It is in fact exactly the tM type of investment environment environment en en- which breeds unusually promising buying opportunities in certain sectors of the market At this time the Staff Starr of or Babson's Reports is glad of an added opportunity to put more investors into this significant industry We currently re recommend stock purchase of two of or tin tin- bettor better situated companies American Natural jas Cis and Oklahoma Natural Gastor Gas For tor those who ho are interested in ill re receiving illg u a free tree detailed report n on either cither or both 0 at of th these l' l write 10 lo labson's Babson Inc n Wellesley flips Massa Massachusetts hu etts t |