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Gold/Mining/Energy : Ultra Petroleum (UPL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LowtherAcademy who wrote (4474)	10/25/1999 3:40:00 PM
From: Gerald Atwater	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4851

Lew -- I'm not going to re-research how and why Ultra got its leases in the GRB. By memory, though, I recall that Jerry Albertus had worked for one of the original GRB companies, a company that wanted out of the area for some reason. Albertus was either laid off or retired. It was his "vision" that led to Ultra acquiring his old company's leases, among others, there. Ultra hired GLJ -- this I recall from an interview Allan Laird did with Stocktalk, August, l998 -- because it had a solid reputation and Ultra needed that for its own creditability (being new, being junior, being on Vancouver). As for the "Texaco deal," I don't know anything about that other than to say $150,000,000 would have looked really good then. Would have made me near WHOLE! On the other hand, with 55+ million shares outstanding, and that amount meaning 100% of Ultra's assets, I can see where management might have concluded that long-term (i.e. 30% of each well with no (I think) drilling expenses) the deal with Questar would offer more. After all, Questar is already talking about a minimum of 135 well locations, and maybe 350 if 40-acre spacing is allowed. And STR also has the means to gather and transport the gas (part of its business). . . I will ask Ultra for details of any Texaco proposal. As to Watford's treatment of Ultra's partners I can only surmise that when the company you were just hired to save is about to go under you play hardball. Take no prisoners. Only a guess. As to "shareholders . . . viewed . . . as cannon fodder by management" it's hard to argue that management has been very forthcoming. Then again, when your cojones are in the vise, does your hand reach to turn on the printing press or to back off the vise! Crude and stupid analogy. Guess I don't know the answer. Would like more pertinent news, for sure! Gerry Atwater