A Response to Oil Investment Story

Written in response to a May 26 article about Loyd Sellinger, president of an Orange County energy company (“Oil and Gas: Volatile Investment”). In the article, stock brokers Jeffrey Kilpatrick and Michael Cummins discussed past problems with oil investments. Your article was well written and fair in content. The Orange County Petroleum Assn. was founded to enable the legitimate oilmen in this part of Southern California to have an opportunity to gather together socially throughout the year and to present the oil and gas industry in its true role as a vital, if depressed, sector of the nation’s economy.

Mr. Loyd Sellinger, our current association president, is as good a representative of the drilling fund industry as you could find anywhere, and his activities demonstrate the important role the independent oil companies play in funding exploration throughout the United States.

I did not particularly appreciate the comments of Mr. Cummins and Mr. Kilpatrick, even though their comments have some basis in fact. However, most of the “oil scams” emanate from broker-dealers that are more a part of the investment community than the oil industry. That point should be clarified in future articles. One reason Loyd Sellinger has a good following, aside from performance, is the fact that he has not relied on the broker-dealer who may make uneducated or exaggerated claims to make a sale.

I would also remind Mr. Cummins and Mr. Kilpatrick that oil scams pale by comparison to the questionable acts of a segment of the investment community, especially those acts that have come to light during the past year.

Speaking only for myself, I believe all of us who work diligently to present the oil industry in its best light, especially during these extremely difficult times, appreciate your effort to illustrate a favorable aspect of our community.

JACK WILLIS

President

PetroPacific Resources

Mission Viejo