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J.C. returns to community some of what he reaped Anderson Exploration bought by Devon Energy in September; J.C. Anderson is planning new company focused on smaller gas fields Gary Park PNA Canadian Correspondent
In his characteristically blunt manner, J.C. Anderson declared it was payback time — in the nicest possible way. The Nebraska-born, Canadian oil patch legend then dug deep and turned over C$11 million to the Calgary Foundation, which administers C$152 million and doles out millions each year to charitable and community organizations.
“This is a massive, astounding gift,” gasped Sam Aylesworth, executive director of the foundation. “When 7 percent of our value is given by one person at one time, that is a massive gift to the community.”
J.C. — which is all he answers to — rolled into Calgary in the mid-1960s as an Amoco Corp. employee before launching Anderson Exploration Ltd. in 1968, discovering the huge Dunvegan gas field in northern Alberta and making a series of high-profile takeovers before succumbing in September to a C$5.3 billion offer from Devon Energy Corp.
Out of that, J.C. was estimated to have pocketed C$136 million for the “sweat equity” he put into creating a company with rich gas holdings in Western Canada, the Yukon and Northwest Territories.
“I have been fortunate enough to live and work here for a number of years,” said Anderson. “I made the money here and what better way to share my fortune.”
Not easing into retirement &'DT&???hought J.C. would ease into retirement and enjoy his 700-acre ranch south of Calgary, underestimated the man.
At 71, he just isn’t the retiring kind. “I’d go nuts doing something like that,” he said.
So J.C. has moved to new quarters in downtown Calgary, clinging to one vestige of his past — Big Blue, a leather couch that he uses for a daily half-hour “power nap” after eating lunch at his desk.
His goal is to build another company from scratch, concentrating on a bunch of smaller gas fields and land that various new U.S.-based owners are expected to discard as non-core holdings.
J.C. shows no concern over the slump in gas prices. “It doesn’t mean the whole town’s under water,” he said.
Possibly the biggest change of all in his life is the acquisition of a cell phone, which he’s pretty sure will be useful once he figures out the fancy features.
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