Exhibit 10(bb)
                                AGREEMENT


This Agreement is made and entered into this 19th day of March, 
1999, by and among MCNIC Pipeline & Processing Company, a 
Michigan corporation ("MCNIC"), CRC No. 1 LLC, CRC No. 2 LLC, 
CRC No. 3 LLC, CRC No. 4 LLC, CRC No. 5 LLC, and CRC No. 6 LLC, 
each a Delaware limited liability company (individually and 
collectively called the "CRC Entities"), Beard Mining, L.L.C., 
an Oklahoma limited liability company ("BML"), The Beard 
Company, an Oklahoma corporation ("TBC"), and Beard 
Technologies, Inc., an Oklahoma corporation ("BTI").

                           Recitals

A.     Pursuant to a Partial Assignment and Assumption 
Agreement dated June 24, 1998 (the "Assumption Agreement"), the 
CRC Entities assigned BML all right to receive and own, and BML 
assumed the obligation to pay for, the "Benefication 
Equipment," as that term is defined in the Assumption 
Agreement.

B.     Pursuant to a Loan Agreement dated June 24,1998, between 
MCNIC and BML, MCN IC, on behalf of and as a loan to BML, 
delivered all of the purchase price of the Beneficiation 
Equipment to the seller of the Beneficiation Equipment (the 
"Seller").

C.     On or before June 30, 1998, the Seller delivered 
possession and full ownership of the Beneficiation Equipment to 
BML.

D.     BML's obligations under the Loan Agreement are secured 
by certain security interests and liens created pursuant to, 
and as more particularly described in, a General Security 
Agreement dated as of June 24, 1998 (the "Security Agreement"), 
from BML to MCNIC;

E.     BML's obligations under the Loan Agreement are also 
secured by a Pledge and Security Agreement effective as of June 
24, 1998 (the "Pledge Agreement"), made by BTI in favor of 
MCNIC, wherein BTI pledged all its membership interest in BML 
to secure payment of BML's obligations under the Loan 
Agreement.

F.     Pursuant to an Operation and Maintenance Agreement dated 
as of June 24, 1998 (the "Operation Agreement"), among BTI and 
the CRC Entities, BTI has operated, managed, and maintained 
certain coal briquetting facilities in accordance with the 
Operation Agreement for the CRC Entities.

G.     Pursuant to a Coal Fines Extraction and Beneficiation 
Agreement dated as of June 24, 1998 (the "Beneficiation 
Agreement"), among BTI and the CRC Entities,and a License 
Agreement dated June 24, 1998, between MCNIC and 
BTI (the "License"), BTI has extracted, beneficiated, and 
delivered coal fines in accordance with the Beneficiation 
Agreement for the CRC Entities.

H.     Pursuant to Section 8.1 of the Operation Agreement and 
the Beneficiation Agreement, the CRC Entities notified BTI by 
letters dated December 16, 1998, of their intention to 
terminate the Operation Agreement and the Beneficiation 
Agreement effective January 31, 1999.  The terminations were 
not for cause, were permitted under the Operation Agreement and 
the Beneficiation Agreement, and are confirmed and accepted by 
all parties to this Agreement.

I.     Pursuant to a Lease Agreement entered into as of June 
24, 1998 (the "Lease Agreement"), BML leased the Beneficiation 
Equipment to BTI for a term ending upon the earlier of (i) the 
"Maturity Date," as that term is defined in the Loan Agreement, 
or (ii) the earlier of the effective date of the termination of 
the Operation Agreement or the Beneficiation Agreement.

J.     Prior to the effective date of the termination of the 
Operation Agreement and the Beneficiation Agreement, the 
monthly lease payments made by BTI to BML (the "Lease 
Payments") were equal to the monthly payments due by BML to 
MCNIC under the terms of the Loan Agreement. These Lease 
Payments were authorized reimbursable expenses under the 
Operation Agreement and the Beneficiation Agreement by the CRC 
Entities to BTI.

K.     Without the benefit of the Lease Payments, BML can not 
satisfy the monthly payments due under the terms of the Loan 
Agreement.

L.     BTI is willing to convey, transfer, and assign all 
ownership interest in BML to MCNIC for many reasons, including, 
without limitation, the termination of any liabilities of BTI 
or TBC under the "Loan Documents," as that term is defined in 
the Loan Agreement, the releases provided in this Agreement, 
and the avoidance of possibly prolonged and costly litigation, 
and MCNIC is willing to obtain all ownership of BML from BTI 
for many reasons, including, without limitation, the benefit 
the CRC Entities receive by having MCNIC own BML, the releases 
provided in this Agreement, the limited indemnity by TBC, and 
the avoidance of possibly prolonged and costly litigation.

                            Agreement

In consideration of the foregoing recitals, and other good and 
valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which 
are hereby acknowledged, MCNIC, BTI, BML, TBC, and the CRC 
Entities agree as follows:

1.	BTI hereby assigns, transfers and delivers to MCNIC 100% 
of the membership interests in BML, free and clear of any 
liens, security interests, adverse claims, and other charges, 
except for the security interests, liens, charges, and adverse 
claims created by the Pledge Agreement or any of the other Loan 
Documents (the "BML Membership Interest").

2.	BTI and TBC represent to MCNIC that prior to BTI's 
delivery of the BML Membership Interest to MCNIC (i) BML has 
not conveyed, transferred or assigned any right, title or 
interest in the Beneficiation Equipment to any person or 
entity, (ii) BML has not granted or created any lien, security 
interest or other charge covering the Beneficiation Equipment, 
except for the rights, titles, interests, liens, security 
interests, and charges created by, under or pursuant to the 
Loan Documents and/or the Lease Agreement, (iii) to the best of 
their respective knowledge, upon termination of the Lease 
Agreement, there will be no adverse claims, obligations, 
litigation or liabilities, which are unresolved, outstanding, 
pending or threatened against BML, except to or in favor of 
MCNIC, and (iv) BML's only activities since its formation have 
been to acquire, own, and hold the Beneficiation Equipment, and 
to lease the Beneficiation Equipment to BTI under the Lease 
Agreement, and, since its formation and organization, BML has 
not entered into any agreement other than the Loan Documents 
and the Lease Agreement, or conducted any other activities or 
business, except in connection therewith.

3.	(a) MCNIC hereby releases, discharges, and forgives any 
and all rights, entitlements, benefits, causes of action, 
claims, and choses in action, if any, that MCNIC has, may have 
had, or will have against BTI and/or TBC, and their respective 
officers, directors, shareholders, agents, and employees, which 
are in any manner connected with, arising from or related to 
any one or more of the Loan Documents; provided, however, that 
any and all liens, security interests, and similar encumbrances 
upon the Beneficiation Equipment and the BML Membership 
Interest under the Loan Documents are not released or 
discharged.

(b)	BTI, BTI and TBC hereby release, discharge, and forgive 
any and all rights, entitlements, benefits, causes of action, 
claims, and choses in action, if any, that BTI or TBC have, may 
have had, or will have against MCNIC or any of the CRC 
Entities, and their respective officers, directors, 
shareholders, agents, employees, members, and managers, which 
are in any manner connected with, arising from or related to 
any one or more of the Loan Documents.

(c)	MCNIC represents and warrants to BTI and TBC that, to its 
knowledge, MCNIC has satisfied, discharged, and fulfilled its 
material obligations, covenants, undertakings, and agreements 
under the Loan Documents.

(d)	Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary in 
this Agreement, no party to this Agreement releases, discharges 
or forgives any right, benefit, cause of action, chose of 
action or claim arising from, related to, or in connection 
with, the breach or inaccuracy of any representation, warranty, 
covenant, or agreement made in this Agreement by any other 
party or parties to this Agreement.

(e)	Within 30 days after the date hereof, MCNIC shall change 
the name of BML to delete therefrom any reference to the name 
"Beard."

4.	The Operating Agreement, the License, and the Benefication 
Agreement are hereby terminated in all respects, except for any 
and all rights, benefits and obligations heretofore accrued or 
incurred, and except for Section 8.9 and Articles VII (with 
respect to accrued or earned compensation), X and XII of the 
Operating Agreement and the Beneficiation Agreement. The Lease 
Agreement is hereby terminated and shall be of no further force 
or effect. The Guaranty Agreement dated as of June 24, 1998, 
among the CRC Entities and TBC, and the Guaranty Agreement 
dated as of June 24, 1998, between MCNIC and BTI, are hereby 
terminated and shall be of no further force or effect, except 
for any rights, benefits and obligations heretofore accrued or 
incurred, and insofar as they cover any of the obligations that 
survive the termination of the Operating Agreement, the License 
and/or the Beneficiation Agreement, as provided in the first 
sentence of this paragraph 4.

5.	BML hereby releases, discharges, and forgives any and all 
rights, entitlements, benefits, causes of action, claims, and 
choses in action, if any, that BML has, may have had, or will 
have against BTI and/or The Beard Company, and their respective 
officers, directors, shareholders, agents, and employees, 
including, without limitation, any rights, entitlements, 
benefits, causes of action, claims and choses in action that 
are in any manner connected with, arising from or related to 
the Lease Agreement or any Loan Document.

6.	BTI and TBC hereby release, discharge and forgive any and 
all rights, entitlements, benefits, causes of action, claims 
and choses in action, if any, that BTI or TBC has, may have 
had, or will have against BML and its members, managers, 
agents, and employees, including, without limitation, any 
rights, entitlements, benefits, causes of action, claims and 
choses in action that are in any manner connected with, arising 
from or related to the Lease Agreement or any Loan Document.

7.	This Agreement supercedes all other agreements and 
understandings between two or more of the parties hereto with 
respect to the subject matter of this Agreement, but only to 
the extent of any inconsistency or inconsistencies between the 
prior agreements and understandings, and this Agreement. This 
Agreement may not be altered or modified except by an 
instrument in writing signed by all parties to this Agreement.

8.	This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in 
accordance with the laws of the State of Michigan applicable to 
contracts made and performed entirely therein.

9.	This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the 
benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors 
and assigns.

10.	This Agreement may be executed in any number of 
counterparts, which taken together shall constitute the same 
instrument and each of which shall be considered an original 
for all purposes. The parties may execute and deliver this 
Agreement by facsimile.

11.	If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be 
invalid or unenforceable, then the remainder of this Agreement 
shall not be affected thereby.

12.	The prevailing party or parties in any proceeding 
(including arbitration), lawsuit or litigation concerning the 
construction or interpretation of this Agreement or the breach 
by any other party or parties of any provision of this 
Agreement shall be entitled to such prevailing party's or 
parties' reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs.

13.	No party's rights under this Agreement will be deemed 
waived except by a writing signed by such party.

Executed as of the day first above written by the duly 
authorized representative of each of the undersigned, but 
effective for all purposes as of January 31, 1999.

                                    "MCNIC"

                                    MCNIC PIPELINE & PROCESSING COMPANY

                                    By:  BRUCE C. SCHLANSKER
                                    Name: Bruce C. Schlansker	
                                    Title:	President


"CRC ENTITIES"

CRC NO.1 LLC
CRC NO.2 LLC
CRC NO.3 LLC
CRC NO.4 LLC
CRC NO.5 LLC
CRC NO.6 LLC

By:  BRUCE C. SCHLANSKER
Name:	Bruce C. Schlansker
Title:	Chairman

"BML"

BEARD MINING, L.L.C.

By: BEARD TECHNOLOGIES, INC., ITS
    MANAGER

By: HERB MEE, JR.
Name:	Herb Mee, Jr.
Title:	Vice President

"BTI"

BEARD TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

By: HERB MEE, JR.
Name:	Herb Mee, Jr.
Title:	Vice President

"TBC"

THE BEARD COMPANY

By: HERB MEE, JR.
Name:	Herb Mee, Jr.
Title:	President