EXHIBIT 23.1
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   BROWN              * Main Office                    * Shafter Office
 ARMSTRONG            4200 Truxtun Ave., Suite 300     560 Central Avenue
 ---------            Bakersfield, California 93309    Shafter, California 93263
 CERTIFIED            Tel 661-324-4971                 Tel 661-746-2145
  PUBLIC              Fax 661-324-4997                 Fax 661-746-1218
ACCOUNTANTS

                                 BROWN ARMSTRONG
                        PAULDEN McCOWN STARBUCK & KEETER
                        --------------------------------
                          CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

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                          INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT


The Board of Directors
Whittier Energy Corporation
Houston, Texas


We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Whittier Energy
Corporation and its subsidiaries as of December 31, 2003, and the related
consolidated statements of operations, shareholders' equity, and cash flows for
the year then ended. We have also audited the balance sheet of Whittier Energy
Corporation and its subsidiary as of December 31, 2002, and the related
statements of operations, shareholders' equity, and cash flows for the year then
ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's
management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial
statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted
in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and
perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial
statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a
test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a
reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the 2003 consolidated financial statements referred to above
present fairly in all material respects the financial position of Whittier
Energy Corporation and its subsidiaries at December 31, 2003, and the results of
its operations and cash flows for the year then ended, in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also,
in our opinion, the 2002 financial statements present fairly, in all material
respects, the financial position of Whittier Energy Corporation and its
subsidiary as of December 31, 2002, and the results of operations and its cash
flows for the year then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States of America.

As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company adopted
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 143, Accounting for Asset
Retirement Obligations, as of January 1, 2003.

                                      BROWN ARMSTRONG PAULDEN
                                      McCOWN STARBUCK & KEETER
                                      ACCOUNTANCY CORPORATION

                                      /s/ BURTON H. ARMSTRONG
                                      -----------------------
                                      BURTON H. ARMSTRONG


Bakersfield, California
March 5, 2003


      MEMBER of SEC Practice Section of the American Institute of Certified
                               Public Accountants