INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT
                                
  
  The Board of Directors and Stockholders
  The Beard Company:
  
  
  
  We consent to Incorporation by reference in the Registration Statements
  (No. 33-87110, 33-98482, and 333-06757) on Form S-8 of The Beard Company of
  our report dated March 19, 1997, relating to the balance sheets of The
  Beard Company and subsidiaries as of December 31, 1996 and 1995, and the
  related statements of operations, stockholders' equity and cash flows for
  each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 1996, which
  report appears in the December 31, 1996, annual report on Form 10-K of The
  Beard Company.
  
  
  
                                        KPMG PEAT MARWICK LLP

                                        KPMG Peat Marwick LLP
  
  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  March 28, 1997