Partnership woes ensnare thousands of Californians.

More than 20,000 California investors are embroiled in the ongoing legal wrangle over numerous troubled Prudential Securities oil and gas partnerships, a national task force reported last week.

An estimated 20,464 investors, or nearly 15 percent, of the 137,000 small investors involved in the partnerships are from California, said Wayne Klein, securities bureau chief with the state Department of Finance in Idaho.

Klein is heading a task force coordinating various investigations into Prudential Securities' energy partnerships to determine whether the company used high pressure tactics to attract investors into high-risk investments.

While Klein could not specify how many investors are from L.A. County, it is likely many are, given the population of the county, he said. "California investors had an above average interest in the oil and gas partnerships," he said.

Investors who placed an estimated $1.3 billion in the oil and gas limited partnerships have filed a class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Louisiana alleging fraud and misrepresentation and various states, including California, are conducting or assisting with investigations that Prudential's sales force hid the risk factors involved in the partnerships.

"Each state is conducting its investigation, and we are in communication with the states, Prudential and the Securities and Exchange Commission," said Klein. "We are trying to provide a forum for arranging a global settlement."

In the 1980s, Prudential, then Prudential-Bache, aggressively marketed the 35 limited energy partnerships now being investigated, promising strong profits. The partnerships are now worth only a small fraction of the original investments. The firm contends the partnerships declined in value because of a drop in oil and gas prices during the mid-1980s.

While California is not one of the six states represented on the task force, it is closely working with the group.

"We're looking at what aspects (of marketing the partnerships) were unique to California. I want to know the extent to which California was targeted," said Bill McDonald, chief of enforcement for the state Department of Corporations in Los Angeles. "We received a number of complaints here in L.A.," McDonald added.

The task force headed by Klein is expected to recommend in the next 60 days whether some type of global settlement can be reached.

However, if a settlement cannot be reached, states could ban Prudential from doing business.

"Obviously it would have a substantial impact on Prudential if we took any adverse action against them," said McDonald.

Earlier this year, Prudential was poised to enter into a settlement with investors that offered just cents on the dollar for millions of dollars of losses. A New Orleans federal judge temporarily blocked the settlement after questions were raised about the deal's fairness.

Recently, George Kaiser, an Oklahoma investor, made a surprise offer for the oil and gas partnerships. In an SEC filing last month, Kaiser said he would offer $173 million in cash for the limited partnerships, which are now worth nearly zero in the marketplace after investors poured in $1.3 billion.

"If you have to get out (of your partnership deal), yes, I'd say it's (the Kaiser plan) a good offer," said Klein. "But I expect this will spark a bidding war."