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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

New York Merc crude for July delivery lost three cents to $94.25 (all figures in this para U.S.). Brent for July lost 16 cents to $102.44. West Texas Intermediate lost a cent to $94.95, while Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $19.90 to WTI ($75.05), up from a discount of $21. The TSX energy index lost 1.50 points to close at 253.18.

Wade Cherwayko's Mart Resources Inc. (MMT), the heaviest trader on the TSX-V, lost four cents to $1.43 on 8.14 million shares. The company, as expected, had a weak first quarter. A prolonged shutdown at the Umusadege field in the Niger Delta caused significantly lower production and revenue compared with the first quarter of 2012. The downtime lasted 46 days in the first quarter and continued into the second quarter for 18.5 days. Mart typically budgets for just 60 days of shutdown time a year, a limit it has already passed. Fortunately, a second pipeline for Umusadege should be finished by year-end, possibly in the third quarter. Mart will own 15 per cent of the pipeline through its interest in the line's owner, Umugini Asset Co. Ltd., where Mart is also represented on the board of directors. It has set a completion date for the third quarter. Fellow 15-per-cent owner Oando Energy Resources Inc. (OER: $1.37) estimates a fourth quarter completion, and there are rumours it could take even longer than that because, according to Nigerian newspapers, local communities are demanding more money. The Africa Oil Gas Report said earlier this month each of the 33 communities along the 53-kilometre pipeline route is demanding a settlement. The obstruction has apparently pushed the cost up to $65-million from $35-million, and the commissioning date is uncertain.

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