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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery added 22 cents to $97.59 on the New York Merc, while Brent for September added $1.26 to $104.28 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $18.05 to WTI ($79.54), down from a discount of $17.70. Natural gas for September lost 14.3 cents to $3.83 The TSX energy index lost a fraction to close at 310.93.

Craig Stewart's RMP Energy Inc. (RMP) added 70 cents to $8.37 on 3.66 million shares, after releasing its second quarter financials. Net earnings came to 15 cents a share, up from five cents a share a year earlier, and exceeding analysts' predictions of 11 cents a share. Funds from operations per share of 40 cents was double last year's and was also above predictions of 37 cents. Production averaged 12,400 barrels of oil equivalent a day. This is up from 9,200 barrels a day in the first quarter, largely because of a milder-than-usual spring breakup and extra capacity from a new pipeline connecting RMP's two core areas in the Alberta Montney: Ante Creek and Waskahigan. RMP is now expanding capacity even more. Ante Creek is already at gas-handling capacity (24 million cubic feet a day) even though only 11 of 18 wells are on stream, so RMP plans to add another 20 million cubic feet a day by building a new facility, with completion expected in March, 2015. The $28-million facility will be in the southwest corner of the six-section block RMP has been focusing on at Ante Creek so far. Nearly all its wells have been in these six sections, but RMP has a total of 36.75 sections at Ante Creek, including 11.75 sections immediately southwest of the six-section core. Its first well outside the core, the 1-22 horizontal step-out, tested at 1,600 barrels a day in the first quarter and had an initial 60-day rate of about 680 barrels a day. This is less than half of the production of wells in the core area, but still nothing to sneer at. RMP's decision to build a facility near this well indicates that the 11.75-section block will soon see more drilling. Another area RMP is moving into, or rather back into, is the Kaybob Montney, 60 kilometres from Waskahigan. It has not drilled this area in four years, but plans to spud two gas wells by year-end -- one of which was spudded last week -- to see if modern completion techniques, combined with higher gas prices, can make the play profitable.

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