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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery lost 40 cents to $73.69 on the New York Merc, while Brent for January lost 58 cents to $77.75 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $17.40 to WTI ($56.29), unchanged. Natural gas for January added 7.3 cents to $4.35. The TSX energy index lost 5.93 points to close at 253.10.

Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. (BXE) lost 18 cents to $5.49 on 1.82 million shares, despite having its credit facilities boosted to $725-million from $625-million as a result of "significant reserves and production growth" this year (Bellatrix's words). Investors do not seem as pleased with the company as its bankers are. The stock is less than half of its May high of $11.65, battered by commodity prices but also by infrastructure constraints that have forced it to lower production targets four times this year (and to simply miss its target in the third quarter). Bellatrix expects next year to be smoother because it will have its own gas plant by July. Of course, how long the plant will remain "its own" is not quite clear. Activist shareholder Orange Capital, a New York hedge fund run by Daniel Lewis, has reportedly been pushing Bellatrix to sell a 30- to 40-per-cent interest in the plant. Mr. Lewis mentioned this plan to The Deal (a media outlet focusing on corporate transactions) in mid-October, and the subject came up again during Bellatrix's third quarter conference call on Nov. 4. Management said it would not comment on speculation. It did say, however, that it has a "very good relationship" with Orange, the first time it publicly acknowledged Orange since the hedge fund filed its initial EDGAR report in August. At the time, it reported ownership of 10.1 million of Bellatrix's 191 million shares at an average cost of $8.85. It has been a steady buyer since then, bringing its ownership up to 24.3 million shares and its average cost down to $7.63.

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