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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery lost $1.47 to $46.31 on the New York Merc, while Brent for March lost 51 cents to $48.52 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $13.70 to WTI ($32.61), unchanged. Natural gas for February lost 13.9 cents to $2.83. The TSX energy index added 1.87 points to close at 213.72.

The oil crash has claimed its first victim in the oil sands. Southern Pacific Resource Corp. (STP: $0.005, halted) has filed for creditor protection, becoming the first oil sands producer to do so since prices began their tumble about six months ago. Three years ago, Southern Pacific was trading near $2. Then its two thermal assets failed to produce as planned and the company began piling on debt. It currently owes over $596-million, nearly 300 times its market cap. It defaulted on a debt payment at the end of December. Its filing follows in the footsteps of service provider Gasfrac Energy Services Inc. (GFS: $0.275, halted), which sought creditor protection late last week. Another service provider, Calmena Energy Services Inc. (CEZ), said on Tuesday that its senior lender has applied to put it into bankruptcy proceedings. The lender was recently granted a receivership order by an Alberta court.

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