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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery lost 41 cents to $41.76 on the New York Merc, while Brent for June lost 51 cents to $44.18 (all figures in this para U.S.). Both benchmarks, which rallied yesterday to their highest levels all year on rumours that Saudi Arabia and Russia had reached a production-freezing pact, lost steam today after OPEC cut its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2016. "Current negative factors seem to outweigh positive ones," it wrote in its new monthly report. Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $14.25 to WTI ($27.51), down from a discount of $14.20. Natural gas for May added 3.2 cents to $2.036. The TSX energy index lost a fraction to close at 180.68.

Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG), which yesterday rallied with oil and added $1.47 to $19.88, edged up another four cents to $19.91 today on 4.85 million shares. It has risen from a low in January of $11.31. The year so far has been largely a time of cuts and caution. In January, Crescent Point set an unexpectedly conservative budget of $950-million to $1.3-billion to support production of 165,000 to 172,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. In March, it not only moved those numbers to the low ends of their ranges, but also cut its 10-cent monthly dividend all the way to three cents, for a current yield of 1.8 per cent. With that out of the way, Crescent Point is now hinting at its desire to reclaim its reputation as one of Canada's busiest shoppers -- if on a smaller scale than before. The company has rarely shied away from a good deal. In the 15 months after oil prices slumped in mid-2008, it completed seven acquisitions worth nearly $2-billion. From 2010 to the summer of 2015, it completed another dozen or so major acquisitions, including the $1.5-billion takeover of Legacy Oil last June. It took a break from acquisitions after the summer, seeking to digest and to try to bring down its net debt, which by then had rocketed past $4-billion. It was about $4.26-billion as of Dec. 31. This week, while in Toronto for the CAPP (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers) Scotiabank Investment Symposium, president and chief executive officer Scott Saxberg told Bloomberg that Crescent Point is now back on the hunt, though it does not expect to catch anything too big or too fast. "We're being patient in this environment to position ourselves for when the economics turn, and we're trying to stay within cash flow when we spend those acquisition dollars," he said. He added that Crescent Point is focused on paying down debt rather than expanding production, and is in fact avoiding buying producing assets in favour of less expensive land that it can develop. It is also avoiding price tags larger than $200-million. "You're not going to see us do a big equity funding to pay for a deal," vowed Mr. Saxberg.

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