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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery lost $1.09 to $42.64 on the New York Merc, while Brent for June lost 63 cents to $44.48 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $13.85 to WTI ($29.88), unchanged. Natural gas for May lost 7.7 cents to $2.063. The TSX energy index lost 2.88 points to close at 184.38.

Niko Resources Ltd. (NKO) had a good day, adding 10 cents to 25.5 cents on 22.4 million shares. (Despite the rise, the stock remains a troublesome investment of Vancouver broker Robert Disbrow, whose position last year peaked at over 12 million shares. He first disclosed himself as an investor in July, 2014, when the stock was around $2. Recently he has sold many shares, including 2.1 million this month alone, but he still owns 7.64 million of the company's 94 million shares.) Today, Niko had enough good news to offset some bad news. The bad news is that it is not faring well in its lawsuit against Diamond Offshore Drilling. Diamond started the suit last summer after Niko failed to make payments due under a December, 2013, settlement agreement related to Niko's contractual obligations for two of Diamond's drilling rigs. The agreement called for a mutual release of claims if Niko paid $80-million (U.S.). Niko paid $25-million (U.S.) at the time and agreed to pay the rest in stages up until Sept. 30, 2017. In June, 2015, however, Niko struck an agreement with the lenders of its $340-million (U.S.) loan facilities, and this agreement restricted Niko from making payments under its settlement agreement with Diamond. Niko thus did not make a scheduled $5-million (U.S.) payment to Diamond on June 30, 2015. Diamond promptly filed a lawsuit in Texas. As the suit moseyed along, Niko skipped three more payments to Diamond. The court, which evidently frowns on that sort of behaviour, has now granted Diamond's motion for summary judgment. The court did not specify the amount of the judgment, but Niko has previously estimated that the maximum potential claim could range from $100-million (U.S.) to $220-million (U.S.).

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