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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery added 47 cents to $46.70 on the New York Merc, while Brent for July added 48 cents to $48.08 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $12.50 to WTI ($34.20), down from a discount of $12.30. Natural gas for June lost 1.8 cents to $2.155. The TSX energy index added a fraction to close at 180.58.

Alberta Montney producer Birchcliff Energy Ltd. (BIR), a large investment of billionaire Seymour Schulich (who owns 42 million of its 152 million shares), added 49 cents to $5.62 on 1.32 million shares. It has released its first quarter financials and trimmed its budget, for the second time, without touching its production guidance. The first quarter results were in line with analysts' predictions and showed production of 41,958 barrels of oil equivalent a day and cash flow of 13 cents a share. Birchcliff drilled nine wells in the quarter, nearly finishing this year's 13-well program (especially as two other wells were drilled after quarter-end). The drilling and completion activity in the first quarter took up about $30-million of the full-year budget. This budget was previously set at $140-million in January, but was lowered to $128-million in February and has now been lowered to $122.5-million, or $103.5-million if one takes out $19-million in proceeds from a recent asset sale. Despite the budget cuts and the asset sale, Birchcliff's production guidance has remained steadily at 40,000 to 41,000 barrels a day. (Birchcliff did not identify the buyer of the assets, but it appears to be Kelt Exploration Ltd. (KEL: $4.34), based on clues in the companies' press releases.)

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