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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery lost $1.49 to $49.07 on the New York Merc, while Brent for August lost $1.41 to $50.54 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $12.15 to WTI ($36.92), unchanged. Natural gas for July lost 6.1 cents to $2.6556. The TSX energy index lost 7.28 points to close at 184.05.

TORC Oil & Gas Ltd. (TOG) lost 41 cents to $8.78 on 1.65 million shares, a stumbling end to an otherwise lovely week; in the previous four days it added $1.03. It did not have any news, but may have benefited from some boosterish analyst attention. Ray Kwan of BMO Nesbitt Burns reckoned in a research note on Wednesday that TORC could lower its $90-million budget to a range of $74-million to $81-million without affecting its full-year and year-end production guidance of 18,200 barrels of oil equivalent a day. The prediction is based on Mr. Kwan's assumption that TORC currently has about 1,600 to 1,700 barrels a day behind pipe in various wells in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and can use this production to either exceed its output guidance or cut spending while meeting the output guidance. Mr. Kwan also said TORC has about six wells that will be drilled in the next few weeks and completed in the third quarter. Lastly, he predicted that TORC could look to scoop up assets given its reasonable net debt load ($306-million as of March 31, including $250-million drawn on a $400-million bank line), as well as its access to capital through the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). The CPPIB owns about one-quarter of TORC's 163 million shares. It also participates in TORC's share dividend program, lowering the cash cost of the two-cent monthly dividend, which yields 2.7 per cent.

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