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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery lost $1.67 to $45.65 on the New York Merc, while Brent for November lost $1.79 to $47.84 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $14.05 to WTI ($31.60), up from a discount of $14.15. Natural gas for October lost one cent to $2.79. The TSX energy index lost 6.05 points to close at 195.16.

Albania-focused Bankers Petroleum Ltd. (BNK) had a dramatic day. The morning saw the stock shoot up 18 cents to $2.18 on 28.1 million shares, before trading was finally halted at 8:05 a.m. PT, pending news. Plenty of investors already knew the news by then: Bankers' $2.20-a-share takeover offer from China's Geo-Jade Petroleum had finally received a much-needed Chinese regulatory approval. The nearly six-month-old offer was originally supposed to lead to a closing date in June, but the deadline had to be pushed back multiple times, with Bankers most recently stating that it would aim for closing by Sept. 30. Its stock stayed below the offer price during the six months as a result of (among other things) concern that the arrangement would not receive all the regulatory approvals. That concern disappeared this morning. A document filed by Geo-Jade with the Shanghai Stock Exchange showed that the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the lone holdout for approval -- Albanian and Canadian regulators had already given the okay -- had finally granted the necessary "business registration certificate" for the takeover. As a result, all domestic and foreign approvals for the takeover were in hand, concluded the document. The news kicked off a madcap morning session for Bankers before the halt took effect from 8:05 a.m. PT to 10:15 a.m. PT, during which time Bankers made its own announcement about the approval and said it expects to close the takeover within weeks. More investors piled in once trading resumed. The final tally: The stock added 18 cents to $2.18 on 46.9 million shares.

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