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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery added 77 cents to $51.68 on the New York Merc, while Brent for February added 80 cents to $54.49 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $15.60 to WTI ($36.08), unchanged. Natural gas for January lost 10 cents to $3.44. The TSX energy index lost a fraction to close at 221.05.

BlackPearl Resources Inc. (PXX), a Lundin company, added four cents to $1.89 on 724,300 shares. Over the previous two days, it added 21 cents, apparently reacting positively to OPEC's agreement on Wednesday to cut production in hopes of bolstering oil prices. (Virtually all of BlackPearl's production is oil and bitumen from Saskatchewan and Alberta.) BlackPearl also had some news to share yesterday after the close, when it announced that it had taken a large step toward phase 2 of its Onion Lake thermal project in Saskatchewan. Phase 1 of this project came on stream last year and produced 6,472 barrels a day during the third quarter of this year. Another 2,162 barrels a day came from conventional (non-thermal) assets at Onion Lake, so Onion Lake as a whole contributed 8,634 barrels a day during the third quarter, or nearly four-fifths of total production. BlackPearl is now designing a phase 2 expansion to the Onion Lake thermal project that would boost capacity to 12,000 barrels a day. Before it can do that, it needs to secure the money for the expansion, which is expected to cost about $180-million. BlackPearl had less than $3.4-million in working capital and just $50.5-million available on its $117.5-million credit facility as of Sept. 30. On Nov. 15, at an industry conference in Toronto, president and chief executive officer John Festival laid out the facts: BlackPearl will need $230-million over the next 18 months, including $180-million for the Onion Lake expansion. Cash flow over this period is expected to be around $100-million, and the company would be willing to draw another $30-million on its credit line. That leaves a gap of $100-million, which BlackPearl would look to fill using "the least dilutive option ... [and] the least punitive option in terms of debt," said Mr. Festival. Now BlackPearl has met those criteria while lopping the gap in half. It has sold a 1.75-per-cent royalty on its Onion Lake production (thermal and conventional) for $55-million.

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