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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery, the benchmark in North America, added seven cents to $104.37 on the New York Merc, while Brent for June, the benchmark in Europe, added 42 cents to $109.95 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select, Canada's heavy oil benchmark, traded at a discount of $18.30 to WTI ($86.07), unchanged. Natural gas for May, the international benchmark, lost 4.4 cents to $4.69. The TSX energy index lost a fraction to close at 314.83.

Paul Colborne's Surge Energy Inc. (SGY) added 15 cents to $7.21 on 5.49 million shares. On Thursday, it closed above $7 for the first time in six months, thanks to analysts praising the company following its inaugural analyst day. RBC Capital Markets' Shailender Randhawa liked Surge's "credible and well-connected leadership," while Scotiabank's Cameron Bean talked up various assets, some of which are "making waves." Surge did not go into details about the assets it will gain through its planned acquisition of Longview Oil Corp. (LNV: $6.92), but it did say it will probably revise its $120-million budget once the deal closes in June. The current budget focuses on the low-cost southeast Alberta Sparky, southeast Saskatchewan Midale and southwest Saskatchewan Shaunavon plays. That last play is causing particular excitement. Two weeks ago, Surge announced it had found a new pool in the Upper Shaunavon, with its discovery well producing over 300 barrels of oil a day. (To put that in perspective, other Shaunavon wells are showing initial 30-day production rates of around 120 barrels a day.) Citing this new pool and better-than-expected drilling and waterflood results in the first quarter, Surge increased its year-end production target to 16,850 barrels a day from 16,550. Insiders seem confident. President and chief executive officer Colborne acquired 385,000 shares from April 10 to 16, and director Robert Leach bought 50,000 shares on April 17.

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