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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery lost 69 cents to $101.44 on the New York Merc, while Brent for June lost 16 cents to $109.11 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $18.95 to WTI ($82.49), down from a discount of $18.30. Natural gas for May lost 0.9 cent to $4.73. The TSX energy index added 1.62 points to close at 316.71.

Mickey Dunn's Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. (BXE) added 10 cents to $10.56 on 5.05 million shares. The company is drilling at a feverish pace at its core Cardium and Notikewin/Fahler plays in Alberta. Since the beginning of the year, it has drilled or received licences to drill 73 wells, including 12 in the last 30 days. The overall plan is to drill 115 (66 net) Cardium wells and 31 (11 net) Notikewin/Fahler wells before the end of the year. Joint venturers are paying for much of the work. Two weeks ago, one of those joint venturers, Grafton Energy, decided to raise its commitment for the second time, meaning it will now contribute $250-million (effective July 1, 2013, to June 21, 2016). The original deal was for Grafton to spend $100-million, but its chief executive and chief investment officer, Rick Grafton, must like what he sees. (He may well discuss that when he presents on "Drilling Deals & JVs" at the PLS Dealmakers Expo in Calgary on May 5.) There is good reason to be keen. According to GeoSCOUT, Bellatrix drilled six of the top 15 Cardium wells in February. In addition, one of its Notikewin wells made the list as one of the best producers in Alberta: It has produced 4.7 billion cubic feet of gas over 11 months, 54 per cent more than the next best well. AltaCorp Capital detailed these results in a research note. Bellatrix is its "top pick" for 2014.

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