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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery lost three cents to $74.58 on the New York Merc, while Brent for January lost 37 cents to $78.10 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $15.25 to WTI ($59.33), unchanged. Natural gas for December added 12.7 cents to $4.37. The TSX energy index lost 1.65 points to close at 254.91.

Athabasca Oil Corp. (ATH) lost 10 cents to $2.98 on 12.8 million shares, its first time ever below $3. It is down from this year's high of $8.84 in February, not to mention its April, 2010, IPO price of $18. This means a tough tax-loss season ahead. On top of that, MSCI announced on Nov. 6 that Athabasca will be deleted from the MSCI Global Standard Indexes, effective at the close on Nov. 25. This may have put more pressure on the stock, although it is being added to the MSCI Global Small Cap Indexes. (Pengrowth Energy Corp. (PGF: $4.25) is in the same position, being deleted from the MSCI Global Standard Indexes and added to MSCI Global Small Cap Indexes. Other oil companies joining the MSCI Global Small Cap Indexes are Spartan Energy Corp. (SPE: $2.87) and Northern Blizzard Resources Inc. (NBZ: $15.04).) There is little that Athabasca can do but wait. Most of its news is not expected until early to mid-2015, when it plans to achieve first steam at its Hangingstone thermal project in Alberta (end of the first quarter), release more results from the Alberta Duvernay (likely early spring) and receive the next payment from its $1.2-billion Dover asset sale to PetroChina ($600-million was received on closing in August and $300-million is due March 2). Athabasca is also drilling two wells in the Alberta Montney and expects results in early 2015, but investors are more interested in Hangingstone and Duvernay. As well, the company is looking for a joint venturer in the Duvernay and for two new independent directors, but has not set a time frame. (It failed to meet previous time frames in the Duvernay and learned a lesson.) Chief financial officer Kim Anderson is using the dip as a buying opportunity. She joined the company in January and bought her first shares on Nov. 14, acquiring 31,700 at $3.11.

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