06:07:36 EDT Fri 29 Mar 2024
Enter Symbol
or Name
USA
CA



Energy Summary for May 4, 2015

2015-05-04 20:50 ET - Market Summary

This item is part of Stockwatch's value added news feed and is only available to Stockwatch subscribers.

Here is a sample of this item:

by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery, the benchmark in North America, lost 22 cents to $58.93 on the New York Merc, while Brent for June, the international benchmark, lost one cent to $66.45 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select, Canada's heavy oil benchmark, traded at a discount of $8.75 to WTI ($50.18), up from a discount of $9.95. (This is the WCS benchmark's lowest discount in years, and comes as a result of a slowdown in Canadian oil activity combined with rising pipeline capacity. The discount is still not quite at a historical low; in April, 2009, the discount averaged $6.19. This compares with an average discount of over $19 for 2014 and over $25 for 2013.) Natural gas for June, the international benchmark, added 4.5 cents to $2.82. The TSX energy index lost a fraction to close at 236.56.

Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE) added 30 cents to $4.67 on 13.6 million shares, after adding 29 cents on Friday and 36 cents on Thursday. Some of the excitement is likely coming from a chatty group of Venezuelan investors. O'Hara Administration, IPC Investments and Telmaven Overseas filed a joint early warning report on April 21, announcing that they together hold 32.5 million or about 10.3 per cent of the company's 316 million shares. Last Thursday, O'Hara's Orlando Alvarado told Bloomberg that the trio is willing to increase its ownership. "We have the capital to significantly raise our position. The company has long-term value," he said. His hints come on the heels of comments by Alfa SAB, which holds 18.9 per cent of Pacific Rubiales. Its chairman triggered takeover speculation in mid-April when he said that Alfa has not decided whether to keep the shares, sell them or buy more. Investors decided that "buy more" was the likeliest option and sent the stock up to $3.84 from $2.64 during the week ended April 17. This positive insider activity seems to be a good distraction from the recent selling by the company's second-largest shareholder, Lazard Asset Management. It filed a report in April noting that it recently sold 15.6 million shares, bringing its position down to 43 million shares or 14.8 per cent.

The remainder is available to Stockwatch subscribers.
Sign-up for a FREE 30-day Stockwatch subscription and SEE NO ADS

© 2024 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.


Reader Comments - Comments are open to paying subscribers of Stockwatch and unmoderated, although libelous remarks, obscene language and impersonations may be deleted. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Stockwatch.
For information regarding Canadian libel law, please view the University of Ottawa's FAQ regarding Defamation and SLAPPs.


Comments for this item are closed